Dumbest Pedestrian Questions...

Entertaining Pedestrian Questions...

I am building my project in a detached garage, so there is quite a bit of traffic riding/walking by while I am out there working on her. It is funny to watch cars slam on their brakes as they drive by in order to get another look at what is taking shape in my shop. Often, strangers will stop by for a chat which can be very entertaining at times. Most folks are amazed that it is possible to build an aircraft at home. I have had a few from "The Greatest Generation" drop by and share some of their stories from the war...these guys are National Treasures! But then there are the doozies...
Here are some of the questions that I have heard over the years that cracked me up-

"Is that a boat that you are building?"
"Is that a dragster that you are building?"
"Are you gonna fly in that thing?"
"Will it clear the house when you take off?"
"How much will it cost?" (Probably a smart question that I should have asked myself years ago...)
"Do you know how to fly?" (Not too well...I haven't killed myself yet.)
Then come all of the crash stories...
"Did you hear about so and so who crashed into the lake?"
"Is that the kind of plane that killed John Denver?" (I am convinced that John Denver set the experimental aviation movement back 20 years.)
Then come the technical questions...I like this part-
"How fast is is?"
"How far can it fly?"
"How high can it fly?"
I always reference the typical spam can numbers for comparison when quoting RV numbers.

What sort of questions have you heard?
Don

Oh yahhhhh... I love those people!

How about, is it one of those Ultra Flight things? (From those who haven't viewed the project)

or

Are you gonna put the engine in too? I dunno if that is a good idea?

I usually tell them, "You know how your VCR flashes 12:00 all the time"?

They say, "YAH!!!".

I tell them, "Mine doesn't".

They walk away.

CJ

Q&A

Q. When is it going to be finished?
A. On the 12th,
Q.How long before it flies?
A. By the 12th.
Q. How long will it take to build?
A. Until the 12th.
Q.When did you start?
A. On the 12th.
Q. When will you start the engine?
A. On the 12th.
Q. Is it paid for and when?
A, Yes, on the 12th.
Q. How long before you paint it.
A. On or about the 12th
Q. When did you decide to buy it?
A On the 12th.
T88
RV10 and flying by the 12th

My wife held a garage sale a few years ago and just for laughs I stuck one of her price tags on my fuselage, which was just about at quick build stage. I put $78,000 on the tag. One woman became VERY indignant when she saw the price and asked, "How dare you charge so much for something like that at a garage sale?" When I told her it was made out of Kryptonite, she just nodded her head and said, "Oh, well then that makes sense", then walked away......

Questions

As a teacher, I find it interesting how some people in the know (pick your subject) often look down upon or make fun of those who ask seemingly obvious questions.

Just remember that what is obvious (or a dumb questions) to one person in the know is not so obvious (and not so dumb) to an outsider. As a relative newbie to this airplane thing, I can say I have probably asked some of the "dumbest" questions on these forums and to those around me. The questions were asked because I truly did not know the answer or was not sure of the answer or needed a little validation of my own thoughts. I am very grateful for the patience, encouragement, and willingness of those who willingly share their knowledge with me.

I consider myself one of those "Jacks of all trades and expert of none" kind of people so I ask a lot of questions just to learn new things. And I love it when people ask me questions and I am given the opportunity to share what little I know with them.

The questions listed so far seem to me to be pretty normal questions from someone outside of the realm of aircraft building. I can pick out many of them that I have asked of others. We can probably search these boards and find a few of these questions asked here. I can see how someone might view a fuselage as a dragster or might be in awe that a normal Jack or Jill can actually build an airplane in their garage. This is certainly something you don't see every day. And I concern myself with the impression that someone just thinking about building or just looking for general aviation information might get by reading this type of thread.

Yes the questions that strangers to aviation ask may seem silly to the experts. I am sure the lawyer or doctor we last spoke to thought our questions about law and medicine were pretty ignorant also. "Gee doc, I feel like crap and just don't have any energy!" "Really stupid! Try losing 50 pounds, eating healthy food, and getting some exercise."

Hey, look at these questions as an opportunity to help someone grow and maybe an opportunity to recruit another person into the ranks of GA supporter.

Most builders and pilots I know love to talk about their profession/hobby/experiences. Just look at these forums! We need to keep the right perspective on these questions and encourage everyone to ask more of them. The only dumb question is the one not asked blah blah blah. No matter how silly a question may seem, they are almost always asked out of enthusiasm and a true desire to learn. Be thankfull we are in a position to answer them.

