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Guide me about build challenges between RV7 vs R14 and time constraints

Bibrak

I'm New Here
Hi,

I am deciding on which RV kit to start building. RV7 and RV14 are ones that best suit my mission.

I am an international student and I have gotten some of American culture in me now that is homebuilding. The situation is such that I may have about 4 years from now till I leave the USA, no more. I want to build my plane while I am in the USA.

What I have read is that RV14 is much easier to build than RV7. How much I dont know? And I would like your guidance on this.

RV7 is quite reasonable in my budget being a student and later when I graduate I might have the opportunity for the 3 years of work permit and then I will be gone to my country. So I want to use these 3 years from now (with some limited budget) and then from mid 2022 to 2025 to build the plane incrementally.

So, we have some time constraints and some budget. Which is the more reasonable approach going with RV7 or RV14. Is RV7 that challenging as compared to RV14?

Thanks
 
7 vs 14

Not challenging. The 14 is just more complete. Prepunched holes are final size. There is less fabrication. However, it costs a little more.
For comparison. I've helped two builders get started. One is flying. The other will probably fly before I finish my 7A. I could be slow too. :D
 
Thanks Mike!

wirejock --> nice project going on there wth 3000+ hours. One day I will be there too...
 
kit availability

I think you will enjoy building either kit - they are both awesome as are even the "older" kits. One thing to check from Van's is the kit availability - it seems like some parts have quite a long lead time. Might be a factor.

I know you are young, smart, and full of energy - which will be very helpful. I recommend meeting with other builders in the area to help you get a fast and good start. Also, if you can spare the time, attend a "one week" builder class/workshop - they are really valuable.

Good luck - looking forward to seeing your progress!
 
Welcome, in my opinion, due to your constraints I would recommend getting the 14. Although I don’t know what your budget is exactly. That may help with the decision.
 
I also have Larry's experience, helped with a 14 and building a 7 purchased from another builder.

The 14 plans are very complete. Extremely precise callouts for where to dimple, drill, not drill, and explicit "Ikea-style" instructions on how to make your parts from start to finish. There are occasional bugs in the plans and you will have to still work through them carefully and keep in tune with the builder community on them.

The 7 plans by comparison are much lighter in detail, many more things are assumed and you are typically staring at drawings figuring out how to put them together. There are many flying RV7's that you can reference with builder blogs to figure out your own procedure.

What you save in time for the 14 you lose in cost. You will likely spend 25-50% more than a 7 in terms of engine, prop etc. - the 14 is heavier and designed for a heavier engine like the IO-390 and a constant-speed prop, otherwise your W&B will be out of whack. An O-360-A1A + Sensenich prop is going to be just enough for my RV-7.

Also consider your total cost of ownership will be higher after you complete the build, not just during. The 14 will burn more fuel and maintenance will cost more over the many years you intend to fly it.

If cost is truly not an issue, go with the 14 and don't look back. Otherwise, think long and hard about how much you truly want to spend on your build!
 
When I started on my partially-built RV-7A project at Synergy Air in Eugene, one of the components we needed to rebuild was the canopy. The 7 tip up canopy is similar to the 14 (at least in function, not exactly in design).

With the help of a very skilled and knowledgeable technician - it took us 2 1/2 weeks to build a new canopy from scratch with all new parts. Right next to me was a builder doing the same thing on his RV-14. That assembly took them exactly one week. Everything just fits on the 14 and there was a lot of tweaking, manipulating and shimming on the 7.

I realize this is but one of many components in the build and not all sections will have a similar difference in assembly time. My limited experience watching several RV-14 builds both in Eugene and now at Synergy Air South in Newnan indicates the 14 goes together much quicker and with greater precision.

The 7 is a great airplane, but if I were doing it over, I would build a 14.
 
Decided on the 7

Thanks for your feedback. Ok so I decided on the 7 and ordered the tail kit. I considered my budget requirements and made the call.
 
Something to keep in mind is that if you decide to stray away from the plans and make something a little different such as an aftermarket cowling or any of a jillion cool things you might see on this site the time to build seems to go up fast.
 
Most definitely

<snip>
The 7 is a great airplane, but if I were doing it over, I would build a 14.

Me too.

It is 2 generations beyond the 7 in completeness, precision of parts, build instructions, planning of wiring and routing. I had a mental list of areas for improvement and when I first inspected a 14 at the mothership, it was so exciting to see how thoroughly Vans Engineering Design Team had addressed all my list and much more.
 
The 7 is a great airplane, but if I were doing it over, I would build a 14.

Same here... lately it seems like every time I hit a difficult patch in the construction of my RV-7, I discover that it's been addressed in the RV-14: either through improved design, improved plans, or by simply having whatever-it-is prefabricated for you!

On the other hand, you can't get a slider canopy on your RV-14. ;)
 
Something to keep in mind is that if you decide to stray away from the plans and make something a little different such as an aftermarket cowling or any of a jillion cool things you might see on this site the time to build seems to go up fast.
That's for sure! I got a lot of good advice before starting my -8 to not fall into the trap of "enhancing" things - and I generally didn't listen, unfortunately. "i'M vErY sMaAaRT!" Eventually I understood the wisdom of this advice, and was finally able to get flying with a very simple aircraft. Once I got the right "do it like the plans say" mindset, the build went very fast.

For those saying "build a 14" - you can get a lot of the benefit of the RV-14 with your RV-7 by just reading the RV-14 plans - not everything is the same of course, but there are a lot of good hints there. Particularly FWF.
 
That's for sure! I got a lot of good advice before starting my -8 to not fall into the trap of "enhancing" things - and I generally didn't listen, unfortunately. "i'M vErY sMaAaRT!" Eventually I understood the wisdom of this advice, and was finally able to get flying with a very simple aircraft. Once I got the right "do it like the plans say" mindset, the build went very fast.

For those saying "build a 14" - you can get a lot of the benefit of the RV-14 with your RV-7 by just reading the RV-14 plans - not everything is the same of course, but there are a lot of good hints there. Particularly FWF.

In particular, the cowl/baffle/air intake instructions for the RV-14 are night and day better and clearer than you get for the RV-7.
 
I am an international student and I have gotten some of American culture in me now that is homebuilding. The situation is such that I may have about 4 years from now till I leave the USA, no more. I want to build my plane while I am in the USA.
Thanks

So you are a full-time (presumably graduate) student and you anticipate having enough time over four years to build a plane? As a former graduate student myself I can tell you that, for me, there's no way I could have done a quality build on either a -7 or a -14 in four years while doing any sort of justice to my academic program.

Just food for thought.
 
So you are a full-time (presumably graduate) student and you anticipate having enough time over four years to build a plane? As a former graduate student myself I can tell you that, for me, there's no way I could have done a quality build on either a -7 or a -14 in four years while doing any sort of justice to my academic program.

Just food for thought.

Yeah I will be careful. Actually I graduate in a year and then I will be on OPT...
 
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