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-   -   I want to build an RV-14A in my basement... (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=176139)

Amazon-1 10-18-2019 12:35 PM

I want to build an RV-14A in my basement...
 
Luckily it is a walkout basement.

The doorway is 70" wide. Can anyone check their plans or built airplane and tell me if the fuse on the gear would fit through a 70" opening? My wife is a pretty tolerant woman, but she might not appreciate it if I have to demo part of the foundation to get my project out. :)

On a separate and unrelated topic, Van's quoted me about $2000 to ship the QB kit from Oregon to Virginia. I was considering picking it up and driving cross country with it to save costs. Good idea?

Thanks,

Bruce

2003 RV-8 (bought, flown and sold)
2007 RV-10 (bought, flown and sold)
2019 RV-14A (plan to build)

Ralph Inkster 10-18-2019 01:04 PM

If you have a suitable trailer, sure. Consider insurance.

As for gear width, give consideration to building with the fuselage on low table or similar support & installing gear later when it goes to the airport.

FloMo14Builder 10-18-2019 01:12 PM

Not going to fit
 

Bsquared 10-18-2019 01:16 PM

If it is a finished basement be aware of the tremendous amount of aluminum chips and dust you will be generating. I vacuum my garage after every build session and I still cannot keep up with the mess. Once every three months or so I move the benches and tools into the driveway and wash the floor and blow out the accumulated dust and dirt. If it is carpeted you will want to pull it up or put a temp floor over it. You can never get pigtail chips out of the carpet.

N941WR 10-18-2019 07:53 PM

I built my -9 in my basement and had to replace the 32" door with a 64" door.

Put your building table on extra sturdy wheels. When you are finished building, lift it up with your engine hoist, put it on the table, roll it out the door and put the gearlegs back on.

It helps if you are building a taildragger.

Oh, you will have a couple of years to figure this out.

N941WR 10-18-2019 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bsquared (Post 1380645)
If it is a finished basement be aware of the tremendous amount of aluminum chips and dust you will be generating. I vacuum my garage after every build session and I still cannot keep up with the mess. Once every three months or so I move the benches and tools into the driveway and wash the floor and blow out the accumulated dust and dirt. If it is carpeted you will want to pull it up or put a temp floor over it. You can never get pigtail chips out of the carpet.

OH, and Proseal on the bedroom carpet will never come out. Just say, should it happen to you, I know a good carpet guy!

I'm still trying to figure out how I got Proseal up three flights of stairs down the hallway, into the bedroom without getting anywhere else.

esco 10-19-2019 08:56 AM

Ship or pick-Up?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Amazon-1 (Post 1380636)
...Van's quoted me about $2000 to ship the QB kit from Oregon to Virginia. I was considering picking it up and driving cross country with it to save costs. Good idea?

"Do it yourself" has time, insurance, lodging, food, fuel, other costs; there's a timely article in Nov 2019 issue of KITPLANES with considerations and implications.

Good luck!

jcarne 10-19-2019 09:07 AM

I know people have built in basements before but deburring aluminum would raise health concerns with me if it were done in the same place I sleep at night. A lot of aluminum particulate would be in the house. No to mention fumes from various chemicals as well. I suppose you could do a lot of that stuff outside and then bring it in.

Girraf 10-19-2019 07:45 PM

I'm building in my basement. The climate controlled space has been a wonderful build space but the fuselage will have to be done in the garage when large parts start coming together. I only have a standard 30" door leading to stairs out of the basement with no option to make that hole bigger. I usually open the door and run a fan when using chemicals but never gave a second thought to deburring or AL dust.

Scott Hersha 10-19-2019 09:49 PM

I would say ?no problem? if you don?t have the landing gear attached. I built an RV8 in my basement - completely - and then removed the landing gear, and wings to get it out. I know the RV14 is wider, but my opening was an egress window I installed for this purpose and was 50? wide with the window removed. The most restrictive parts were the wings, not the fuselage. If you have 70?, it should not be a problem. I built a set of RV14 wings (kit #16) and they went out that same 50? window. Your fuselage width might be a little wider, but you have 70?!!
The advantage to building at home is huge. You can go to the basement almost every day and accomplish something, even if it to plan out your next move. The quality of your build will be better. The only rule I had was, I couldn?t do noisy stuff, like pounding rivets after 10pm. There is so much more you can do. I built a small paint booth in one corner of my basement - sealed - and vented through the sill plate on my house with a squirrel cage fan scavenged from a Jennair cooktop we replaced in the kitchen on the main floor. You couldn?t smell anything with that fan running, not even in the basement. That was my first RV8, not a QB, and I built it in 2 years start to finish and flying. I could not have done that if I would have had to drive to the airport (7.5 miles) every time I wanted to work on the plane. My family life would have suffered. Sounds like with a walk out basement with a 70? door, you have the perfect situation for building at home. Good luck with your build, you won?t be disappointed regardless of which way you decide to go with your build quarters.


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