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Building a 3B. All slow build. Slider (10 months for that). Used engine that I rebuilt myself. New cyl Assm. Custom exhaust by Vetterman. A work of art. Custom motor mount. Painted everything myself. PPG. Steam gauges. Fold down GPS Becker radio and txp. Simple lighting. B&C starter and alt. Wood prop. Saber ext. another work of art. Made custom seat with three densities of foam. Will have it covered in leather. Many custom features that just took time.
Guessing about 4K hours so far, probably more. Custom glass work took ten times longer than I thought. Have really enjoyed the challenge Have 45K invested. Not including tools that I had from a 6 kit Bob Grigsby J3 Cub flying regularly. One of the benefits of living in Kalifornia 3B. Will be starting engine in about a month. What is a month in RV build time? |
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With a new Aerosport Power engine, new Catto, and new Dynon D180 based day/night VFR cross country panel, I found Vans cost estimator + 10% to be right on for me, but then I intentionally avoided (almost) every upgrade that was available, especially those that added weight without adding performance. Almost 8 years into flying and I still get a grin every time I fly! :) |
How much is spent is directly related to what engine/avionics you deem acceptable.
The above is very much tied to the value when done also. Hard to compare someone using bare bones/used avionics and a mid time used engine -vs- brand new engine, full new EFIS. For my RV9a, somewhere around 90k mark, but adding things up didn't advance the project any further so that number is just a guess. I can make more money if needed, I can't go back and redo a choice in building I would regret for the time I own it as easy. |
These numbers (and of course certified prices) are the key factor driving used RV values.
So, be of good cheer. Most of us thought our new RVs were too expensive back when, but now a nice one brings a very reasonable percentage of original cost. You're not spending too much money (click your heels together and repeat after me...), you're just parking it. Quote:
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Free aeroplane
I paid for all of the aircraft kits and parts as I built and only as I could afford it at the time.
It owes me nothing and now I have a free aeroplane. It really is the best free aircraft that I have ever owned. I intend to enjoy it for a long time. Priceless !!!! |
My RV7 build estimator is up to 165k, and it's missing quite a few prices for components. We've budgetted 200k to make up for anything we missed in the estimate.
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I had a good friend who started building his RV7 at exactly the same time that I started building my RV7A. We did a lot of riveting together on both aircraft. The fit-outs on the two aircraft were virtually identical and they both progressed at a similar pace. I kept meticulous records of every single purchase down to the last sheet of sandpaper...and he kept no records at all (he said he didn?t want to stress himself out by knowing the actual cost). At a particular point in the build when I had $130k invested in my project I asked him how much he thought he had spent on his project and he said: ?About $90k?. Both aircraft were virtually identical in features and build progress so I concluded that he was underestimating his real build cost to that point by about $40k. |
All of my receipts went into a file. I just didn?t want to know at the time. Did pay as you go. Thought if I knew the exact amount that was going into it I was afraid of chickening out on the project.
No regrets now. A flying airplane is worth more than the sum of the parts (in my mind). A kit, not so much. |
Value of time
I wonder about what is the value of our own time, if we really want to know what is the full cost of a completed build.
Assuming between 2000 to 4000 hours of builder time, valued at between $30 and $90 per hour (just rough numbers for the discussion), this would contribute from a low of $60K to a high of $360K to the cost. |
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