Hopefully, this thread was started tongue-in-cheek, but I am always leary of threads that poke fun at others by making them appear ignorant, even if it is meant to be tongue in cheek.

Sorry if I took this the wrong way but I see this type of bullying in the classroom quite regularly and it is one of my pet peeves. No putdowns, insults, name calling, or ridicule is allowed in my classroom. It serves no beneficial purposes other than perhaps making an insecure person feel a little bit superior for a short period of time.

Play nice and help your neighbors.

Captain_John said:

I usually tell them, "You know how your VCR flashes 12:00 all the time"?

They say, "YAH!!!".

I tell them, "Mine doesn't".

They walk away.

CJ

Click to expand...

This was hilarious. I'm definitely going to have to borrow this line

Cheers,
Rusty

Lawn ornament

While the HS was in the jig a walker-by asked me if I was building an aluminum headboard for a bed.

A UPS driver asked me once if it was a dragster (when the fuse was in the upside down, slow build canoe stage). Pretty good guess - it did kinda look like one. I told him it was an airplane. He paused, then asked me if it was for the yard - like a piece of art/sculpture. No, but that's not too bad of an idea .

Funny memories and good tounge-in-cheek fun recounting them.

All, let me repeat ALL, of my neighbors thought I was completely nuts...

Wafos

I am a member of a Hang Gliding club and our club calls these folks WAFOS.

Translated: Whats that for?

Don't fret we do not call them that to their face and we always answer their questions nicely as we know we are ambassadors for our sport.

Jeff Vaughan
RV7A

<snip>
Sorry if I took this the wrong way but I see this type of bullying in the classroom quite regularly and it is one of my pet peeves. No putdowns, insults, name calling, or ridicule is allowed in my classroom. It serves no beneficial purposes other than perhaps making an insecure person feel a little bit superior for a short period of time.

Play nice and help your neighbors.
<end snip>

Yes, I'm an insecure person...that's why my Shrink advised me to build an aircraft in my garage in the first place.
Have some fun, for crying out loud!!!
Please know that when people come to visit my shop, they are treated with the respect which they deserve. I even let them climb in and take her for a bit of hangar flying if they are interested. We are all students, and we are all teachers. Enjoy life!
Don

Wuffos

Intersting...in skydiving we always call them "Wuffos", since they ask "What for you jump outta those airplanes?"

Usually followed shortly by the "perfectly good airplane" comment. There is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane! Anyone that has ever built/owned/fixed/paid to have their's fixed knows that, I am sure.

I remember one of the last times I went skydiving after many years in the sport. As I was leaving there was a guy in the parking lot asking questions; he was real involved in the EAA and excited about aviation in general...I like to think I gave him some encouragement to try my sport, as he passed me some of his excitement for his passion.

Spread good vibes.

"Will you be able to get it out of the garage when it's done?" - Gosh, I never thought about that! Thanks for reminding me to check.

Asked one day when I was tinkering on my sailplane

Asked by a 9-10 year old boy: "When you crash, does it blow up?"

Asked by the moron boyfriend of a neighbor: "Is that one of them thar underwater petal submarines?" I hope this guy never reproduces.

I'm only 25, so the majority of of people that come over to see my project are friends that I went to a&p school with, and we're all still relitivly new to aviation. Experimental aircraft wern't really explained to us in school, so I love it when guys come along and ask, "how do you know what engine to put in it?" "Are you supposed to put the landing light there?" "You cant turbo this lycoming without an STC man!" "can you get away with making this bagage compartment bigger without any extra paperwork? I just grin (early faze of the rv grin, I'm sure) and say, "welcome to my wonderful world"

I've been on my project since '99 so I bet I've heard them all. The one I like the best is when they ask what kind of engine I'm going to use, as if the average person would know what the heck a Fixed-Pitch Superior XP360 with Dual P-Mags is.

To Tom:
I'm a mathematics professor and am in total agreement with you regarding being polite to those with the "stupid " questions. However, I think this thread began with the right intentions, but could have been titled more kindly. I secretly like the stares from neighbors and running into folks at the market that say "Hey, aren't you that crazy guy with the plane in his garage?" I tell my friends I know how Noah must have felt.

More misguided questions

Getting back to the original thread....

