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Documenting your build

Mike.Smith

Active Member
I am about to get started and just wanted to get some different ideas on how you documented your builds. I have seen a few that blogged, what site do you like? Obviously I will take pictures, just curious about how you told the story.
 
I just kept a note book and documented what I did every day. I also took pictures of things along the way. It worked for the faa. I didn't feel like spending half my time uploading pictures and writing descriptions.
 
Spreadsheet with photos

For my build I've been using a spreadsheet. I type in the activities / tasks I completed each day, logging date and time, and paste in a few photos alongside the notes. It might make for a huge file if I don't compress the photos but it works for me.
 
Just me

I use blogspot, but others have used wordpress too.
I mainly blog so that i can save the pictures on the cloud and upload them here when i have troubles or solutions. I used to blog often, but now just significanr milestones or things i have changed/updated/ learned.
 
I made copies of the instruction manual sections and simply noted the dates (and occsional notes) alonside each instruction step as it was completed. I highlighted deferred steps to ensure they were completed later, and lined-out inapplicable items (e.g., steps specific to QB kits, etc.). That became my build log for the FAA.

Digital photos (LOTS of them) stored on my laptop, organized into folders. Be sure to have someone get some photos of *you* doing some of the work to show the FAA for the Repairman's Certificate.

Like others, I didn't want to spend my time messing around on the computer each night...kept it simple. I spend enough time in front of the computer at work every day. :)
 
I started my build before internet was helpful and digital cameras could only hold pics on a floppy disk..so lots of "real" pics in a photo album and dated notes in the margin of my builders manual. Easy and no need for any type computer or tablet to look through.
 
Personally, I'm doing timelapse videos of most of the build process. (I'm not recording or counting the time to deburr, prep for primer, or apply primer as I don't want to know how much time that is adding to my build! )

I'm not writing down how long I take for each step as I don't want to focus on the time aspect of the build. If I really need to at the end, I can use the videos to calculate total build time +/-.

I'm also making notes on my plans on any changes I made along the way, or things I need to go back to as I get towards the end of the build. Photos of key milestones or any of the "oops" areas that I repaired.

I do remember someone wired up a HOBBS meter to his workshop lights to record build time. That was a brilliant idea.
 
My build was pre Internet/Digital cameras, too, so I kept a bound notebook with lots of details and took hundreds of 35mm photos. Be sure to get someone to take photos of YOU doing the work.
 
my last build i took pics. he looked at a couple out of thousands.
after logging the entire building process last time in a notebook i did my rv by dating every day i worked with the total hrs for the day and checked off each task as it was done. can't get more descriptive than that.
i understand the scrutiny may differ according to who comes to visit.
 
I dont have time to mess with a website, so I just use the blog template in MS Word (it asks you to publish it, but I dont) - its basically just a word document with wider margins so the pics go in clean. Write some notes and paste pics from my digital camera - only slightly more tech than a paper log, but still dirt simple, quick, easy to search, and checks the FAA square. And free.
 
The first question we have to ask is “are you an engineer?” If the answer is yes, then the documentation question is answered - complete, step-by-step annotation of the plans, pictures with every rivet, a time-stamped log so you can track involvement to the nearest minute (including study, shopping and dreaming time). You’ll need backup copies of logs and photos of course, archived every evening...and maybe one done automatically at noon, just to be sure. I know all this becasue I’m an engineer....

From a legal perspective, you will be signing a piece of paper (when you have the airplane inspected) that states (under penalty of perjury) that you built it, and that has always been good enough for the FAA and DAR’s I have used. If you want the Repairman’s Certificate, you will need to prove to an inspector that you were sufficiently involved in teh build to know how to inspect it - most times, that requires photos of you and the airplane in various states of completion (the airplane....not you...). Other than that, records really aren’t required.

Practically speaking, do what feels right for you. My first build was significantly over-documented. Teh second, less so. The third, I took some pictures, and made date annotations in the builder’s manual. My fourth.... well, I refer you to various blogs on teh Kitplanes web site.....and so on, and so on....

Whatever you do - if its a burden that makes you not want to build - re-evaluate!

Paul
 
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Excel & Blogger

I'm on the far end. I don't recommend it but it works for me.
Daily stuff is hand written with date and time. Photos get taken.
Hand written notes get transferred to an Excel book while I can still understand my chicken scratch. Photos get backed up.
Excel notes and totals get transferred (copy/paste) to Google Blogger along with photos.
Active page gets printed to Pdf then new pages printed for my physical log.
Excel log has two pages for every section. One is financial. One is time. Both total back to a main page. Every minute and every penny is accounted.
Receipts get scanned before filing into binders.
Sounds time consuming but only takes about 30 minutes ever few weeks.
My Excel log is available on my log if anyone wants a basic builder log to start. It also has a full 7(a) inventory.
 
The first question we have to ask is ?are you an engineer?? If the answer is yes, then the documentation question is answered - complete, step-by-step annotation of the plans, pictures with every rivet, a time-stamped log so you can track involvement to the nearest minute (including study, shopping and dreaming time). You?ll need backup copies of logs and photos of course, archived every evening...and maybe one done automatically at noon, just to be sure. I know all this becasue I?m an engineer....

You forgot a step...developing a *plan* for how you're going to do all of this before starting! :) Oh, and you'll need QA to verify that all those things were done after you do them LOL!
 
I had a camera setup to automatically start recording whenever it sensed motion in the shop. Captured everything. As far as the steps taken, the manual covers that far more precisely than I could have logged.
 
From a legal perspective, you will be signing a piece of paper (when you have the airplane inspected) that states (under penalty of perjury) that you built it, and that has always been good enough for the FAA and DAR’s I have used.

