Talk me out of this.

jesse said:
Well Nick's old N number may help inspire: N999NN
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Niner-November-November.... no thanks. :) Kind of a mouthfull talking to ATC. And it's reserved.

I have a short list... one is really catchy and a little humorous, but not really "us". All the obviously *really* good ones are gone, so I'm having to dig a little deeper.
 
DaleB said:
Niner-November-November.... no thanks. :) Kind of a mouthfull talking to ATC. And it's reserved.

I have a short list... one is really catchy and a little humorous, but not really "us". All the obviously *really* good ones are gone, so I'm having to dig a little deeper.
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Numbers really don't matter. You get used to them really quick so missing a call isn't really a problem as long as you're paying at least a little attention. Now if you've got the radio volume down and the music up then a catchy number really won't help a bit.
 
Nate: I haven't started building yet. That will come in January, after I go pick up the partially completed RV-7A kit I am buying. :D And, to head off the "Pics or it didn't happen" crowd, I give you this:
 

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Ahh, just good-natured ribbing. (Pun intended?) :)

You're building more than I!
 
I'm looking forward to getting started. I've asked him to ship the preview plans as soon as he gets my check, so I Can see what kind of trouble I'm in as far as tools and fixtures I'll need to work on this stuff.

I called Van's and got the list of the options ordered with the kits... he pretty much ordered it with exactly the things I would have, which is nice. There's also a pair of HID landing lights; I was thinking about LEDs but these will do nicely.
 
DaleB said:
Don't distract me, I'm trying to pick out a registration number to reserve. Something catchy, easy to recognize when ATC calls.
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Last 3 of your zip code + Delta Bravo
 
Cool - if you need help picking the stuff up let me know. If I had the spare time there is a crazy part of me that'd probably start to build new wings for the Flybaby. Nothing wrong with the current ones. It just looks like fun.
 
First of at least 6 new EAA chapters is this week. This one is a bit far away but we shall see. They are having chili and cornbread for the dinner so that is a plus.

Oh and Dale - nice pictures (I think?)
 
Dunno squat about that stuff, but appears that the progress is at a good point for handing off to the next guy. Lots of work done but most of it clearly visible, touchable and verifiable prior to closing up. What percentage of theoretical build time has been completed, assuming anybody knows?
 
wabower said:
What percentage of theoretical build time has been completed, assuming anybody knows?
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Varies based on the builder and how complex you let the rest of the project get, of course, but judging from the photos, I was at that point after about 320 hours of my ~2000 hour -9A build. The -9A is very similar to Dale's -7A, same fuselage but with a slightly longer, narrower wing. Both are great to fly.

Dale, looks like you get to jump right into the fun part -- sealing up the tanks! Several different religions you can subscribe to on that process...read up before you open up the Proseal. I used the "fay sealing" method and no leaks ... yet. :rolleyes:
 
wabower said:
Dunno squat about that stuff, but appears that the progress is at a good point for handing off to the next guy. Lots of work done but most of it clearly visible, touchable and verifiable prior to closing up. What percentage of theoretical build time has been completed, assuming anybody knows?
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Looks like about 20%, once the airframe is complete it's almost halfway through construction.
 
I'm pretty happy with the degree of completion, really. No skins on the wings, so I can see every rivet. The original/current owner (until we get the deal complete) is a degreed ME, so at least he has an understanding of how things go together, material strength, etc. There is still some work to be done on the empennage, mostly fiberglass I think. I'd guess he's a couple hundred hours in.

Kim, have fun visiting the various EAA chapters. You've got the population density out there to have several options. I had one, maybe two -- and got lucky. I talked to a guy this weekend who's building his second RV-10. He says he "accidentally" sold the first one after getting an unsolicited offer that was too good to pass up. Don't know if I'd ever do that... I may change my tune once I start smashing rivets, but I really can't see building more than one.
 
Heck, after investing in the tooling and knowledge required to build the first, I couldn't imagine only building one, especially when RVs sell quite well.
 