I was showing my sister the plane project and had the dumbest question to date. She's not dumb by any means, just not at all mechanically inclined. The fuselage was upright with (tricycle) landing gear mounted, but no tail or engine. She pointed to the aft end and said ?is that the front??

Probably the topper happened with one of my radio controlled airplanes several years ago while I was living in an apartment. My neighbor stopped by and noticed my 58? wingspan Cap 232 and asked ?Can you fly it in here?? (referring to the inside of my apartment). I was lost for words.

It's all in good fun..isn't it?

Wow, did this thread ever get off track!

Tom, I don't believe anybody here on this forum and in this thread means any ill will towards anyone. This is simply a light hearted poke at our family, friends, and anyone even interested enough to ask questions....in short, people we value for whatever reason.

The thread was meant to be shared just amongst our community here. We are a pretty small minority in this big ol' world we live in. Previous posts here have already said that they treat their guests with the utmost respect when answering their questions about our projects. This place, this forum, is for us to be able learn and share with other our RV/aviation related issues, but also to let loose a little and have a few laughs! I don't think any harm is done when something like this is presented in a closed forum such as this, and particularily if the poking is de-identified.

I also believe that most of these same people ( dumb pedestians??) can quite handily leave me in the dust on most other subjects in this world, and probably have their own quiet laughs on my ignorance. I am so totally okay with that. We all can't know everything about everything.

...getting back to the thread.. one of my favorites is when I was talking to a first grade class about my job (airline pilot). There I am trying to explain very basic aerodynamics to these kiddos, and one kid in the back has his hand up. I point to him and he asks, " Where does it go when you flush?? " Of course, after the howls subsided, I could see the teachers' faces in the back of the classroom, and they all had they same look...as if to say "...Well????....."

Jeff
-8 wings

Kids are the greatest!

When I built my first project, it was the kids that were the greatest. Most that stopped by were in the 3rd to 7th grade range and always seemed to ask the best questions. One really loved to pop rivets, he came by very often. Their questions always seemed sincere. Then they would go home and tell their parents what they saw.

Then the parents would stop by, most of whom I had never met. Laughingly they would say, "my kid said you're building an airplane". The look on their face was priceless when I simply replied "yes". Then it would lead to some good, some not so good questions. One even told me "you can't just build an airplane in your garage!" I did enjoy meeting all of them though.

My kids would tell me the neighborhood kids say your Dad is cool, he's building an airplane! They would also tell me their parents would say, your Dad is nuts, he thinks he is building an airplane!

Now, they don't even blink an eye when I tell them I'm building another, they're believers. That, or they're really convinced I'm nuts!

Rat

The neighbor kid/parents story reminds me of when I was in 2nd grade. My father was into model sailplanes at the time and one Sunday morning we went to the local slope. Conditions were fairly good so he handed me the controller (purple and white...what strange things we remember...), said something along the lines of, "don't crash it," then tossed the plane. Well, of course I put in full up elevator, stalled, and it went tail first into the grass about 3 seconds later, but the grass was tall and no harm was done... a few more throws and some epoxy later I was actually gliding the plane back and forth along the slope. This was a rudder/elevator polyhedral high-stability beginner's plane...no great feat but I was excited about it.

So Monday I'm in the playground telling my friends about flying a model airplane around... and a teacher hears me... and you know how teachers are ... they always know what is Right and what is Wrong... and this teacher decided that I was lying to the other students, telling them that I was flying a real airplane. She tried to force me to "tell the truth" and I said I was. She couldn't understand the term "model sailplane"... so now I was lying to her too! She called my parents and told them that I was going around lying about flying an airplane.

My mother tells me that she replied, "Yes, he did fly a sailplane by himself yesterday... I have photos if you want to see them." Needless to say, that teacher never forgave me for getting her into that situation.

"Educators"...heh...

When someone asks something stupid or wrong there is a good chance you don't understand the question... probably because they don't know your jargon and so can't ask the question in terms you are familiar with. If you don't think about it, it sounds stupid... if you do, you might have a good conversation on your hands. It's like the airplane engine question... I may not know what type of engine a Fixed-Pitch Superior is, but I can certainly understand horizontally opposed four cylinder air coolled 360ci with a 2700RPM redline and bla bla bla. If you want to cut someone off and feel superior (so to speak) you'll pop off with the fixed pitch jargon, but it doesn't take much more effort to use more general terminology. IMO. As for which end is the front of something on the ground, my mother used to mix up the bow and stern of my sailboat...and she had sailed it! You might say that since she had taken it out on the Pacific she'd know which was the pointy end, but of course it was a double ender (pointy on both ends)...

