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Moving with an unfinished RV-10 // test flight?

Greg G

Member
Hi all,

I'm one of those guys who comes to this site every so often to dream -- I'd love to start building, but then there's life that always seems to "get in the way" (family w/ 2 kids under 5, working 11-12 hour days, soon-to-have kids' sports on the weekends...). Taking all this into consideration, I know that it will take me at least 8-10 years to build the -10 based on about 5 hours per week spent building. To help me with my decision and justification to my family, I was hoping someone could help me out:

1) I'm also in the Air Force, so I'll be moving every 2-3 years over the next 10 years. Originally, I was going to wait to start building until I retired from the Air Force in my early 40's so I can set-up-shop and not have to worry about moving, but based on build time I'd have very little time left in my life to actually fly the plane! Does anyone have any experience moving with an unfinished RV-10? Is it something that could fit into a U-Haul box truck and driven cross-country? There's no way I'd trust my handiwork to a moving company.

2) I'm currently in Alexandria, VA -- is there anyone nearby in the National Capital Region that has a finished RV-10 that would be willing to give me the opportunity to fly in one?

Thanks so much for the help and the good advice that you all provide (hopefully some day I can provide my own advice as well...).

Greg
 
Can't help with the moving information...but do the math and jump in, the water if great!

Five hours a week.....

5 X 52..... 250 Hours a year.......8 years to build if you can do it in 2000 hrs

Ten hours a week

10 X 52........ 500 hours a year ......... 4 years


Now it took me ~2500 hrs and I farmed out the interior, panel and paint.

But.....once I started building I found it easy to find extra time....in the height of my airframe building I was doing 1-2 hours a night after work (11-12 hour work days) and 10 hours on Sat and Sun on good weeks. Once the major portions of the airframe were completed and I moved to the airport my build slowed down. But a lot of the work can be done in a garage....and sleep is overrated. :)

Good luck with your decision, hope you come join us.

Just a little more encouragment......leaving tomorrow more for a couple of days in Vegas, 350 miles in a little over two hours in the air. Considering travel time to SLC and the dreaded TSA, I will beat the airlines.....
 
Hi Greg

I'm retired USAF. I moved my project mid-way. I didn't plan it out as well as I should have. Keep everything marked...parts, supplies, tools. I was in a hurry to get out of the hangar and get set up again but kicked myself time and time again for rushing it. I'm sure in the long run it cost me more because I lost parts and material. You can make the build happen but your focus on inventory control and space orienentation is critical. I'm up in Maine with my flying RV-10. If you happpen to get up there I'm happy to get you a few hours in it. It flies easy and has no bad quirks that many other aircraft seem to have.

Bart
 
No Time Left After Build?

So if you start in your early 40's and finish up in 5-6 years, that puts you in the late 40's. Unless you're planning on cashing in early, seems you have a good 25+ years of flying the airplane once you're done.:D
 
Moving isn't a big deal. I moved my RV-10 and all the tools to the airport in a 26' rental truck. My gear weren't installed at the time, which made it a little easier. It just took six people to lift the entire fuselage (minus gear) and dolly on the truck. I moved about twenty miles, but I guess the length of the trip isn't a significant factor.

Register your builder number on Tim Olson's site (myrv10.com). Once registered, you'll have access to the majority of the RV-10 builders. You'll be able to see who may be close to you.

If you ever TDY to Wright-Patt, you're welcomed to see mine. There are also a couple flying in the area. I'm about 60 miles east in the Columbus area.
 
Go for it!

I'm USMC and have moved with my RV-10 three times, getting ready for a fourth next summer. Hopefully that'll be the last time I have to move it before it flies. Two of the moves were a couple hundred miles, one was coast-to-coast.

You can move it in a 26' truck, but it is fairly difficult to get it into the truck with the gear on. If you have the gear on, you have to angle it and get one wheel through the door opening at a time. I also got several large scrapes on the cabin top due to the roll-up door on the truck sliding down while we were manhandling the fuselage into the truck. If you want to move it in an enclosed truck, then I'd leave the gear off until you're sure you aren't moving it anymore. It'll also make it easier to work on the interior if it's lower to the ground when you're climbing into and out of it.

For the last move I purchased an 8.5'w X 18'l flatbed trailer. It was much easier to move the fuselage on the trailer and I still managed to fit quite a bit of additional "stuff" on there, although I did move the wings separately in an enclosed U-Haul.

I'd say go for it. Moving definitely adds time to the build, I'd figure on an extra couple weeks, if not a month at each end for packing things up and then unpacking on the other end.

P.S. Realtors hate me because the first thing I do when they show me a new house is take out a tape and measure the garage. If the garage doesn't fit the -10, then I don't bother going inside. Fortunately my wife understands...

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032
 
Thanks!

Thanks all for the good advice -- that definitely helps me understand how much extra work would be required to move an airplane. Looking forward to joining the ranks of RV-10 builders in the near future... :)
 
I too would indorce the "go for it" attitude. I had been dreaming about building a RV-10 for quite some time, but going to wait until my children were older and I had more time (currently 6 and 8). Finally decided that I should just go ahead and start the build now even if I would only be able to put 7-8 hr a week on it (figuring 1 hr a night after kids are in bed). Purchased the kit the end of febuary, and will have the tail done next week. Have been averaging 16 hrs a week somehow. Had planned on 7-8 yr build, but now think it might be 3.5-4 years. Wings are coming in 3 weeks!

Bill Thomasson
 
Greg,
It's tough but can be done. I retired from the AF in 2008 but started my kit in Sep 2006. Not 3 weeks after I placed my tail kit order, I received orders for Iraq. Caca happens. Anyway, there's 2 flying RV-10's (although one of those is permantly Oregon bound if he hasn't left already) with a 3rd that will fly any day now in EAA Chapter 186 at Manassas (KHEF). There's also 3 more (including mine) in various stages of contruction to add to a handful that are also flying/under construction in the DC Metro area and we're all here on VAF:

Chapter 186 RV-10s
Flying: Tim Lewis, Doug Nebert (may have already left for the West Coast)
Ready to Fly: Tim Nash
Building: John Trollin, Joe Wilbur, and myself

Others: Carl Froehlich (Stafford)

If you got some time on Saturday 25 Jun, drive out to Culpepper (KCJR) for our Chapter's Spring Fly-in and meet the guys.
 
Buy one thats already complete sounds like the best option for you.

If you still want to build, get someone else to help you build while you are busy, or buy one and help someone else build theirs.
 
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