I've already got one sideline business... and it's ruined one hobby. Not making that mistake again! :)

Seriously, not that it's a mistake. My little sideline has paid for several vacations, all of my flight training and flying, and now it's paying for the RV. You do have a valid point, Henning -- built RVs are going for pretty good money. I suspect, though, that it would work out to less than minimum wage.

On the bright side, as I work on the RV I also plan to drill out the pop rivets and screws I used to attach the floor runner strips on the '55 Vespa, and replace them with real rivets. You just can't get everything to sit right and stay snug otherwise.
 
DaleB said:
I've already got one sideline business... and it's ruined one hobby. Not making that mistake again! :)

Seriously, not that it's a mistake. My little sideline has paid for several vacations, all of my flight training and flying, and now it's paying for the RV. You do have a valid point, Henning -- built RVs are going for pretty good money. I suspect, though, that it would work out to less than minimum wage.

On the bright side, as I work on the RV I also plan to drill out the pop rivets and screws I used to attach the floor runner strips on the '55 Vespa, and replace them with real rivets. You just can't get everything to sit right and stay snug otherwise.
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That's just it, the first build Hell yeah, minimum wage if that. If you are mechanically inclined though, second time will take half the time of the first and the third and subsequent a third of the time. The work doesn't take near as much time as figuring out how to go about the work. Then there is all the 'error time loss' where you not only lose the original time but the redo time as well, that gets significantly reduced.

Once you have the job figured out, method down and tools and supplies in stock, you can build one a year, in fact I know guys who do exactly that on that schedule. Riveting is mind and hand numbing, but once you have the procedure down, you can run a hell of a lot of rivets in a day.
 
5 Years ago you could make good money building and selling an RV. An example is the RV7 I finished in 2007 would have sold for 110-120,000 in 2007-8. Now the same quality RV is going for 75-80,000. It would cost 85-90,000 to build that same plane today. There are very few homebuilts that can be built and make any kind of profit and even then the hourly rate is pretty low. I do builder assistance and charge time and materials. I am out at my hanger almost every day and never get tired of building and working on airplanes. I also fly a lot and get to fly a variety of airplanes. So Dale concentrate on getting this one finished and then decide if you want to do another. Also don't skimp on an engine. Go with an O or IO-360 with a constant speed prop. It will give you the best all around performance and be worth a lot more when it comes time to sell. Don
 
Cool! Looks like you get to start at the 'fun' part - putting the bazillion rivets in the wing skins and trying to contort your body in ways you never though possible to get those hard-to-reach one's as you go along. Make sure you read up on different approaches for putting the skins on - and start looking for a 'friend' with long arms. ;)

Looks like the p.o. primed all of the internal parts - that's a nice bonus.

If you've never done fiberglass before, get ready for a lesson in patience and determination. Apply, wait, sand. Apply, wait, sand. Apply, wait, sand... You'll spend 4 hours laying up cloth and then another 4 hours sanding it all away. :)

It's all worth it though.
 
yakdriver said:
Kimberly, You just intimidate the guys. Hopefully they will warm up to you soon. If there is a smaller chapter nearby try that. If you ever get to Idaho you are welcome in my shop and I'll let you fly the Cub and the N3N. Remember girls can do just about anything a guy can. Don
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Found a much smaller group last night. Wow, what a difference. But I am unfortunately immediately suspicious. They were a lot older than I expected and pretty much only two women there. One of the women was a pilot but only because her husband had a heart condition so she got her cert after flying with him for a lifetime. They were MORE than welcoming and included me in every aspect of the meeting. Many stayed afterwards and I even found a hangar person while getting lost going to the meeting who isn't even an EAA member but will let me observe, hopefully soon. An IA with many projects, including RVs. Oh and a 150 I can apparently help fly. Again, I feel odd not knowing them. I don't want anyone to think I'm there for a free airplane ride. I can and will help with gas etc.
 