Tom, it is all good... fuggetaboudit...

How about the people that have the, I know a guy who built a boat in his basement stories!?!?

I somehow doubt THAT many boats are made in basements requiring the removal of the house for extraction?

CJ

Who's pulling who's leg?

Ever wonder if maybe the folks asking these questions are just pulling your leg? One of my neighbors asked, "Are you building a hot tub?" No doubt she laughed later about the stupid, open-mouthed look on my face as I attempted to formulate an answer... say, this could lead to an interesting weekend fly-out sport: fly to a different town and 'just happen' to walk down the sidewalk in front of a builder's garage, and start asking endless, exasperating questions.

My experience has been the opposite. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had this conversation:

Them: Wow...whatcha' building
Me: An airplane
Them: what kind of engine does it take
Me: An IO-360 (I don't assume people are dumb and wouldn't know what an IO-360 is. If they do, great. If they don't, it's up to them to ask)
Them: Is that a lycoming? Oh you know, I used to fly (insert cool military aircraft) and I remember one time blah blah blah

Seems like there are a whole bunch of ex-aviators in my neighboorhood and we end up having nice long conversations about the good-ole-days.

Ok Ok...but BY FAR the dumbest question I've gotten so far.

Him: I see you working out here all the time. Whatcha' building?
Me: An airplane. And you may not want to stand there.

The question itself wasn't that dumb, however I WAS wearing my mask/goggle/gloves/earplugs and shooting epoxy primer when this guy came marching right up to me and started yapping. Maybe when I prime I have to start putting up "Keep away, this crap'll kill you" signs since apparently wearing 20lbs of protective gear doesn't seem to get the message across.

...how about the ones that ask, what kind of airplane is it?

I ask them what they know about airplanes. They don't know a Cub from a Mooney... how do you explain that?

I tell them it is like a little 747 that seats 2!



...and on the other end of the spectrum, we have pilots that have never heard of an RV! I tell them it is like a Mooney... but faster!

That goes right up a Mooney driver's breezeway! Even if it isn't true, they remember it!

I do the same thing to the Cirrus drivers. I tell them it is like a metal Cirrus without a 'chute, but faster and with more electronics!

CJ

what they dont know....

I was rearranging my hanger for the delivery of my QB and a friend stopped by to see the progress, The very next day he stopped in again to deliver some stuff to me and responded, "wow you really got a-lot done last night". I just smiled and responded. "yup". what a great feeling

When at parties and other social functions if the subject of me building an airplane came up my former department chair would start pointing at me and snickering and ask the others around me "would you fly in a plane that this guy built?"

RV's cross the language barrier

One day back when I still had the plane in the garage, we were having some landscaping done in the yard. I was busy in the garage when I noticed two workers (who were spanish-speaking) peering through the garage door. I waved and said hello. I could tell they were discussing what they thought it was that I was working on.

Finally, one decides to ask...but remember, he speaks spanish and I don't (much). So, he asks "Esta Brrrrrrr?", making an airplane noise and moving his hand through the air. "Si" I said. They nodded to me and then went back to discussing it with each other.

I can only imagine what they were saying about me .

Mike Schipper
www.my9a.com

Hows this for sad, a friend had a very small laser printer that printed plastic coated paper the size of a business card. So guess who has a photo of the RV7 off Vans website in his walet. Works a treat when people ask, what brings you to Oregon? Folk tend to be pretty impressed when you tel them speed & range, aerobatic etc

Stephen
N570Z
RV7 Tipping the canoe

apatti said:

When at parties and other social functions if the subject of me building an airplane came up my former department chair would start pointing at me and snickering and ask the others around me "would you fly in a plane that this guy built?"

Click to expand...

Tony, when they say that... tell 'em, "You first need an invitation!"

CJ

This makes me wonder if there's a www.stodgyhomeowners.net kicking around somewhere, and if maybe they aren't having a similar discussion in a thread called "The Dumbest Things You've Seen As A Pedestrian".

Stodgy homeowner 1: So I asked him, what are you building, and he said "it's an airplane".

SHO2: No???

SHO1: YES!!!

SHO2: Did you ask him how high it goes? I hope I won't be able to see it from my yard.

SHO1: He said he doesn't know yet, but he should be finished on the 12th and he'll know then.

