build time

[ditch]

I'm not keeping track of a single hour. It takes what It takes. I'll keep track of the years though. I actually have no interest in knowing how long it takes me, in terms of hours. I've made a mental note that the empenage took me 5 weeks, who knows how many hours, and when the wings are done, hopefully I can say I got them done over the winter. Thats good enough for me. My goal is to have it flying and paid for in 6-7 years.

[Chappyd]

I'm with Ditch on this one...........When it's done I'll have a plane that took a lot of time to build I started keeping track of the hours in the beginning, but that didn't last very long, about 40 or so hours. I have a pad of lined paper in the shop, and every time I leave the shop I record the date and what I did. I'm burnin thru that pad. I also refuse to keep track of the $ spent. I have a rough idea, and that's scary enough. I know I'll probably need another $50K to finish, and that's with all my kits and tools paid for. I save all I can, but when it's time for the engine/prop, I'll probably break down and visit the bank. $30K for an engine and prop, $20K for radios and instruments.

Where there's a will there's a way.

[Jim Sinkbeil]

I took 3500+ on my 7A (3 years) & 4000+ in 18 months on our 10. Two of us on the 10, so that is a combined time. We are old, slow, & kinda picky. Lots of study & phone time not included. The old saw " Everthing costs more, weighs more, & takes longer than you thot " is a truism.
That being said, for us, WELL worth the effort !!
Really love how my 7 flys, the 10 is great....... for a trash hauler.
Cheers, Jim

[Blaine Asay]

My observation is that more hours doesn't necessarily mean higher quality, so I must disagree with Capt. Avgas. It is true that quality takes time, but I believe that the other comments have pretty much hit on the answer to the reasons for the variability. From what I've been able to determine, one can expect from 1400 hours on up for a QB, and 2000 and up for non QB. I still think that a survey would be of interest, if it were possible to capture a large-enough sample.

[N941WR]

My slow build -9 took more than 2,700 hours over 4 years & 2 months. That is without paint and I'm still working on the fairings.

This was my first build and I did change some things and made & fixed a lot of mistakes.

The 2,700 hours does not include the time people helped me. Thus if Nora and I both spent four hours riveting, I counted it as four hours not eight.

There were things that I re-did because I wasn't happy with the way they came out. It also includes time I spent working on the engine, designing the electrical system, and installing a non-standard Lycoming O-290-D2.

Just remember, if you want to build fast, just follow the manual and don't add any options or "improvements".

One other thing, tip-up tail draggers, like mine, are supposed to be easier to build than "A" sliders.

[pmccoy]

Hours to date: 1048
Horizontal Stabilizer - 82.75
Vertical Stabilizer - 22
Rudder - 47
Elevators - 73
Wing Spar & Ribs - 71
Wing Top Skin - 101.25
Wing Top Skin & Aileron - 112
Wing Flaps & Final Assembly - 85
Fuselage Bulkheads - 107.5
Fuselage Tail Skin - 169.5
Fuselage Side Skins & Canoe - 106
Fuselage Part 4 - 29

My log time for a slow build 9A. I log hours in the garage working. This would include scratching my head, as I read plans. I am expecting to go well over 2000 hours in the end.

[szicree]

The single biggest factor in determining the time it takes is whether you've done it before. Anybody who's built a set of slow build wings will back me up on this -- the second one takes a fraction of the time. As far as how long I've been working, I gave up counting around 1400 hours. In hindsight, I feel that logging the hours was a total waste of energy. If I ever build again, I'll simply hang a calendar in the shop and write what I did on the day I did it. Wait, did I say calendar? Make that calendars.

[Captain Avgas]

Originally Posted by Blaine Asay

My observation is that more hours doesn't necessarily mean higher quality, so I must disagree with Capt. Avgas.

OK, I apologise for my mistake. The FASTER you build your RV the better quality it will be.

But the funny thing is that whenever I chat to an RV builder who has actually won a major award for his plane I discover, without exception, that it has taken him a huge number of hours to complete. Like I said...funny about that.

[MNRVFlyer]

Hi,

I would have to come down on the side of experience being the bigger factor. I'm fortunate to have one of the most experienced RV builders to answer any questions I have. I can honestly say that there have been several times when I could not figure out exactly what the plans were telling me and he cleared it up in a minute. For me (not everyone) indecision is the time killer. I think/hope I will have a lower total time with very good build quality combined.

[TX7A]

"...glassing/filling all the gaps in the emp tips"

slightly o-t, but I saw that you used deck cloth on the HS tip seams.

How's that holding-up? Any cracks develop?

Thanks,