Henning said:
If you are at an EAA meeting and the average age is below 75 you're in the wrong place.
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That applies to bloody well near any meeting having anything to do with flying (or ham radio, by the way). Certainly not a place where young people, women and minorities are overly well represented.
 
tmyers said:
Chili and flying just don't go hand in hand for me anymore!! That would be a disaster in the making. Hotdogs at Sporty s are much safer.
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I load my dogs up with chili, onions and slaw so -- no, definitely not a safer option.

Fortunately the J-3 I fly to the pik-n-pig now is very drafty and i'm usually solo anyway.
 
DaleB said:
That applies to bloody well near any meeting having anything to do with flying (or ham radio, by the way). Certainly not a place where young people, women and minorities are overly well represented.
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ROFL! So true. So true.
 
Just a quick update. The plane is home, and I've got the tail done (it was mostly done when I picked it up). I'm currently working on the wings. Construction is going pretty well, and I've got about 80 hours in so far. I'm also flying at least once a month, either the 172 or the 182. It's looking pretty good; I don't see any big impediment to having it done within a reasonable time.

My local EAA chapter has several people flying RVs of various types, and one other guy is also building an RV-7a - he's quite a bit further along. These people have been a great resource, and I've had the tech counselor over once already to have a look at the progress and to check out the previous owner's work. No surprises anywhere so far.

You can see the details here.
 
Looks good! Are you putting a flop tube in one of the tanks for inverted flight?
 
The engine will run long enough in negative G to do almost any maneuver and several seconds inverted. For any sustained inverted it will also require an inverted oil system. That adds weight, complexity and fills up an already crammed area in the accessory section. For 99% of RV flyers it is not needed. If you want to do a bunch of negative G aerobatics get a Pitts.
Dale, looks like you are coming right along. Remember, do something on it every day so you don't lose momentum. Don
 
yakdriver said:
The engine will run long enough in negative G to do almost any maneuver and several seconds inverted. For any sustained inverted it will also require an inverted oil system. That adds weight, complexity and fills up an already crammed area in the accessory section. For 99% of RV flyers it is not needed. If you want to do a bunch of negative G aerobatics get a Pitts.
Dale, looks like you are coming right along. Remember, do something on it every day so you don't lose momentum. Don
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All very true. But if he ever had an idea that he *might* want to do that kind of stuff in the future, it's a heckuva lot easier to put the flop tube in now before he gets the tank sealed up.

We had a flop tube in the -7A originally, but we suspected it was interfering with our fuel gauge and decided to take it out. What a PITA. Turns out it was the gauge itself, which meant we got to open the tank up AGAIN. Both times was with the wing attached to the fuselage, which complicated things even more.
 
I'm not installing flop tubes or an inverted oil system. At some point I'd like to get some acro training just so I can do the occasional aileron or barrel roll, but I really can't see getting into heavy acro. I'm building this mostly for cross country flying with my wife, who would probably freak out at the thought of a roll or hammerhead. Regardless, sustained inverted flight or perfecting my outside loop is just not something I'm seeing as a priority.

Don, at this stage of the game I'm actually having to hold back a little. I don't want to completely obsess over building, so I have to make a conscious effort to plan for other things. Dinner and a movie with my wife, household stuff, work, food, showering, that sort of thing. :) I do work on it at least a couple of hours most days. Some days it's more. And if I'm not building I'm planning.
 
DaleB said:
Don, at this stage of the game I'm actually having to hold back a little. I don't want to completely obsess over building, so I have to make a conscious effort to plan for other things. Dinner and a movie with my wife, household stuff, work, food, showering, that sort of thing. :) I do work on it at least a couple of hours most days. Some days it's more. And if I'm not building I'm planning.
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Heck, slap a rivet gun in her hand and you can get done quicker, of course she may use it on you!!!!
 
That's coming!! Those wing skins aren't going to rivet themselves. For that matter I bet her arms can reach further into the lightening holes in the leading edge ribs than mine!
 
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