SHO2: Oh no! He can't finish on the 12th. That's Lucy's birthday, and I'm throwing a party. I can't believe he's planning to make all that noise on Lucy's birthday. My brother-in-law had one of those and he started it up in the garage once. It was so loud it nearly...well...well...I don't know what! His was actually a boat, maybe, or one of those dragster cars but they've ALL got big smelly engines and are all too loud. We should pass a law that you can only run those engines in Mexico, and if you're caught running one in America, you have to go to jail for a minimum of 25 years.

SHO1/2: :::snooty chuckling at the big-smelly-loud engine people::::

SHO1: Oh...well this looked a little like a boat. I think he called it an "ARCHIE-TREE".

SHO2: The convenants won't let him do anything with the trees! Who does he think he is?!?
....
....

Visistors while building

Like the rest of you I had my share of drop inns while building. I actually looked forward to showing off the project and was usually patient with them even if they stayed a little to long. A few times there were the ones who decided that they were so comfortable that they would light up a cigarette and pollute my garage to the point that they would make me ask them to leave. To these visitors that meant stand about one foot outside of the garage and look in and talk while there smoke continued to fill the garage and make it a miserable place to be. We had a gardener that would take his breaks and have a cigarette and do exactly this two or three times per visit to our house. We let Bobby go because of this and found another gardener and my Friday building sessions were much more pleasant. Once a homeless guy found his way into the garage and seemed to be more interested in what tools I had than the airplane. He was drunk and really filthy, and to my surprise he wanted something from me. This man though was to full of pride to ask for a handout, and apparently was a business man or sorts. He made his pitch for me to let him use a ladder to climb to the second story and he would lean over the edges of my roof and clean out the rain gutters. How do you tell a stumbling drunk that there is no chance in #@!# that he would ever set foot on a ladder or on my roof and to please leave and still sound somewhat polite? That was probably the most obsurd question asked during my project.

Then there was Winston. One day a lady walked up the drive with her 5 year old son Winston and they introduced themselves. By this time the fuse was on its wheels and the panel was in. I had stolen the steps from the hot tub and kept them along side of the plane to make it easier to climb in and out. As I talked to his mother Winston did a walk around several times and studied how things went together. He looked at the front and back of rivets, in between the center section of the spar, over to the wings to look at the spar, and back to the center section. After several minutes he began talking to me. What I had met here was a 5 year old that was born 40! He didn't ask the typical questions of "Will this fly" but asked if I would like things explained to me about airplanes. He explained how the airfoils worked, and how air gets thinner with altitude so to be careful when flying in the mountains or on hot days. He explained how a jet engine worked and many other things. He also acted like an excited 5 year old when I'd let him sit in the plane and move the stick. After that Winston would drop in on his own about every week or so and check on the progress of the plane. I learned over time that Winston was adopted and was already smarter that most people that I encounter in my life, including me. His parents kept him loaded up with books and he would read about technologies and science and explain that he wanted to be a scientist one day. His favorite airplane was the SR-71 and he knew all about it also. Winston was a real treat to have around and it was nice to have somebody to talk airplanes with. At one point during the project my wife decided to have a yard sale which I hate. I had taken a RC trainer and radios, starter, etc. down from the rafters and put it into the yard sale. Winston showed up and really wanted it so we told him to ask his parents, but they didn't want him to have it. The price had been marked down to just a couple of dollars for him from $200, but they didn't think he was ready yet. So Winston continued to shop, looking past all of the toys and shiny things that had other neighborhood kids pooling their ice cream money. Finally he settled in on an item that just made him beam with excitement. It was a recessed light fixture (can light) that was an extra when I had remodeded my kitchen. He studied the wires and asked some questions and out came his dollar. He rode off on his bike that was to big for him with his helmet that made him look like he could have been Jack's son from the Jack in the Box commercials holding that can light as he went. You see Winston had a Fort, but it had no lights so him and his dad could now wire this in. I haven't seen Winston in about a year or so now. I've often thought of trying contact his parents to see if they would be okay with Winston getting a ride in the RV. Also the thought has crossed my mind about contacting the EAA about him to see if there are any programs that they have for children that Winston would qualify for, or maybe space camp from NASA. He's a remarkable kid. I don't know if any of you have ever listened to Bill Watenberg on the radio, but Winston reminds me of him only much younger. He was the drop in I always had time for.

