Dream Killer or Dream Plane

[Brantel]

It can be done but it will take a while in calendar time. Things can change drastically in 10 or more years of time. Think about how this might impact your situation.

If I had waited till everything was perfect before building, I would not have a completed RV7 nor would I be building a RV10.

[BrianDC]

Originally Posted by echozulu

I found Brian and Brandi's spreadsheet to be very helpful:
https://www.n42bu.com/post/2012/02/0...t-Planner.aspx

I also found this spreadsheet by Brian and Brandi quite helpful. Costs need to be updated and things will always take longer than you think!
10 vs 7 (or 14) is only something you can decide. I'm glad I went with the 10, even when I get my monthly reminder e-mails from myflightbook telling me I only flew 7 hours so far this year.

As other has said, this is a big commitment both in time and finances. You and your girlfriend will have to discuss this as well as longer term commitments. How much of your "disposable" income do you want to commit to this. Any habits you plan on changing (used vs new car, less eating out, paying down debt, stop flying rental aircraft, etc).

Looks like you are trying to think it through and going about things the right way.

[iwannarv]

Pretty similar situation, and things do/can/will change in life. When I started my -10 I had a great amount of spare income which went into an airplane fund, the cash flow plan looked like it was going to pencil out just fine and the kit got ordered. Exactly 1 year later I had an unexpected new career opportunity come up and I accepted it, but with that came a lower income and a 3x cost of housing increase. I'm now scratching my head unsure if this will work. No debt except the house, wife has a nice car, and I'm happy to keep driving my $6k Toyota in trade for airplane parts. While we don't have a big house or new cars my wife and I have a bigger picture view of what family life and adventures (hopefully) will look like for us. Sometimes it is hard to stay focused on that when frustrations come up and an expensive something needs replaced.

What I'm looking at now: I'm riveting my tailcone together, QB wings are bought/delivered, and the fuselage kit is bought/with an RV building friend having some work done to it while I work through the wings. I have lots of work ahead of me before I need to buy big things again (years), by then I'll have some savings for a finishing kit and maybe avionics. But I'm accepting now that the FWF will most likely be financed, which I really didn't want to do. I feel like while the total bill is huge, I have a good start at it.

Point is, my situation has changed majorly in the last 1-2 years. But, it could change all over again, good or bad, in the next few years as well. I'll just keep my head down, pound rivets, and try to live frugally till I hopefully look up and there's an airplane I built ready for its first flight. It is hard to vision that when finances get tight, I hop online, and budget-less RV builds are being completed on a growing basis. My best advice is be smart, get disciplined, put your family first, and keep your dream in sight. I've told myself if I ever have to bail on the project someday I'll just trade it for a Cherokee 180 and fly the **** out of it!

[Strasnuts]

After I pulled the trigger I wondered why I hadn't done it sooner. I always tell others if you are interested in building a plane buy the first piece now! When I purchased mine I was apprehensive of the cost. During the build I found ways to pay for each piece as I ordered them while saving for the engine and avionics. For me motivation to make more money came with the build and the dream of having my own RV10. I built a slow build RV10 in 25 months, fortunately I had a great work schedule.
The ten is a great airplane. We don't have kids but my wife and I have many DINK friends....Double Income No Kids. I find I have more than two people in the plane on our pleasure trips and if it's just my wife and I, we usually have our golden retriever with us. It also nicely fits two mountain bikes in the back with the rear seats removed. I also fly it alone when I take it for my work commute. It's pretty good on fuel use.

DO IT!

[mciaglia]

I have read all the other posts and agree with everyone on here.
Buying/building a plane is such a luxury. If you have to ask for validation from a community of pilots, I think you already know the answer and are just looking for validation.

Can it be done. YES
Should it be done. That is for you to decide. Take a hard look at your finances and understand the cost of building / buying and ultimately ownership is a number YOU have to be comfortable with.

Some people change their lives to accommodate having an airplane. That's their choice.

I did not want to change so many things that I began to resent the airplane I'm trying to build/afford. I still have a family that wants to go on vacations and you have a girlfriend who probably might expect some normalcy of life (unless she is a complete airplane nut like all of us..then marry her ASAP). I like nice cars and dinners out and other frivolous things. Some might say.."yeah he's a doctor no big deal fro him." But the more you make the more you end up spending. One wise surgeon told me..if you earned $1,000,000 but spent it all then you made nothing. It took me almost 2-3 years before committing because I know I wanted to build the plane I wanted, not the one I could afford.

