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What stage was your partially-completed kit when you bought it?
My project is suffering from low momentum right now so I would be fascinated to know the breakdown of abandoned projects by stage of build. It would give an insight into the risk of failure at each stage.
So, this question is addressed to people who ACQUIRED an in-progress project from a source OTHER THAN the Vans factory. What was the last UNFINISHED stage of your project when you bought it? Some guidelines:
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One Wing just started
Empennage complete except for the fiberglass. Wings just started. The young guy who I bought the kit from did not completely plan for the future. He had child #1 then child #2 and then child #3. With that in mind he needs an RV Super 10+ for his whole family to fly together. He said he was getting rid of the kit because of family obligations and lack of time to work on the kit. He said he hopes to build again someday when life permits. I saved some money but did not save any time. I still went through each step one line at a time to see what he did and make sure it was correct. I am very happy to say that the guy I bought the kit from did a very quality job and was very organized. All unused parts were in bins in zip lock bags labeled.
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My empennage was completely unstarted and I am the third builder! I'm unsure of the original "owner's" story, but my friend purchased it from him and then found an RV-6 build in the fuselage stage and purchased that. My friend then sold the unstarted RV-7 tail kit to me. Fortunately, he had a Bill of Sale so getting the builder number assigned to me was a non-event. I'm currently finishing the fuse and the Finish Kit and FWF items will arrive in the next few weeks. Build on!
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emp
bought a practically untouched emp kit. I think he has since bought another emp kit and is now currently building.
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Bought my 7 with finished and fitted emp and wings, wing tips, control rods. Solenoids on firewall. Piper blade pitot fitted. Standard cowl, and pants as well as SJ cowl, pants, and plenum cover. It started as a QB. A few vital rivets were forgotten in the skin riveting on the fuse and I used other methods - Cherry Max and in one place, structural screws as nothing but a 3" alligator squeeze would fit.
Part of a FWF kit, but no engine parts. The work had been stalled at fitting the tip-up frame together. I think I was lucky, I have not found but maybe 2 rivets poorly set, no dings and only one smiley on the whole thing. The workmanship was outstanding. All fitted parts measured to perfect dimensions. I got all the paperwork but the rivets, and pieces were separated but not organized. I had to study the BOM for various kits and felt like getting to the movie 5 min after it started and was always catching up, not knowing the difference between what I should know, and would learn. I just felt lost. Many many hours were spent on physical inventory, and comparing to BOM inventory. Lots of orders for small parts and extra rivets. Nothing worse than needing a $.00001 rivet with $8 shipping and a 5 day wait. I went through many cycles of restudying the part needs of next steps and making anticipatory orders. Except for small pieces nothing was shorted, and I think I got an excellent deal. I reviewed your reason for the post, low momentum. I have found that once I got the panel, the engine, the prop on hand, that the progress seemed to go like molasses in winter. I have been wading in the wiring, and even though it was very complete from Stein, the part mounting, wire routing (making it pretty), and the tiny details seemed to have slowed this greatly. I compare it to building a house. Where all the foundation, walls, exterior and roof is on, but nothing in the interior. Wiring, plumbing, walls, painting, finish trim, and flooring are very slow by comparison. I think it is the nature of the beast, but still, it feels daunting. This is where determination makes it move forward. It was a divorce sale. |
almost complete
I bought a 7A project that had three previous owners. QB wings and Fuse. I was astonished to find pictures in the paperwork where the plane had an engine mounted, cowl fitted, panel partially installed. By the time I got it, it had been stripped down and parted out so I basically started over. I sold the completed tail and completed another so i could get some building experience and documentation. I converted it to a TD. I have the panel finished and working on the sliding canopy, firewall forward, and all the fiberglass and paint to go....I believe the guy that almost had it finished had a A&P helping him and the A&P died. He was not confident enough to finish the project himself so he sold it and it got passed to a couple of guys that were finishing other RV's and the plane suffered considerable parts "borrowing". It was local and a bargain but was missing lots of parts and I have had to rebuild several components....Its just hard to believe it was so close to being finished and then wound up a dusty pile of parts!
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Kits
My RV-7 kit was completely untouched and I am the third owner.
The RV-8 kit had the tail and one wing complete and the other started. |
90/90
On its wheels, engine mounted, cowl mounted, baffling done. Basic instrument panel wired up, not installed.
One thing to consider is how much of the finished work you will end up changing to suit your own personal taste. I spent a lot of time reworking the instrument panel to be the way I wanted it, from this to this ![]() On the way home:D ![]() |
Not anticipated
My 7A empennage was built by a young and dedicated dad who decided to sell now and build again later. I bought the completed emp, plus the QB wings and fuse in May 2012. His workmanship was excellent.
The kit was from 2005, so most part numbers on the white labels were either faded or gone. Our deal was I would not hold him responsible for missing parts, in exchange for buying his kit at a low (but still fair) price. But not fully anticipated at the time was how much effort would go into figuring out what little piece of material fit the part referred to in the ?fabricate from ?? instructions. So far, everything?s there, but difficulty identifying parts and pieces slowed my build considerably for the first year. |
I was the third owner of my emp kit. The original owner built the HS and VS but not the elevators or rudders. Owner #2 did nothing to the emp. I bought the wings and fuse from another individual. The wing spars were "Phlogiston" factory built, the rest of the wing in Van's original wrapping. The original buyer built the brake pedals in the fuselage kit and nothing else. I never asked why.
Dave RV-6 3 degrees outside with a foot of snow on the ground. |
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