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Workmanship. Being your own worst critic a few years after the fact.

Paul Tuttle

Paul Tuttle

Well Known Member
My -8 has been flying for a few years now. It flies nice, works good and looks decent from a few feet away. However, when I see an RV at an event somewhere, or a picture of one where the workmanship is flawless and the paint is perfect. I start to beat myself up a bit and wish I could turn the clock back and redo some things. Kinda like un-cooking an egg though.

With thousands of these flying, there must be others like me who flunked out of 'perfect school' and feel the same way? :eek:

 
Ah, heck, I feel that way and mine's still in the shop. Haven't even started the fuselage - but I'm on my third aileron.

Dave
RV-3B, building wings
 
Agree completely Paul

Many people tell me my 7 is beautiful. I never let them see how the wire bundles are "organized" under the panel.
 
The cure for that is to go look at a factory built! Especially if it has a few years under it's wings.
 
David Paule said:
Ah, heck, I feel that way and mine's still in the shop. Haven't even started the fuselage - but I'm on my third aileron.

Dave
RV-3B, building wings
Click to expand...

I second that thought. When I look back at the little tiny dings in my tail feathers, built back when I was a newbie, I have to remind myself that they are only an aesthetic problem. Also, several "flying" friends have reminded me that hangar rash can and usually does occur once the plane is finished and flying. So... I soldier on.
 
Definition

One definition of perfect is complete. If it's flying - it's complete = perfect! Keep that in mind at all times; it outweighs those imperfect thoughts!
 
Airworthy

I gave up on perfect long ago.
Airworthy is my goal.
I just egg shaped a side skn hole and get to buy a new side skin. I could probably make a fix but it wouldn't meet my standard for airworthy. Hopefully I can get it right on round two.
 
I figure the first plane is for learning to build an airworthy plane. Thinking when I retire someday I will start working on my award-winner. At least ill have a plane to FLY while I do. Incredible respect for those who build near-perfect planes on their first try.


And yes, a quick glance at the Cessna I rent reminds me of the still above average quality of my build.

Chris
 
Paul Tuttle said:
With thousands of these flying, there must be others like me who flunked out of 'perfect school' and feel the same way? :eek:
Click to expand...

Heck, I'm exactly the opposite. While building I was stressed about every little mistake. After 250 hours of flying, I couldn't care less! I don't think my plane cares either.

Still, like you Paul, I am amazed at the level of perfection some can achieve.
 
I used to tell myself: "It's a flying machine. Not a hangar queen."
Besides, yours looks great.
 
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This begs for a reply, like:

But I'd be willing to administer it.

I don't know, I thought the bundles under her panel were pretty sweet.

==dave==
 
Perfection

Eye of the beholder largely. Some will criticize the most perfect plane only to take away focus from theirs.

Me I want to be "perfect" in mechanically ensuring the plane is airworthy and safe! Otherwise i do my best to have a bird looking good when finished, which it will never be if i continually redo things... so as was said earlier.... build it safe, build it well.... and soldier on!

By the way looks like a pretty bird you have and guess what it is flying and mine is not! lol
 
I did a nice job on my build and have been told by a lot of A&P's and Pilots. but I know all the little sags in the paint where there is a rivit I wish I would have set a little more but I built the plane to fly...and like you it does it well... completed it in 2 3/4 years.... being 63 when I finished it... I knew when I started I could not do a 15 year build and enjoy it with my wife.

It has been a dream and prayer answered, My wife Anita loves it and loves the acrobatics when were down low enough on fuel....We have manage to put 250 hours on it since October 2013... endured two cardiac Ablations that I thought was the end of my corporate and private flying but got my medical back after 7 months in May 5....
I pray I have a few more years to enjoy the friendships on this board that I have developed and of the Chapter 690 folks.

Smilin' Jack
 
I love pretty, but honestly when they're up in the air they all look pretty. It's more about the flying for me. I'm trying my best to make the prettiest plane I can achieve but hey, this is my first one. I'll do better on plane #2 and #3. Just don't tell me wife! :D
 
I don't care about appearance anymore. I wash off the bugs or chisel the ice out and go fly. Hi Jeff :D





 
My "trick" was to paint my 6A a brilliant white with Imron with some maroon trim and only let non-builders see it on hot sunny days (in Redding, CA that's been pretty easy of late)...those without sunglasses are profuse in their praise and those with sunglasses don't notice the little things I could point out as we all could - they all think it looks great an no doubt those who see your airplane do as well! Builders of course are admonished to keep a five foot distance when they look at mine however. :)

I encourage you to keep in mind that no matter what anyone says, we all are really part of a very small group of fairly reasonably, highly skilled, patient, and goal oriented people with a great deal of perseverance...I mean really, how many people out of 340 million in this country can say they have personally constructed their own 180 mph+/- airplane?

