RV-10 build

[Kregbum]

I?m thinking of starting an RV-10 build next year after finishing my ATP. I assisted in changing the IO-550 in my 182 several years ago and that really gave me the confidence. I have gotten to the point that getting a mechanic for every minor issue has become annoying. I still plan on keeping my 182 during the build since my wife likes it for traveling. I work on power plants as a engineer so deal with mechanical and electrical stuff all day.

I?m amazed at the options that are available. My first question when looking at the pics was where are all the breakers on the panel and learned about ECB. I?m thinking mostly simple safety options and AC for South Louisiana. I?m sort of dreading the 5 hours on pipeline patrol today with no AC. My wife is interested in picking out a nice interior and the paint colors.

We go to the beach and dive, so planning on a full interior priming effort. I?m curious if experimental aircraft have any limitations going to Mexico or Belize. I know about eAPIS, customs, etc.. from flying internationally before.

My estimate is the plane will run into the low 200 AMU after avionics, engine, etc. When looking at controller, I?m concerned about all of the planes for sale with less than 300 hours. I think one had 1200 hours, but that was an outlier. Do people just like the build instead of actually flying? I?m planning to fly the wings off my plane.

I?m president of my local EAA chapter and my other fear is never finishing. We have a few people in our chapter that have a planes in process that I don?t think will ever fly. Most people do finish and know they would be more than willing to lend a hand.

I?m sure there will be many more questions as I head down this road. I?ve been impressed by the posts on this board and really enjoyed reading about the great ideas people use on their planes.

[BrianDC]

Welcome to VAF.

Sounds like you have already done some good research on the -10 and have an idea of what you want out of it.

I'm with you and planning on flying it as long as I can. I can't speak for the aircraft you see on controller, but could be serial builders or the economy. The 10 seems to be a fairly in demand plane and your budget seems about in the right ballpark.

Don't think anyone can provide insight if you'll finish or not. This is my first project of this size, and I'm just about done with the fuse and don't plan to quit. It can be done, but all depends on your personality and commitment. Good luck!

[Wes H]

I totally agree with Brian. Commitment is everything as it is a very large and time consuming project. I'm fortunate to have my build shop right around the corner from where I work. I leave almost every day around 1:00pm and spend 4-5 hours building, this makes it seem like a normal day at work to my family and I learned early on that spending every night on it until 9:00pm was NOT going to work for my Wife and kids and quite frankly, I didn't like it either. The family MUST be on board with it. I also fly a 182RG and although a bit slower than the -10, it's similarly capable and a joy to fly. My reason for building is simply to experience the build. It's is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done. I love every minute of it. I have no intention of ever selling it but it is addicting so I most certainly will have build #2 sitting next to my -10 at some point (gotta have a "play" plane too)

[rocketman1988]

A data point...

I have about 2650+ hours in my build, so far, and am still not flying. Hope to move to the hangar next month.

Low $200 is doable but if you are planning AC, full IFR, full interior, new engine/prop, custom paint, and other nice things, the costs add up quick!

Not sure what the AC costs as I do not have it but I can tell you the my engine was 54k, prop 15k, full Garmin G3x suite 45k, interior will end up around 8k, and a custom paint job can be around 20k...then add the price of the kit...

When looking at build time, you must take into account family time, lest you end up with a nice 4 place airplane and no-one to share it with...and family time will increase the build time.

My only regret is that I did not start the build sooner...

[flion]

Welcome to VAF and you've already gotten some good words. Building is an adventure and some of us enjoy that as much or more than flying. On the other hand, I am finding maintenance to be less thrilling than either. You may see some aircraft being sold because the builder found that maintaining an aircraft was not his cup-o-tea.

