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Build fuselage before empennage?

bmellis11

Well Known Member
Sponsor
I have placed my order for the RV-8 empennage kit, but the lead time is 5 months. I am going with the SB fuselage and QB wings. I may be able to get the fuselage kit much sooner than the empennage kit. Would it be crazy to start building the fuselage before the empennage so I don't have to lose many months waiting for the empennage kit? By the way, I am a first time builder, but I'm going to take a building class and work on a few training projects to get my technique down.
 
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It’s not a crazy idea, but the advantage of learning on the tail kit is a mistake won’t be as painful if you make a major mistake. If you have total confidence after the workshop then go for it!
 
as Rick said, it's not crazy. but it isn't super cool too. Vans wants you to build the tail first for a reason. but you could start with deburring all the fuselage parts like bulkheads, seat ribs and the zillion of other items. in no time your tail kit will appear and later you will be happy to have that done. :D
 
Yes - crazy.

First time build. The fuselage is complex. U need more tools. And u don’t want to screw it up. Lots of places where errors can be hidden, COSTLY and/or catastrophic.
Empenage - When u decide building isn’t for u, your out $3-5k.
Fuselage- $10k+
Building is no quick route to an airplane.
Your $$$. Your time. Your butt.
 
I wouldn't suggest it for a first time builder. As others have stated the empennage is a good place to start since the parts are generally less expensive to replace and the construction is relatively simple. As you move through the project there is an assumed level of understanding. That means on the fuselage in some cases there aren't detailed instructions. Also there are more areas where you have to make your own decisions on how things are done. That will be difficult if you don't have some experience.

It might seem like you are wasting a lot of time by waiting. The alternative though might be that you invest more money, you don't have the needed skills, you get frustrated and you don't complete the project. This is a big effort. Bigger than I realized so give yourself the best chance for success.
 
I wouldn’t consider it. I did two builders courses, two practice kits and read about everything available before I started. I still found the learning curve is steep. You will make mistakes and like others have said, they’re cheap and relatively easy to fix on the emp kit. Use that time to get your shop set up, research, take builders courses and do a couple practice kits. I’d guess there is a pretty good chance your kit will show up early. My wings went from a 12 month lead time to about 4.
 
Thank you all for the input. I'm going to hold off on building the fuselage, though I may start deburring the fuselage parts as mentioned by Kay.
 
Yep, that’s the one.
I ordered 2 additional ones and have one spare.
With regards to your original question, I would take delivery of the fuse kit when you can. In this world you never know what’s round the corner. But I wouldn’t do any actual riveting until you have more experience. Also, the longerons come with the wings, so there’s limited scope to make progress. But having said that, there’s loads you can do that will help with your empennage when it comes. Get used to reading plans, see how stuff goes together, there’s a “vans way” of building, and having parts in your hands will help you understand what that is. Get used to edge deburring, and all the tools and skills that this requires.

If it was me, I would go for it. But try to hold off doing anything beyond basic skills until you have more confidence.
 
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