RV-8
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40; Flight Crew Total 7000; Flight Crew Type 120
Human-Machine Interface
Ground Event / Encounter Object; Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Inflight Event / Encounter Object
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Weather; Human Factors
Crosswind landing on RWY XXR.  Winds called at 240/10. After a good wheel landing; when the tail wheel touched the runway; the airplane weather-vaned into the wind.  I was unable to prevent the airplane from angling to the right and the airplane departed the runway surface.  After traveling a hundred FT or so in the gravel; the airplane came to rest on asphalt where a taxiway exits RWY XXR.  While travelling through the gravel; the aircraft hit the taxiway identification sign.  The sign damaged the right wing and the right fuel tank.  I called Tower; shut down the engine and turned off the master switch; and egressed the airplane.  I was able to pull [it] about 50 FT off the Tower/Ground controlled taxiway to the fuel pumps.  An inspection of the tail wheel assembly and rudder control cables is forthcoming.
RV8 pilot reports losing control of his aircraft during landing in a crosswind and departing the runway causing some damage to the aircraft and an airport sign.