My RV-10 build has all the bells and whistles, including ECB, but I would caution you about bleeding-edge tech in your aircraft. I teach computer science and informatics (though that may be on hold thanks to the pandemic) and love working with new tech. But I am replacing the panel in my RV-6A because the Blue Mountain EFIS, amazing tech at the time, became orphaned about a year after I started flying. It was still working, without updates, but I decided to upgrade to a G3X touch at the same time as adding ADSB.

Similarly, my RV-10 had VP-200 ECB systems and G900X. The former became orphaned when the company was sold to another firm, so the panel was reworked for VP-X systems from the new company (which, incidentally, added two new EFIS panels to support it because the G900X does not). The G900X is also pretty old at this point and there are newer solutions.

One thing about newer equipment - it is usually not just a matter of dropping in the replacement, like you could with aircraft radios and such. Upgrading usually means a complete panel rebuild and rewiring job. So, if your mission is to have a plane flying for years without constantly fiddling with upgrades, choose your equipment carefully and don't forget that there will be a gap between when you receive your equipment and when it is actually installed and flying, shortening its useful life.

[Plummit]

[quote=flion;The G900X is also pretty old at this point and there are newer solutions.
[/QUOTE]

Shhhh! The G-900X still does everything needed for IFR flight, but honestly, I don't see why Gamin discontinued upgrades when the G-1000 is still being used and upgraded in Certified aircraft.

-Marc

[Kregbum]

Originally Posted by rocketman1988

A data point...
Not sure what the AC costs as I do not have it but I can tell you the my engine was 54k, prop 15k, full Garmin G3x suite 45k, interior will end up around 8k, and a custom paint job can be around 20k...then add the price of the kit...

Yep, I understand that I might be a little low, but plan on explaining it as "inflation" . Spacing out everything over time will really help the cost, and I'll sell my plane on the home stretch. AC is about 10 grand with taxes from airflow systems.

Thanks for the other words of advice on technology and don't want to be out dated on the technology front. My 182 has 430W, GPSS steering, and 345 transponder, which is everything I need. However, I look at those RV-10 panel pics that look like a Best Buy and get jealous.

My 13 year old daughter loves legos, and showed some interest looking at the plans since similar. She also has really tiny arms that come in handy when working on my 182. I'm hoping the family gets into it a little bit and we can spend some time together.

[BobTurner]

No one answered your question about border crossings. While I have personally not taken my -10 out of the US, others have, with apparently no more than the usual beauracracy. Did they pay for an FCC license? I don?t know. I also formerly owned a 182, so I can make some comparisons. My -10 seems to be one of the lighter ones (no air conditioning). My full fuel cabin load is a little more than the full fuel cabin load in the 182, and the -10?s range is a bit more (I usually cruise LOP@160KTAS, on a bit less than 10 gal/hr). Of course the 10 is faster, even at these fuel flows. The -10 will do 174 KTAS but it really cuts into the range, requiring 13-14 gal/hr. When it comes to handling, it?s night and day. The 182 can only be described as ponderous on the controls, like driving a truck. Of course, that makes it a great instrument platform. The 10 is light and responsive vfr, a joy to fly. IFR, it demands a lot more attention than a 182, so it can be tiring (but certainly doable). Fortunately, there are some great autopilots available, from $3K for a stand-alone unit, to $2K for one that gets its attitude data from the EFIS. Which you choose depends on your feelings about redundancy and back ups. Coming from a 1976 ARC 300A one axis autopilot to a modern, Trio Pro two axis unit is like night and day, no comparison. Whatever you choose, good luck.
One comment: As I?m sure you know, no EAB (experimental amateur built) aircraft can be used for compensation, like powerline patrol.

[awmuhs]

I fly my RV10 from Tucson to Guaymas, Mexico about once a month.

Experimentals are treated the same as Factory airplanes. As long as you have all your paper work in order you will not have problems.

Good luck with your decisions.

[APenner]

I have flown my RV10 into both Mexico and Belize twice and was never treated any different than a certified plane in either country. The same was true for other Caribbean and Central American countries. Enjoy the trip.