Regards,

Great Story

Bryan Wood said:

Then there was Winston. [snip] I haven't seen Winston in about a year or so now. I've often thought of trying contact his parents to see if they would be okay with Winston getting a ride in the RV. [snip]
Regards,

Click to expand...

Great story Bryan. It is good to hear that there are a few informed pedestrians out there. It's funny that this 5-year old kid knows more than most adults out there. FWIW, I think that you should try to find him to see if you can give him a ride. It may very well cost him $80,000 in the future, but you would be doing him a favor.

Great story Bry!

It is refreshing to hear a good story about a truly bright child who is inquisitive and patient!

I have some under my care as a high school teacher and I admire them the most for the potential that they hold (without even knowing it)!

CJ

Great story

Great friggin story. After seeing the spoiled little out of control kid at the vets office yesterday I was fearing the worst. I had visions of the ladder from your spa being kicked over and damaging your project. However to my delight I learned about a wonderful young man named Winston.

These stories remind me of Bill Engvall's heres you sign!

Speaking of signs there are times I think of making a sign listing the answers to all the common project questions.

Winston reminds me...

That is a great story about young Winston! It reminds me of how I developed this love for building airplanes at home.

I had a dear friendship with a gentleman (and his family) many years ago, who was building a plans built wooden glider in his garage. ...I was that drop in. I've been in love with airplanes since I was Winston's age, but without Winston's intellegience. He lived just down the street, and my family knew him and his family well. He was an airline pilot with Airlift International (anybody remember them?), and he flew all over the world. One of the great benefits of flying cargo jets, is that one can bring home all sorts of cool things..big things...for nothing! Anyway, I used to frequent his garage several times a week as he was building his glider, and used to ask questions by the thousands! .."What's this for?" or "...What does that do?" ..I must've been a real pain! You would never know it from him though. He always took the time to answer my "dumb" questions, and would show me all sorts of other things I hadn't asked about.

He would then invite me into the house for some ice tea and snacks that "Mrs. Cal" always seem to have effortlessly and eloquently prepared ahead of time. Once in the house, my eyes would gaze upon the many neat pieces of furniture that he picked up in South America or Japan or some other exotic locale.

Eventually, the glider was finished and he took it to soaring meets a lot. "Uncle Cal", as he preferred to be called on the radio, invited me one weekend to attend a soaring meet with his family upstate in central Florida, and to drive the chase vehicle (I was finally driving by then), for his sailplane crosscountries. My reward for "working for him" was that I would get a ride in one of the super cubs that was used for towing. The time for my ride finally came at the end of a very busy towing day, and the cub was soon to be put to bed for the night. ( ...sort of like that kid that kept fetching cans of gas for Waldo Pepper...'cept I was a bit older!)

I'll never,... ever... forget that ride. It took place at dusk on a warm April evening in 1972. You know the feeling... the sun has just set and the air is silky smooth. The lights of nearby towns were starting to come on and it was the perfect flight.

Due in large part to his mentoring, I went on to pursue my dreams of flying for a living, flying as a hobby, and just flying for the pure passion of it!

Oh boy yes... I was one of those drop ins..

Bryan, find Winston and offer to take him flying, or to an airshow, local fly-in...something aviation. Kids like him are aviation's future! Cheers!

Jeff
-8 wings

Well its still too cold here to open the shop

I've been so eager for warmer weather to get here so I can work with the garage/airplane factory door open. My shop is on an ally that's filled with the 5-10 year old neighborhood kids all the time.

Other than two mechanically inclinded adult neighbors, the kids always ask the smartest questions. I love that they have no fear of the unknown unlike the adults. So, for me the only question I find that really is stupid is "are you really going to fly that thing?" I mean come on. Are people really that scared of life? And worse than that are the ones that pass by and just give you that look like they think you're insane.

The kids have better manners and social skills than the adults! Makes me wonder what the educators around here do to them (no offense to the wonderful educators we have here)!

There is one kid that bothers me, not because of him, but because he's been convinced that he's less intelligent than he is. He's the oldest of the bunch, and is a natural leader among the others. He's probably the real reason the whole group is so well behaved. Other than encouraging him and letting him help out, any other advice from our experienced teachers would be much appreciated!

Jigsaw puzzle?

keen9a said:

So, for me the only question I find that really is stupid is "are you really going to fly that thing?"

Click to expand...

I love this question! If they really think we're not going to fly in them, then what on earth do these same people think we are building them for??? There are much cheaper jigsaw puzzles available!!!

re: "...are you really going to fly..."

