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  #11  
Old 05-22-2015, 02:51 PM
wirejock's Avatar
wirejock wirejock is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Estes Park, CO
Posts: 3,947
Default Advise

I think you got great advise already.
I agree, have a serious discussion with Mrs.
If the decision is to build, then start the shop and empennage. Every hour is one closer to finishing.
As one who built a stored empennage (stored in Austin, TX for 2 in his hangar then 3 in my garage) the skins form surface corrosion where vinyl lifts from the edges. It wasn't bad but gets worse left entreated.
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Larry Larson
Estes Park, CO
http://wirejockrv7a.blogspot.com
wirejock at yahoo dot com
Donated 12/03/2019, plus a little extra.
RV-7A #73391, N511RV reserved (2,000+ hours)
HS SB, empennage, tanks, wings, fuse, working finishing kit
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I cannot be, nor will I be, held responsible if you try to do the same things I do and it does not work and/or causes you loss, injury, or even death in the process.
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  #12  
Old 05-22-2015, 03:28 PM
ReidVaitor ReidVaitor is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 174
Default Come up with mission statement

Mike covered this really well.
My thoughts.. I built the -10 in 4.5 years. I have two daughters (7-11yo), I worked and never missed a day with my children and never put the project first. I waited 7 years before I started building.
2 years before I started the -10, I made a mission statement I gave to my wife- it states why I wanted to build a plane, the financial obligations needed, the time I would spend on it and how it would benefit my family. In my case she bought the kit for me before I even thought we were ready. She gave up much, now I take her all over the country and do things we never thought we could. She knew what she was signing up for, she supported me throughout the project and never was angry as she knew what we agreed on
In a nutshell- make sure the desire to build is something you will be able to see to completion. Dont buy a 4 seater if no one in the family is interested in the idea due to not understanding why vacations and other obligations are being spent on the project.
Take this for whatever its worth... the plane can wait but your child shouldnt wait for dad to be there for them as a child, build your child in the ways it should go first, if you find there is time to spare start the project.
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  #13  
Old 05-22-2015, 09:55 PM
mciaglia mciaglia is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Posts: 179
Default

Thanks for all the great advice. My family is always first. My 4 yo daughter is my number one. With my little guy on the way I guess I am trying to recreate what I with my dad. We built a christen eagle (I still fly it) began when I was 4 and finished when I was 10. Guess I will take all the advice and wait till the time is right
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  #14  
Old 05-23-2015, 10:05 AM
rocketman1988 rocketman1988 is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Sunman, IN
Posts: 2,189
Default Good plan

That is a great plan, however, you may find that if you are waiting for the "perfect" time, you will NEVER even start.

Building an airplane is kind of like having a kid. There is NEVER a perfect time for it, and if you do the math on what children cost to raise ahead of time, you might not start that either.

YES, family is first and foremost but if you think for a moment that the will be any "spare" time while raising them, you are mistaken. ALL of your time will be spent raising them. Get them involved and make it a family project! Then you get to build the plane, be with your family, and they get to learn lots of things that they otherwise would not.

That being said, I wish that I would have started building about 5 years earlier than I did. By the time my -10 is finished, I will be using it to visit the kids at college and wherever they end up. Would have been better to finish as they were starting high school so we could have enjoyed it as a family more.

Plan it out, talk about it with your significant other, and pull the trigger. The worst case scenario is that you decide it is not going to work, you list it here, and call it an education...
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Aerospace Engineer '88

RV-10
Structure - 90% Done
Cabin Top - Aaarrghhh...
EFII System 32 - Done
297 HP Barrett Hung
ShowPlanes Cowl with Skybolts Fitted - Beautiful
Wiring...

Dues+ Paid 2019,...Thanks DR+

Last edited by rocketman1988 : 05-23-2015 at 10:13 AM. Reason: addition
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  #15  
Old 05-24-2015, 05:16 AM
GTWreck GTWreck is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Locust Grove, GA
Posts: 97
Default Building with little kids

I purchased my tail kit the first week the RV-10 was available at OSH in 2003. At the time, I had a newborn girl. Whenever she'd go down for a nap, I'd try to sneak in an hour in the shop. A couple years later, we were blessed with a baby boy. Between work, kids, and life in general, there'd be stretches of lots of building activity and then months of not touching it at all.

In the end, it took me 11 years to finish. In all that time, corrosion was never a problem (even for parts that had the blue plastic on them for years), and I live in a fairly humid location. Building a plane is all about momentum. If you can keep it going, just a little bit each day, you'll get there.

I concur with the recommendations, get your shop ready and go ahead with building the tail kit. After that, evaluate your progress and pace, and decide whether a QB kit is right for you. I wish I'd gone the QB route now. At the beginning, I thought that money would be the limiting factor and time would be a non-issue. I got that backwards.
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RV-10 (2015 Bronze Lindy)
RV-6A (sold)
Home Field: Mallards Landing (GA04)
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