From all the Oshkosh videos. These two got my attention. The SW-51 wins the coolness factor in my book. The RV 8 seems a good performer and established.
I would not know which one to choose!!

Rgs
Patrick Daniels

SW-51 for sure! No doubt. Buy one so I can live vicariously thru you. Plus their quick build is 2 weeks in Poland and you get the repairman certificate. Rotax turbo and BRS options.

Yep, the SW-51 wins in the cool category, no doubt, but, it's hard to beat an RV-8 when it comes to bang for the buck. I built/fly an RV-8 with a O-360-A1D 180 hp plant; carburetor with constant speed prop... I'd be curious to do a side by side speed comparison at say 9000' to see if that 160 hp Rotax can really go that fast. But, it's turboed. Sadly, I'm missing that.

For coolness I'd probably pick the baby Mustang, but, since there's no way I could afford it, I guess I'm “stuck” with my -8. And that’s okay, after flying it for almost 19 years and 2300+ hrs, it’s a keeper.

How many flying SW-51s are there?

The RV-8 looks like exactly what it is. The SW-51… does not. You want authentic, it’s the RV.

The SW-51 is very much a niche aircraft. How many do you expect them to sell over the next 5-10 years? Is that enough to keep the production line going over the long term?

If not, where are you going to buy replacement parts? This has become an issue for several of the fast-glass kits that were popular in the 90's.

This is true too, because the price point from what they said at OSH booth was $500k very different market than an RV-8.

If your mission is to chase pancakes and have people swoon over your airplane, then the SW-51 is a great choice.

If your plan is to fly cross country with baggage and/or fly formation with the 1000's of other RV's and have as good as, or better, parts availability and support, then hands down the RV.

The RV-8 cockpit is very much like a fighter, and the handling is second to none.

The final straw is that an RV-8 would cost 1/2 what the SW-51 cost. Save you money, and go to Stallion 51 once a year and fly a real Mustang.

The man has spoken!

That SW is the nicest looking, highest quality Mustang replica I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t look dorky like most miniatures do. It also doesn’t appear to be a pilot killer or have a weird, unreliable engine like the Stewart, Thunder, Titan, Jurca,. I vote SW. I didn’t take many pictures at Oshkosh this year, but I took pictures of that and I kept coming back to it.

if you want real Mustang performance, the Harmon rocket is as close as I’ve ever seen. In many ways, it out performs it.

If you have the money for the SW-51 buy a T-28 Trojan. It’ll be half the up front cost and $200,000 covers a lot of 50 gal/hr flight hours. Oh, it has actual P-51 performance below 10,000 ft.

Can you put a rotax in the RV?

You could, but, you’d be on your own for everything firewall forward; engine mount, radiators, cowling… there’s no factory support for putting a Rotax on an -8.

It's hard to describe just how well the RV8 flies. Balanced, light, responsive....it's just perfect. The only thing that ever came close for me was a Bucker Jungmann we had for a while, and the 8 goes 200mph and has a heater. Mine has an IO390 with a constant speed and climbs like a homesick angel. It lands reasonably short and will get out of anywhere it can get into. As far as taildraggers go it's very honest and easy to fly.

Van always used to joke that the RV's fly the way you think a WW2 fighter flies. I don't have any fighter time, but I don't think it's a joke. I'm told most of them actually fly like trucks. In fact, when I visit them in private hangers it's not uncommon to find an RV in the same hanger. The RV is always in front of the fighter.

Bottom line: if you want a plane that looks like a fighter, get the SW51. If you want a plane that flies like a fighter....or at least like how you dream a fighter would fly....get the RV8.

I don’t think anyone is getting this airplane because they want the performance of a P-51, or even the performance of an RV-8. This airplane has the option for an airframe parachute, a FADEC turbocharged engine that’s cheaper/easier to maintain than traditional engines and gives MCT all the way to 17k’, and has undeniable ramp appeal/coolness factor. Since most people that own RV-8’s don’t max perform their airplanes, this airplane easily meets the requirements and directly compares to the RV-8 as they’re most often flown. Besides….how cool would it be to spend weekends flying in a formation of “P-51’s”??.