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  #91  
Old 06-28-2011, 09:42 PM
cropdusterdave cropdusterdave is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Fargo, ND
Posts: 146
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If I couldn't find ways to do things more inexpensively (or is it less expensively...or more cheaply?) I just don't think that I'd have much fun building this thing. Sort of a "beating the system" kind of thing. I could spend a bunch of money on it I suppose...but it's just not what blows my skirt up.....
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  #92  
Old 10-21-2011, 08:36 PM
649PF 649PF is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Sandwich, MA
Posts: 28
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I'm only on the wings of my RV-10 and I've already lost!!!
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  #93  
Old 10-21-2011, 08:50 PM
Jetlinkin Jetlinkin is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: El Paso, TX
Posts: 43
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We built our 4 for about $20,000
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  #94  
Old 10-22-2011, 12:34 AM
TomRV8 TomRV8 is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 84
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Finished my RV-4 in 1988...plans #44...and serial #44. Appropriate!

Pre first flight inspection by Bob Brashear and Noah McCullough.

Won Grand Champion at the EAA Southwest Regional Fly In back in the dark ages when it was in Kerrville TX.

Total cost was just a tad under 20k. The plane now has about 1400 hours.

Since 1988...One new mag, and the other mag I rebuilt once; one alternator brush and bearing replacement; lower motor mounts replaced with new beefed up version. Hmm, that's about it...

What a great design, and I still enjoy every minute I fly it. We're both growing way too old together...

Tom Chapman
San Antonio
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  #95  
Old 10-22-2011, 05:19 AM
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panhandler1956 panhandler1956 is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,686
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomRV8 View Post
Finished my RV-4 in 1988...plans #44...and serial #44. Appropriate!

Pre first flight inspection by Bob Brashear and Noah McCullough.

Won Grand Champion at the EAA Southwest Regional Fly In back in the dark ages when it was in Kerrville TX.

Total cost was just a tad under 20k. The plane now has about 1400 hours.

Since 1988...One new mag, and the other mag I rebuilt once; one alternator brush and bearing replacement; lower motor mounts replaced with new beefed up version. Hmm, that's about it...

What a great design, and I still enjoy every minute I fly it. We're both growing way too old together...

Tom Chapman
San Antonio
That is very cool!
On my home airport is S/N#2 RV-6. The owner Jim Baldwin built it and has flown it over 20 yrs and thousands of hours and it looks great! I had the pleasure of flying it prior to my 1st test flight and it flies great too! Van definitely has it figured out.
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  #96  
Old 10-22-2011, 05:57 AM
Captain Avgas Captain Avgas is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomRV8 View Post
Finished my RV-4 in 1988...plans #44...and serial #44. Appropriate!

Total cost was just a tad under 20k.Tom Chapman
San Antonio
In 1803 Thomas Jefferson virtually doubled the size of the then United States with the $15 million Louisiana Purchase. That would scarcely buy a decent Hollywood Hills mansion today. It's amazing how monetary inflation works over time to devalue the dollar.

Personally I'm still waiting for the thread on the "most expensive RV contest".
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Last edited by Captain Avgas : 10-22-2011 at 06:23 AM.
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  #97  
Old 10-22-2011, 08:25 PM
Paul Thomas Paul Thomas is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Posts: 483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Avgas View Post
Personally I'm still waiting for the thread on the "most expensive RV contest".
I know a strong contender, if he's not the winner; thankfully, I'm not in the runnings. Although, being in the running wouldn't be such a bad things as it would mean I have a bit of disposable income.
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  #98  
Old 10-23-2011, 06:08 AM
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woodmanrog woodmanrog is offline
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 774
Default From another point of view

First off, those who shop carefully and take thier time building in order to save some bucks get all of my respect. I personally just don't have the years left in me to build so I have only purchased prebuilt (3) RV's.
My wife and I sold a partially built Lancair kit for a ridiculous $13K. We would have liked to get more but we deciced that it should go to someone who would appreciate a great deal and would finish out the build. We watched the plane come together over a period of 3 years. The builder did a fantastic job and ended up with a completed airplane for around $50K with a new engine, constant speed prop, and IFR instrumentation. Just great planning and patience.
Woodman
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  #99  
Old 10-23-2011, 08:18 AM
Captain Avgas Captain Avgas is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,868
Default How to build a REALLY low cost RV.

Here's my take on how to build a really low cost aircraft and win the coveted award for "cheapest RV".

1. Extensively use second hand componenty. The only downside being that on getting airborne you move straight from the expensive build stage to the expensive repair stage.

2. Don't bother painting the aircraft. Just pretend it's completed when in fact it's not.

3. Refuse to add the cost of all tools needed to fabricate (and eventually maintain) the aircraft into the final summation (that alone will save a bundle!).

4. Keep no accurate records of the cost of all actual purchases and just guess a figure at the end of the build. The final figure will in all likelihood be way under but, hey, no-one's checking on you.

5. Leave out all of the basic safety equipment that one would expect to find in a certificated aircraft (with luck you'll probably never need that Halon fire extinguisher anyway).

6. Assume that anything that is not riveted to the aircraft is not a real building cost (that'll get rid of building insurance, transportation costs to an airfield, and hangar rental for final assembly....to name but a few possible items).

7. Quote your build cost in 1980s dollars (big savings there!).

8. Under no circumstances replace componentry damaged during the fabrication process. Just rigidly adopt the popular "bog it up and build on" philosophy.

9. And if all of the above steps fail to produce the savings required, just convince yourself that the final cost of building the aircraft is the fictitious figure you've been spinning to your wife (has the additional benefit of alleviating guilt) .

Readers of this thread may be able to think of other neat ways to "reduce" actual build costs.
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Last edited by Captain Avgas : 10-23-2011 at 08:53 PM.
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  #100  
Old 10-23-2011, 11:12 PM
Jon Clements Jon Clements is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Richmond, Victoria, Australia.
Posts: 184
Default Cheapest...?

Hi Bob

You forgot point 10: There can never be a "cheapest" RV.....only the "least expensive" RV.....?



Cheers,

Jon.
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