I once picked up a 25' home-built "pocket cruiser" sailboat. The boat was totally outfitted for blue water cruising...as in crossing oceans, spending 30+ days at sea in all sorts of conditions. The builder spent 4 or 5 years building, took one day trip out into the Pacific, brought it back, and never left the harbor again. While I never crossed any oceans in her I did take her out into open water fairly often in all sorts of weather. Very capable little boat. It isn't an uncommon story in the cruising sailboat world... people spend years outfitting a boat for blue water cruising, get a day or two into their first actual cruise, turn around and sell the boat to someone who actually has the stomach for blue water cruising.

People often build things they lack the courage to use. It is possible to love the idea of a thing without facing its reality.

Intention is there

This is true, but generally the intent is there, even if it never pans out long term. After all, how many builders answer no to that question? Though it wouldnt' surprise me if some intend to build and sell, but even then they would need to fly it first before it is really sale-able...

I recall the best one of these "walk by's" for me were a couple of kids, one walking a bike and the other just walking. I was rearranging things in the garage, and the fuse was sideways and unmistakably an airplane. I heard one kid say "SWEEEEEEET, that guy's got an airplane in his garage". I told them to come on up and check it out, hopefully one of them will become a pilot someday.

In general I love shop visits. I always try to take the time to talk to passers-by and answer their questions, as silly as some of them may be.

That being said, I have this one particular neighbor who has developed a nasty habit. At first, while on his daily walk, he would just stop in and check my progress usually engaging me in small talk. Lately, to my amazement, he has taken a somewhat critical tone, not towards me but to the designer. He will walk in an look at particularly complicated part, and say something like, "I would have designed it better" or "I don't understand why you did it that way..." I usually just politely say something like "really?" or "interesting", but it amazes me how somebody with absolutely no aviation experience can comment on the design or construction methods. Oh well, we move tomorrow so I guess I won't be seeing him anymore.

The First Question

This isn't a dumb question but it is the first question. I'm building my RV-7 in my basement and invariably the first question I get asked -- in fact, it was the very first question I asked (online) -- is "How are you going to get it out of the basement"

... Bill

P.S. I have a 4 x 4 1/2 removable basement window.

I have a 16' x 8' garage door and I get the same questions!!!

CJ

RV7Factory said:

... but it amazes me how somebody with absolutely no aviation experience can comment on the design or construction methods. Oh well, we move tomorrow so I guess I won't be seeing him anymore.

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Isn't moving a bit of a drastic step to take to get away from your annoying neighbor?

Jeff
-8 wings

I flew with Winston today

ericwolf said:

Great story Bryan. It is good to hear that there are a few informed pedestrians out there. It's funny that this 5-year old kid knows more than most adults out there. FWIW, I think that you should try to find him to see if you can give him a ride. It may very well cost him $80,000 in the future, but you would be doing him a favor.

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Today my wife and I volunteered for a Young Eagles event called "A Day in the Sky" at Watsonville, CA. The focus was to fly kids with various degrees of physical challenges along with their friends. What a truly rewarding day for everybody this turned out to be. After engine shut down and pictures with my passenger turned pilot my wife Sherri told me with excitement that Winston is here. Winston was excited to see the finished airplane and we were excited to see him. It turns out that his family had moved about the time we moved the plane to the airport for final assembly. Well, if somebody would have told me that the day could have gotten any neater while watching the previous passenger beam with pride while he flew the RV with a touch leading me to believe that he had been flying for years. What could be better than this, as I watched my "Young Eagle" passing a V tailed Bonanza in a plane that I built in my garage. I remember thinking "can it get any better?" Well apparently the answer was yes because I got the chance to take up my old buddy Winston and let him have a go at the controls. As we taxi'd out my panel mounted Garmin GPS had gone through a self test and he told me that he found it interesting that the GPS checks itself before allowing its use. He also let me know that the portable GPS was waiting on me to enter "I agree" so it could finish booting and readying itself for use. In less than 2 minutes he had given more thought to the power up sequence of the nav aids than I have since I installed them. I just had to smile. Once airborne and trimmed for level flight I thought that I was being clever showing him how light the forces are that will cause the airplane to turn, climb, or decend. He saw right through this and told me that if I'm thinking of letting him take the controls that he will not make abrupt inputs. Who talks this way, or should I say how many kids do? From that point on he flew until we were back within about 3 miles of the airport for landing. If I thought that he was probably smarter than me several years ago when he would visit during the building of my RV, there is no doubt now that he is getting a little older. What a fantastic day we had experiencing the Young Eagles program. Everybody was fantastic and smiles were the uniform of the day. The excitement on the faces of the kids was contageious and I'm sitting here smiling still. If you haven't flown Young Eagles you should seriously make an effort to do so. They are so full of genuine gratitude and their parents are thankful that their kids are experiencing something that they as parents typically cannot do for their kids themselves. Today was great!

