mmeredith
Member
I have been lurking around the VAF forums for a while now intrigued by these wonderful RV aircraft. I have to tell you, I was very hesitant to even think about building an experimental aircraft due to the fact that many people that I talked to kind of looked down on kit aircraft. I was almost ready to give up the thought when lo and behold I found out there was a gentleman at my airport that had built his own experimental aircraft, an RV-7A. I had to check this out and what a beauty it turned out to be. The builder was Don 'Squeak' Schnarr and later he gave me a ride in his creation during a breakfast run. The 'RV Grin' was an understatement. I couldn't believe the performance of this machine. It seemed as if the aircraft would maneuver just from thinking about where I wanted it to go. It was like I was wearing the plane! That was a great flight offered by a gracious RV Ambassador. Thanks again Squeak!
Now I was sold that Van's RV line was definitely something that I wanted to pursue. The question now was did I have the skill set to take on a project like this. I never for once in my life thought about bucking rivets to build a plane... at my home... that would fly! I started to read a lot of blogs about those that have undertaken this journey before me. I had tons of questions like what tool kit to buy, what model to build, am I really thinking about doing this? I read about 'Builders Assistance' classes and I looked into those.
This past weekend I attended the 'Basic RV Construction Skills' class put on by Troy Grover of Grov-Air. What a wonderful experience that was. If anyone is apprehensive about building an RV, please go attend Troy's class. I learned so much about the tools of the trade and even now feel confident that I could take on building a Van's RV. I got to try out many different brands of tools and got a feel for what I believe would be the best for me to purchase. I also got to see various RVs in different stages of construction that was helpful in visualizing the build. Troy rents out space at his facility and offers builder's assistance to those individuals. All-in-all it was a great experience. Highly recommended.
Sorry for the long post, but right now I'm just excited about starting this journey. The next step is to determine which would be the best model for me. I'm almost sold on the 9, 9A or maybe a 10, just need to find someone close that could offer me a ride! Thanks for reading! (Picture Left to Right: Me, My Dad, Troy Grover)
Matt Meredith
Now I was sold that Van's RV line was definitely something that I wanted to pursue. The question now was did I have the skill set to take on a project like this. I never for once in my life thought about bucking rivets to build a plane... at my home... that would fly! I started to read a lot of blogs about those that have undertaken this journey before me. I had tons of questions like what tool kit to buy, what model to build, am I really thinking about doing this? I read about 'Builders Assistance' classes and I looked into those.
This past weekend I attended the 'Basic RV Construction Skills' class put on by Troy Grover of Grov-Air. What a wonderful experience that was. If anyone is apprehensive about building an RV, please go attend Troy's class. I learned so much about the tools of the trade and even now feel confident that I could take on building a Van's RV. I got to try out many different brands of tools and got a feel for what I believe would be the best for me to purchase. I also got to see various RVs in different stages of construction that was helpful in visualizing the build. Troy rents out space at his facility and offers builder's assistance to those individuals. All-in-all it was a great experience. Highly recommended.
Sorry for the long post, but right now I'm just excited about starting this journey. The next step is to determine which would be the best model for me. I'm almost sold on the 9, 9A or maybe a 10, just need to find someone close that could offer me a ride! Thanks for reading! (Picture Left to Right: Me, My Dad, Troy Grover)
Matt Meredith
