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10-27-2011, 05:31 AM
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Utica, Ohio
Posts: 83
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Some thoughts on "perfection"
I am one of those guys that is not a perfectionist, and my airplane won't win any awards, but I wanted my airplane to be the best that I could build. When I was doing the final assembly I had a laser level and all that. Well, guess what, I found discrepancies almost everywhere I looked. 1/4" here, 1/2" there, and I obsessed over trying to get the thing perfect.
I have a twist in my left elevator such that with the leading edges of both elevators lined up with the leading edge of the HS the inboard trailing edge of the left elevator is 1-1/4" lower than the right one.
When I rigged the flaps I had to put a 1/2" joggle on the inboard end of the skin so it would sit flush with the fuselage, and the right flap doesn't.
I called the boys at Van's and they said "go fly". So with trepidation I did just that.
Well, guess what, my airplane flew hands off straight and level on the first flight. My point is, don't obsess over minor discrepancies in dimensions. As it has been said many times on this and other forums, these airplanes have been built by over 7,000 people, and I can promise you, every one has at least one thing the builder can point out that is not exactly the way he wanted it to turn out.
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Regards,
Merle
RV-4 N727MM Flying
Of all the things I ever lost, I miss my mind the most
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10-27-2011, 07:13 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Azle, TX
Posts: 352
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Thank You!
Being one of those CDO types (OCD, only arranged alphabetically) I get discouraged and will walk away from my project for days when things aren't perfect. I also know I don't have a great finesse for the finishing touches and there is a certain dread to that. Your encouragement means a lot. Thanks for thinking of others with your "confessions".
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Bill Grant, A&P
8KCAB, M20G
RV-4: Fuselage controls
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10-27-2011, 09:44 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Azle, TX
Posts: 352
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That having been said......
....when it comes to control surfaces, I would be meticulous and cautious in incremental flight test envelope expansion to explore flutter near or past NTE. Even dimensionally identical control surfaces can be improperly balanced, flutter and depart the airplane.
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Bill Grant, A&P
8KCAB, M20G
RV-4: Fuselage controls
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10-27-2011, 10:48 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: 57AZ - NW Tucson area
Posts: 10,011
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A friend bought a finished RV-3. The 1/2 inch plus twist in one aileron bugged him.
He built a new, straight aileron - din't notice any difference in handling or speed. It did look better though... 
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Gil Alexander
EAA Technical Counselor, Airframe Mechanic
Half completed RV-10 QB purchased
RV-6A N61GX - finally flying
Grumman Tiger N12GA - flying
La Cholla Airpark (57AZ) Tucson AZ
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10-29-2011, 11:36 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chesapeake VA 23320
Posts: 64
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Thanks your words mean a lot to me, I too have been OCD'ing over every detail with an eye on fast, its nice to lnow that those "little things that make my plane a true custom - one off" will not impact me as much as I thought they would, in the end, I think it will cost me a few kph, but thats what H.P. is for!
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J. Michael Phillips
Harmon Rocket II SN 509, tail done working on wings.
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10-29-2011, 12:10 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,685
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I Think you have to use some common sense
A variation in the location of a rivet in a pattern is trivial but for goodness sake don't let anybody tell you that rigging is not important. The people at Van's know the builders are not all the best sheet metal workers in the world and they cut some slack on perfection. How much error you want to allow in the rigging of you creation is on you - not them. They know it will fly and if that satisfies your performance needs everybody is happy. On my airplane everything is rigged to the canopy deck reference plane and the central vertical perpendicular axis.
Bob Axsom
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10-29-2011, 12:16 PM
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Senior Curmudgeon
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Dayton Airpark, NV A34
Posts: 15,420
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I never try to attain perfection, it just leaves so little room for improvement.
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Mike Starkey
VAF 909
Rv-10, N210LM.
Flying as of 12/4/2010
Phase 1 done, 2/4/2011 
Sold after 240+ wonderful hours of flight.
"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."
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10-29-2011, 02:34 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Posts: 94
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Somewhere during my 35+ years aerospace career, I heard the phrase " Perfection is the enemy of ...". Since my memory failed on the rest of the quote, I resorted to my best friend, Google, which led me to this: http://brandandmarket.com/perfection...of-excellence/ . To which I heartily concur. 
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10-29-2011, 03:22 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,685
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OK
This is an attitude matter I quess not a technical one as I had originally thought. Sorry for the confusion on my part.
Bob Axsom
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11-22-2011, 11:09 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 97
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"Better is the Enemy of Good Enough"
Couldn't agree more !!
Work out what is a sound and tidy level of workmanship and dont try to make things perfect. It inevitably winds up making the finished job worse as well as being scandalously time consuming.
The quote "Better is the Enemy of Good Enough" is worth a google BTW - learn a bit about Soviet Naval history :-)
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