Whole kit or piece-meal?

[David Paule]

Given your wife's opposition, it seems to me that there are a couple alternatives. The first is to somehow get her to change her mind so that she's enthusiastic (willing isn't enough) about it. The second, and the one I'd recommend, is to forget about it.

Frankly, given the total cost of the project, it doesn't matter whether the parts are shipped together or separately. It's small potatoes.

Storage space is very important. Don't forget that your wife's car needs some garage space too, and that has priority. If you have a shop full of QB parts while you're building a tail, you'll both be inconvenienced. And storing a QB fuselage while you're working on the QB wings is still going to be a hit.

Perhaps it would be worth considering an older certified airplane for now. See if the family really will go on trips with you. If they will, then you're building the case for the eventual Beechcraft. If not, then you're building the case for the RV. Older 182s aren't that expensive, they hold their value, such as it is, and they have acceptable performance.

Dave

[RyanS]

You need to listen to your wife on this one.

Go find a good used RV-4 or RV-8 to get into an RV. Spend your spare time flying & maintaining rather than building.

If you do decide to build, just buy the tail kit and see how it goes.

[Navy_flyer]

Thanks all. I think I have my answer, generally. If anything, the shipping costs are a drop in the bucket and not worth saving over buying a tail kit to see if this is even feasible or if I'll end up with a kit I'll never finish. I am a driven SOB, so no matter how long it takes me, I do finish what I start. So at the very least, I think we'll look to buy something now, buy a tail kit and see how the shop time works into family time (or not), and if it works, I'll buy the rest of the kits down the line (once I finish the tail) and have more space/money to do the rest. I appreciate all the honest feedback!

[burrm]

I had similar concerns and decided to take an even smaller first step. I started with the practice kits (toolbox and aileron) which allowed me to acquire both tools and some skill at a low investment.

Then I ordered the plans on the USB stick ($10) and studied those hard. I made a list of the parts that I needed just to build the first part (vertical stabilizer), and ordered just those from the Van's website.

After I mostly finished the VS, I did the same thing and ordered enough parts for the rudder, and then finally pulled the trigger on the whole emp kit while at Oshkosh. Van's let me exclude the parts that I already had from the order and not pay for those twice.

As others have pointed out, you'll pay more in shipping this way, but to me it was worth it to keep the commitment and investment low upfront while I "got my feet wet"-- and it gave me an exit ramp in case I decided that I hated it, didn't have the time or family support etc. etc..

In my case it worked out, but everyone is different.

[9GT]

You have everything going against you, especially by having an non-supporting spouse. The time and financial commitment to build a $100,000 + airplane can easily break the family.

[Discus2b]

Originally Posted by BobTurner

Sorry, my honest opinion. If you are working 40 hours a week and want to finish in 5 years, there will be little time left for wife and kids. If the kids are young, you will need to watch them carefully if they help build. It will take even longer. If they?re older, they?ll likely lose interest. If the wife is seriously opposed, you get to choose: build an airplane, or stay married.

X 1000

Your life away as an airline pilot plus military!?
Your kids are older most likely and have their life....
Wife ain?t on board...
You?ll end up losing everything except the broken rivet squeezer...and have to still make mortgage payments.

R

[snopercod]

There is a lot of hard truth in this thread.

[blucllrplt]

My wife is supportive and helps with Cleco pulling, match drilling and dimpling and there are times when I want to work on the kit and she wants to have an evening with me.

Also as I?m not wealthy we?ve had to economize on some disposable income items to keep the project on track. If your wife is not 110% on board with the commitment it will not be an enjoyable time when you want to buy items for the airplane and she wants a bathroom remodel (I have first hand knowledge on this one)

[upperdeck]

My experience was a positive one! My wife was somewhere in the middle. She was supportive but a bit antagonistic when she saw the bills. So she just didn't see many of those! She would help when I really needed her little hands but I really had to make the shop/garage comfortable for her.

I had kids and foreign exchange students during my build, but it was mostly a solo effort along with help from my father. I have their signatures all over the interior of my airplane, behind access panels, inside wings, etc. Makes me smile every time I spot one when inspecting this or that and they're quite proud that they helped build a plane!

Also, my work schedule had me off of work during the week when the kids and wife were at school/work giving me big chunks of time where I wasn't missing out on family stuff.

That said, my financial situation mandated that I slow built one kit at a time. I'm glad I went that route.

It was an enjoyable 6 years to build my RV7 and I'd do it all the same if I were to do it all over again.