These planes are liabilities not assets on your financial portfolio. They will continue to take money to upkeep and use and there is a low probability of getting 100% of your investment back if you sell.

Not trying to be negative, but trying to be realistic.

[Dorfie]

It is worth looking at the Sling 4 TSI if you want a 4 seater. There was a good test flight report in Kit Planes about 3-5 months ago. Worth reading. Also comparison on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPTGHqZlbBo
I have a 10 and I think it is the best kit built single piston plane on the planet!!
Johan

[dworley]

Well I first want to start out by thanking everyone who took the time to read my thread and respond. This is one reason why I reached out to the RV community because so far everyone has been very informative and helpful. I?m going to try my best to answer everyone?s post in this one.

It is a large financial responsibility, but we both have talked very seriously about it and crunched a lot of numbers. She loves aviation and wants both of us to have a plane we can love and enjoy until hopefully I can?t fly anymore. Our original plan with the RV-7 was to purchase the kit pieces one step at a time. We had it figured out how much we could set a side a month to then pay cash for the next portion. This was roughly a 3-5 year plan depending on how much I could work on it. By the end of that phase we would have a paid for plane and would finance an engine and avionics and do the paint ourself. That being said we made sure when crunching numbers that we had plenty of money sat aside each month for date night, retirement, medical expenses, the occasional aircraft rental, and etc.

When the idea of the RV-10 came from her the idea of the added expense scared me at first. Part of the reason I started this thread so I made sure I had a bit of a reality check before pulling the trigger. You all have been great on giving me pros, cons, and other options. We thought it would be best to watch our finances for the next year or two and in that time we will have all of our debt paid off minus one car and our house payment. I believe then we could do the same plan as the RV-7 and only owe on a new motor and basic IFR panel.

I have looked into other brands and model aircraft but a Van?s RV has always been my dream plane, the builder/owner community is AMAZING, the quality of the product, and what looks to be a more streamlined build process is what made my decision to go with them. Plus I?ve had some stick time in various models and helped other builders on theirs. I did look back at my logbook and noticed the only time I fly alone is if it?s in relation to instrument time I?m working on or when I?m going up to stay current. Other than that I always have 1-2 passengers with me. That being said and the future of a kid has made me understand a 4 seater makes a lot more sense than a 2 seater. I just remember growing up and my dad having to decide on who goes to Oshkosh or vacation this year. He hated to drive and would only fly. I think being to take friends or family instead of making that tough decision is priceless.

Also, thank you for the spreadsheet! I will be checking that out and hopefully using it. I?ve always been a planner and sometimes my planning to the point that I wanted things perfect lead to me never being able to commit to things. I believe this is something like a couple of you have said that when it makes sense and I think I can do it just pull the trigger and order the first piece.

I?m still in the process of acquiring tools, getting the build area ready, and saving money for the next year or two before I jump in head first. In the mean time I will most likely being bugging you all with questions and following your builds or threads to learn as much as possible! Thank you again!

[Kyle Boatright]

Originally Posted by dworley

Well I first want to start out by thanking everyone who took the time to read my thread and respond.

If you're really interested in building an RV-10, start today by going into RV-10 financial mode for a year or so and just put the money (every cent you can spare) somewhere safe. See what kind of nest egg you can build over that time and how much it strains the budget. Then extrapolate and consider how long it will take you to pay for the project at that savings rate.

That will give you a good indication of how this fits your budget and will also give you a nest egg to use in buying the first several kits. One thing to remember is these projects are extremely backloaded in terms of cost. Firewall forward is $65k. Your panel will easily be $15k, probably more, and paint is likely to cost $10K plus or minus.

If you're truly serious, you should look for good deals on used tools and maybe a tail kit. Even if you turn around and sell them later, you should recoup the cost. The farther into the project you go, however, the harder it'll be to get your money back out of it until after it has flown.

For instance, if I tried to sell my (nearly complete) -10 project right now, it would probably bring $0.80 on the dollar for my investment. In a few months, after it flies, I'm guessing it would bring $1.20 on the invested dollar.

[David Paule]

Thinking of some friends of mine who are building an RV-10. They had plans for a family, and sure enough, the first one gets to see the project in the shop. Might be worth having that discussion too, with your girlfriend.

Dave

[rvator10]

Guys where did Van hide his build estimator on the new web site
His estimator was pretty good for a budget build estimate.