Most of my recreational time? Not really. But it took a long series of decisions and investments to make the project fit my desires.
Moving on to a residential airpark and building an oversize hangar was the key enabler. Buying the Maule and flying it for 10 years to achieve some goals (IR, TW) and to establish "my mission". Said another way, I would never have mounted such a project without a plane to fly and a home shop.
Once I decided that building a plane was something I wanted to do, I surveyed the options and decided that a quick build RV was my best choice. The RV7 looked best but the RV10 was ideal - fast, roomy, rough field capable, big engine, quick build, highly evolved.
I figured it would take 4-5 years to complete while working full time (at home) and still allowing us to play on weekends.
However it effectively took 6 years. One year was spent putting in a large, insulated, will lit workshop with HVAC. Worth every $$ and minute because building the '10 became a painless and casual process. No car trip to the airport required, no major reconfiguration of the space for different stages, comfortable on the hottest and coldest day.
The first 3 years of the build had a minimal impact on the rest of our lives. TV at home was replaced by radio and music in the shop. All my reading was project oriented. But we still flew out to the lake every weekend and made all the usual trips in the Maule. I tended to work long periods on Friday evenings after work was done and tended to push off the weekend trip to later on Saturday... Saturdays were particularly productive.
However, the last 2 years became increasingly focused on the project. The Maule did a lot less flying, at least until it was used to commute to the final assembly airport. As the '10 started looking like an airplane, it was difficult to fly the Maule on cross countries because I'd spend all my time running the '10's numbers thru my head, "We'd have been there an hour ago in the '10".
Pride and obsession took over during the final stages. I committed to not only doing my own panel but also doing the paint. I scaled back my work commitments as my desire to finish motivated me to work 7 days a week during the last year. A very exciting time! And ironically, 4-5 months of the most enjoyable open cockpit Maule flying as i commuted to the final assembly airport.
The project does mean that our cars are very old and we will probably never buy one new. Of course, they rarely ever make a 100 mile trip.
I was fortunate enough to be able to 'retire' concurrent with finishing the '10. Though I now have all the time in the world and enough resources to be a repeat offender, that's not in the plans at this point. I have the plane I want. I'm enjoying maintaining it and doing small upgrades. I'll have flown 350 hours its first 2 years. My wife has turned more and more of the shop into a mosaics studio.
There's something special about flying something you've built. Just like owning feels better than renting, even if it's not the ideal financial arrangement, flying something you've built feels better than just owning...
Last week I flew into KHPN and accidently ran into an NBAA conference of some kind. There was a lot of GA equipment on the ramps. As I was shutting down, a Mooney pulled up. We would have owned a Mooney if it could have handled our field. Anyway,watching the pilot extricate himself from the low seating position and thru the passenger door caused us to sit up a little straighter in our upright seating as we flung open the 2 gull wing doors and stepped down from our perch. Sweet!
Then I had to try and control my drooling as a Pilatus taxied past.... oh well, can't have eveything.
And Jay, it's fun watching you transitioning to a hot RV8! As different as our flying desires and missions have been, you've been able to satisfy yours with the Pathfinder and now the '8. Enjoy!
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