Pat yourself on the back, all we other builders certainly will the next time we see you or your airplane!
 
standards

a friend and airplane builder once told me in the context of spending extra time on making a plane look nicer....."my whole life was suddenly much smoother by one simple change. I just lowered my standards". :D

index.php


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mXdPf620C8
 
We had the highest standards for airworthiness, but in our case we never attempted to make a show plane.
Every time I look at my fiberglass gear leg fairings I am reminded of why there is no way in heck that I would ever build a glass airplane.

We did, thank goodness, get a fiberglass guy to do the horizontal/vertical tail fairing.

Seems like every time the tow bar gets put on, another scratch appears on the wheel pant, but ours is a flying machine and its a thing of beauty in my eyes. Such a feeling of accomplishment.

My co-builder dropped a bucking bar on the finished/riveted skin just aft of the baggage bulkhead. We cried a bit and then decided that would be a great location for the transponder antenna.
 
My RV-6A looks like a truck. It was my first build and things went wrong. Rivet dings, trouble fitting the avionics wiring in after the structure was built, you name it. But I made sure it was airworthy and so it is. Up here where our usual flight altitude is 8500, it does 125kts indicated at 5.5 gph; it has no idea that it isn't perfect.

I agree with the second build remark. The RV-10 is beautiful; I built the structure as if I might polish, even though it will be covered with paint. I'm amazed at my own workmanship. But it doesn't make me embarrassed for the -6A. I've been through this with model gliders, too. My first builds weren't pretty but they flew. Subsequent builds got better and better. By the way, I could get my -6A painted and you'd be hard put to find the imperfections. But it's too fun to fly, even as it is, to have it spend time in a paint shop. Maybe after the -10 is done...
 
My 8 is not perfect but it flies well.
Perfect is in the eye of the beholder, the OSH judges are the most critical, the average observer much less so.
If it is certified and flying, it is perfect to many wanna be's. :)
 
When our son was about 10, a fellow visited our field in an RV. After they left, we wandered over to check it out, having just returned from Oshkosh.

Naturally, The Boy was now an EAA judge. He pored over every rivet, pointing out dings and dents, runs and drips (it DID look as if it had been painted with a roller, BTW), and when he was done pointing out its flaws, I said, "Son, this plane flew here from Texas. That's several hours away. It obviously got its owner here safely, and he plans to fly it back home."

He was unmoved, with visions of Oshkosh award-winners still floating through his brain.

"You can criticize someone's workmanship once YOU have built and flown a plane," I added. That finally sank in.

I, too, once thought that I was capable of building an award-winning plane. I have a bin full of pieces-parts that I made, re-made, and re-made again, in hopes of building a work of art. Then I realized that if I kept seeking perfection -- in an arena where I was a true novice -- I would never finish the project. Took me 13 years as it was!

Paul, your plane is a beauty. Fly it, enjoy the dings and dents that show that it's taken you places, you've seen some things, made some friends, AND YOU BUILT IT. :)
 
N8RV said:
When our son was about 10, a fellow visited our field in an RV. After they left, we wandered over to check it out, having just returned from Oshkosh.

Naturally, The Boy was now an EAA judge. He pored over every rivet, pointing out dings and dents, runs and drips (it DID look as if it had been painted with a roller, BTW), and when he was done pointing out its flaws, I said, "Son, this plane flew here from Texas. That's several hours away. It obviously got its owner here safely, and he plans to fly it back home."

He was unmoved, with visions of Oshkosh award-winners still floating through his brain.

"You can criticize someone's workmanship once YOU have built and flown a plane," I added. That finally sank in.

I, too, once thought that I was capable of building an award-winning plane. I have a bin full of pieces-parts that I made, re-made, and re-made again, in hopes of building a work of art. Then I realized that if I kept seeking perfection -- in an arena where I was a true novice -- I would never finish the project. Took me 13 years as it was!

Paul, your plane is a beauty. Fly it, enjoy the dings and dents that show that it's taken you places, you've seen some things, made some friends, AND YOU BUILT IT. :)
Click to expand...