Actually, more documentation than the 8130-12 is required.
From FAA Order 8130.2j:

b. Review Aircraft Records.
(1) Supporting Documentation for the Eligibility Statement.
(a)
Review the builder’s documentation to verify it shows: 1 What was fabricated, assembled, and inspected. 2 Who performed these actions. 3 The date the activity was performed. 4 Where the activity was performed. 5 The methods used. 6 Any commercial assistance or education assistance used.
 
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Excel spreadsheet with embedded pictures. Tabs for each major section (kits) and extra tabs for SB accomplishment, rework and wiring list.
 
Awesome

This is all good stuff. I am not particularly the nerd in the family, that?s my wife. However, she loves and embraces that role, so I know going in that I have someone to document meticulously. I wouldn?t mind others following along if it could help, them or me. I appreciate all the replies.
 
I had a camera setup to automatically start recording whenever it sensed motion in the shop. Captured everything. As far as the steps taken, the manual covers that far more precisely than I could have logged.

If I had done this, I would have been considered by most as unfit to build a plane!..the hours of pondering and shuffling around with an adult beverage likely exceeded the actual productive process.:D
 
There is no "required" format for the builder's log. Any simple chronological log is fine. Pictures and dates are important.
 
The first question we have to ask is “are you an engineer?” If the answer is yes, then the documentation question is answered - complete, step-by-step annotation of the plans, pictures with every rivet, a time-stamped log so you can track involvement to the nearest minute (including study, shopping and dreaming time). You’ll need backup copies of logs and photos of course, archived every evening...and maybe one done automatically at noon, just to be sure. I know all this becasue I’m an engineer....

Guilty as charged...although with the advent of cloud based data, my stuff is backed up live. :cool:

I'm on my fourth build, and although I don't document every rivet, I do time myself from start to finish at each work event by writing the time at each step when I finish that step, which serves two purposes - the time it took to complete the step and then my own QA process of whereby the end time and initial indicates I've gone back and reviewed the work performed in that step against the drawing. I wrap up my work time by annotating total time and a summary of what I did into a spreadsheet and hyperlink to my photo folder where I put enough photos to accurately document the day's work - and hopefully provide a good reference should the day come I need to work on that component again - or possibly hand it off to a future owner who will probably value it even more.

My last FSDO visit for a Repairman Cert was for my RV12 last year and consisted of me sliding my 2" build-log binder across the desk; he opened it, noted my spreadsheet on the first few pages and then commented, "wow, over 500 pages?", flipped through a couple of them, asking a couple questions about why I chose my avionics package and did I use a tripod or did I get someone to take my picture on the photos I was in, and then him signing my cert. I think about 15 minutes all-in.

I'm rinsing-and-repeating on my RV10.
 
Minimal

I dated and initialed each step in the builder manual when I completed it. If I had to do something over (it happened) there are two sets of dates and initials. I also made notes in the manual, and took a lot of pictures. Got my RC in June of this year.
 
I have been using the Windows application KitLog Pro. It is an older program that uses the Microsoft Access database for the file and it has a max. character limit for each entry, but it has worked for me. It also allows you to attach 3 photos to each log entry. With the purchase of the program, you can upload your log to the KitLog website. This can then be viewed using any web browser.

I started out adding photos to most entries, but grew tired of the time and effort this took, so while I have lots of digital photos taken with my iPhone, I stopped uploading them to the log. But I do have them automatically backed up to my iPhone cloud.

When I first started building, I was warned several times by Synergy Air folks (I took their empennage class) of the need for backups, as they knew of a couple of builders who lost their photos due to a computer crash, and almost didn't get their Airworthiness certificate due to lack of proof that they built their plane. One advantage of KitLog Pro is you can quickly back up to their website after every entry, so you have an offsite backup. I also have the data file automatically backed up to my network storage, so I have a further copy should something happen to my laptop.

Like everything in Experimental Aircraft building, there is no one right way to do it. So find what works best for you and enjoy the build.
 
I take pictures with my iPhone. Occasionally I back them up.

They tell the story of the build pretty well (and have dates).

Yep, time-stamped pictures and occasional forum posts/updates. If I tried to document every minute and every step and every part number completed there would be days I'd spend longer on the paperwork than the building work.
 
Wordpress

I've been using Wordpress pretty much forever. When I first started, I was using some weird open-source thing I can't recall the name of now, but Wordpress was able to ingest the files when I ported over. Back then, you had to be somewhat computer-savvy to set it up. Now you don't. If you can navigate a webhost control panel, you can enable and configure Wordpress.

One of the great things about Wordpress is that there's a plugin to turn your blog into a book. (blogbooker?) . With that, I was able to format it for a service that essentially prints books. I got the pages back, nicely printed and 3-hole punched, put in a binder and ready for both DAR and FAA repairman cert inspections. Doing this would have turned my old inkjet printer into a puddle of mush.

If you have a webhost account, you should get Wordpress at the click of a button. Just remember to download backups. and keep them safe in case something goes wrong at your web host.
 
Another vote for simple blog (see my signature). I used a site call Blogbooker to turn the whole thing into a very high quality PDF that is a permanent record of my build complete with dates, photos, etc.

Also a folder on dropbox with all the photos plus various documents that seemed worth keeping. I continue to add to this folder all the engine and flight data that is stored on G3X.
 
backups

Whatever you do, make sure you have backups. Laptops fail. Disks fail. Web companies go out of business. House fires happen. Theft happens. People make mistakes. Assume any or all of these can happen to you, and have a plan to recover.
 
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