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RV-10 QB worth...

Jerry Cochran

Well Known Member
The extra buck$$$? A friend and I are discussing the subject of building a slow build -10 vs the QB version so would love to hear opinions of those who've been there/done that.

How many man hours would experienced builders expect to save, I guess is the question from a purely ecomomics standpoint.

Anyone ?

Thanks,

Jerry and Brian
 
For me it was a time issue. The project is a huge commitment even as an entire quick build. I spent just as much time on my RV10 as a quick build as I did building an RV9 none quick build kit and you get faster on the second plane. I think you will find that the time to build to quick build stage will show a fairly low cost per hour making it a great deal. Also it makes a great motivator.:D
 
The real decision rests with trading time for dollars. If I were to make a choice between the fuse or the wings , I would by the qb wings and sb fuse strictly from a time perspective. I bought the qb wings and fuse, and still spent 2 years working full time, including painting.
 
When I started my -10 six years ago, Vans estimated that the qb wings and fuselage saved approximately 1000 hrs of work, at a cost of $8 per hour. I think that is reasonably close. I felt like the qb kits were well worth it. There is still plenty of work to do.

Jim Berry
RV-10
 
Having built two sets of wings I think the money spent on QB is worth it. On my first RV-10 I said I would go QB next time mainly because they are BORING and monotonous. Buuuuut I did the standard build on number two as well:rolleyes:. The fuselage is a blast to build, goes very quickly. You can get the fuselage finished to QB stage in the time it takes for the QB to arrive. Fuselage=fun to build.:D
 
I've seen QB fuel tank leak issues mentioned several places. For example, from a post that Tim Olson made on the Matronics list a few years back:

I would like to point out that this thread has shown the reason that my personal opinion leans towards building my own tanks. It hasn't been very publicized before in this amount on the list, but I've talked to many many RV-10 builders with QB tanks that have had these problems. I know, repetition on riveting wings isn't fun, but they build fast, and when you're done you will know that you did a good job prosealing.

I don't think I could stand to pay for the QB and then have to deal with leaks or other rework, so at this point I'm assuming I'll do slow-build.
 
I slow built everything. My wings are complete except for the bottom skins getting riveted on, and the tips. It took me 368 hours.

I have also just recently built the fuselage to the point you would get as a quick build. It took me about 200 hours.

So, in my case, the quickbuild would have saved me around 500 - 600 hours.

If I were to do it again, I'd probably quick build the wings, and slow build the fuselage. The wings are very repetitious, and built basically the same way the tail surfaces are built. The fuselage was quite a bit more fun to build, and every day was something new.

In the end, the difference in full quick build vs slow build is $13,000. Divide that by the ~500 hours it took me to do it myself, I saved $26 for every hour worked. Is that worth it? I dunno. But I'm going to use it to justify to myself that I can spend $13,000 more on other stuff for the plane!
 
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