If anyone gets too close and starts to notice a flaw, or says something. I usually say, "oh how did you do it on yours?" or "I guess when you build your own then you can do it however you like"

It is usually the non builders that are the most critical.

We built ours on a busy airport in a hanger with other RVs being built. Lots of folks would stop by to look around. My favorite was the men who would be talking to my husband and see me working and say something to the effect that they would never let their wives work on any plane they would build.
 
Great comments!

I don't really beat myself up too bad. Usually it's more of an admiration thing, because the workmanship I see in some examples is outstanding and beyond my skill set.

As has been recommended in many of the comments, I fly it, I enjoy it and I'm proud of the fact that I built it such as it is. I've met a lot of great people because of it, many from right here on the VAF.
 
Perfect????

Funny thing....The Doll turned 15 years old last Sunday. People ask how can she look new after all these years? Easy, I never really finished her!

The wheel pants had become pretty beat up and the right one was damaged when it tried to hold the airplane up with a flat tire. Last month, I restored, and repainted them. Now they look new again. Nope, the Doll is not finished and will remain a work in progress.

I still enjoy and appreciate people telling me how beautiful she is, but I know where every mistake and flaw is, and I so wish I could get a do over a decade and a half ago.
 
Paul's RV-8

Hey everyone out there. I see Paul Tuttle's RV-8 all the time because he is in the hangar right beside me. Don't be fooled, it may not be perfect in his eyes, but it is a wonderful flying machine from what I've witnessed. When his RV-8 comes screaming down the field with that beautiful sound it makes me quiver. Not only does he have a nice plane but he's a great guy also.
 
Park next to me Paul

If you ever land at BTR Paul, taxi to the south ramp and park next to 50JP. You'll instantantly feel like a Grand Champion builder. I love my old mutt dog and my very average 6A. Can't believe I'm lucky enough to have one. John
 
Perfect

I feel your pain Paul, I am the same way. Although my wife always tells me that I am the only one that notices those things that I consider flaws in my construction, it is always the first thing my eye goes to when I push the hangar door open. I am sure other builders with the critical builders eye see them as well. And just like you I see the "Perfect" show plane quality that some have done, and admire them for that work, but I also see many planes at each event I go to that I would consider my RV as good or better than, so then I don't beat myself up so bad. I think that inward look and critical eye on our own work, is part of why we were driven to build in the first place, its in the makeup of who we are. Also I have found that I have been able to go back and correct some of the things I was not to pleased with slowly, over time, while not flying. So pat yourself on the back for getting it in the air, that is huge. Like they say these things are never really finished, so you still have time.
 
Build to fly OR build to show!

I built my 8 to be a "flyer" back '01, when there were not a lot of 8's around. Got lots of compliments on it at the time but as time wore on (the calendar and flight time), many better examples of the type started appearing and good ol' JJ started showing her age. But, she still soldiers on.

As Ken Scott once said to me "Do you want to build or do you want to fly?" I love flying my 8, but I also enjoyed building. In a couple years, when my financial obligations decrease, I will bring the panel up to contemporary standards and give her a fresh coat of paint (or wrap) and she will once again be the pretty girl. Then, during retirement, another project is in order.

Scott A Jordan
N733JJ
 
I hear ya!

I hear ya. I have an -8 that's been flying since 2012 and I look at other RVs and think I should have done this or I should have done that. Sometimes I think I should build another one just to right all of the wrongs....lol.
 
Oh sure I get a little envious when I see those boogers I made in my airplane (even the ones nobody else can see), but I remember what my primary flight instructor told me once when we were recovering an old Aeronca Chief that we owned together.

Brian's a real Mainer, and when I boogered something up, he glance over and say, "Eh. That'll nevah show on a trottin' hoss."
 
Your own worst critic

Having had the privilege of flying Paul's RV8 multiple times, I can attest to its outstanding handling qualities. Any "less than Oshkosh Grand Champion" workmanship issues were mostly caused by the help! Not entirely me, but I do share some of the responsibility.

I was thinking of one rather oversized hole I drilled in the wrong spot on the main wing spar when I did the initial test flight on the plane.

I am just starting on an RV4 project of my own and while I will strive for perfection initially, I will be more than satisfied with a nice handling, safe aircraft.

And Paul, I expect you to take the 4 for a hop when it's finished.
 
Now, I really regret that one rivet that stood just a *little* too proud ....

Done is better than perfect; very true. Still working hard on the done part.
 
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