Hmmm.  As we progress through this, I do wonder what made us do it.  Good reasons to build an airplane instead of buy?  Well, you could argue that building is fun.  And it is, sometimes.  Really, it came down to a couple different reasons for us.  Bethany liked the idea that you could have a brand new custom aircraft instead of a 30 year old Bonanza or similar.  I was interested in being able to work on the aircraft myself.  Also, the technology for “experimental” aircraft seems to move more briskly, and there’s just cooler stuff for homebuilts than there is for certified machines.