Blue Skies,

I get some great comments and questions

I get some great comments, and it's part of the fun of building an airplane in your basement:

The top ten, in no particular order:

1) "Are you going to fly it off of our street?" ...usually asked with a smirk.

2) "How will you get it out of the basement?" Not a bad question, actually.

3) "Holy ****!", when they first come down the stairs and see my fuselage with the empennage on, taking over the room.

4) "Jimminy Christmas!" well, not exactly, I don't want to offend, but it's a close second to "Holy ****!"

5) "Can I get inside it?" usually the kids, and they all get to fly around my basement, wiggling the stick, reaching for the oh-so-distant pedals, and making airplane noises.

6) When meeting a neighbor, or the parent of one of my kids' classmates, for the first time: "Are you the guy building an airplane in his basement?"

7) Often followed by "My kids/husband/father/uncle would love to come by and see it sometime," always followed by "Sure, whenever they like." There's a reason why my beer fridge is right next to my project!

8) "Your wife puts up with this?"

9) "Laura, you put up with this?"

10) "Can I help?"

Sometimes you meet someone really interesting...

Tonight I was clecoing the wing ribs to the spars. It's hot here and I had the garage door open. A older couple were walking by after dark. The man, who looked of asian descent, walked right up the driveway and said in broken English, "You building airplane?" He began asking coherent questions about the construction, although it took me a couple of repetitions to understand them before I answered. Finally, he said, "I was pilot in Navy." I replied, "Really, what did you fly?" He answered, "I flew Zero."
I wanted to ask him lots of questions but his wife wanted to continue on their walk. I hope he comes by again.

Kamikaze pilot.........YAH!!

Jim,
In the early seventies I was at the airport loading the Agwagon and several Asian-looking guys came up to visit, escorted by the general manager of Thermo-King corp. He was a classy old Brit and in his finest English said, "Smitty, Yamasuki here (or, "HEAH") was also a pilot in the wah". I asked what he flew and he replied that he'd been a kamikaze pilot!! I thought "yeah right....." . He noticed my skepticism and emphatically said loudly,(and proudly) "YAH, yah, me kamikaze pirot!!" and then I asked if he missed the ship's smokestack in a smart a** tone. "NO, no, no, war end! Never fly!" So yes, I have in fact met a kamikaze pirot! (sp intentional). A story my grandkids enjoyed and true,

1:One observation was made when the tail was finished. "The wings ain't very big"

2:A lady with a nasty black eye was around one day . I asked how that happened? She said she fell in the bath tub hit her head and nearly drowned.
She then asked if I were going to fly in that thing ,it looks dangerous.
I told her ,it looks like it will be at least as safe as taking a bath

3: Q: Are you afraid you might kill yourself in that thing? A:No I,m afraid of snakes and mother in laws

RV 8 fuselage

Biplane

Recently a guy rode up on his bicycle wearing a couple sweatshirts and gloves when it was 88?F and humid (bad sign). He kept talking about some airplane he knew of that was dual controlled like it was something unique. He asked if my plane could be controlled from both seats and I said that there would be a control stick in the back. He replied ?Oh, so it?s a biplane.?

my wing kit was delivered last week.

Fed Ex Guy: Is this part of an airplane?
Me: Yes
Fed Ex Guy: Wow is this a model airplane?
Me: Yes
Fed Ex Guy: This is a big model airplane
Me: That's cause it carries 2 people.

Thanks to those that got us interested in aviation

Bryan Wood said:

Winston was excited to see the finished airplane and we were excited to see him.

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Very cool story. And probably quite the thrill for Winston. About 40 years ago a fellow named Cass Castlewing gave me a stack of AOPA Pilot magazines that began my interest in flight. Many years later I finally got my license and IFR rating and I owe a lot of that to Cass. No idea if he's still around, but I always say thanks, just as Winston says thanks to you!