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quickest build RV-8

RV8R999

Well Known Member
Ok, so I read the great thread on the "longest build time" and was wondering who the fastest builders are? Lets break into two camps (standard kit and quickbuild).

I started my standard kit Oct 21st, 2008 and am now complete with emp, wings, and almost done with fuselage skins...flying this time next year.

What is the record?

Regards,

ken
 
Ok, so I ...was wondering who the fastest builders are? ...
What is the record?

Regards,

ken

Probably one of those two weeks to taxi jobs;) And the feds say that meets the 51% rule. More like the 51% of the $$ rule.

Just kidding.

Chris
 
I met one person who went to a Builder Center in Texas, and got his RV-8 flying in 93 days.

Fast work indeed!
 
93 days! WOW..for a standard kit? Must have had a bunch of "assistance". Amazing.

there is another guy that has built an rv in a very short amount of time in a t hanger, i think it was his second or third plane.

according to the 51% rule, isn't it true that a person only has to do one item out of a group of exactly the same items to get credit for doing the work on that item? so if someone does one rib and has a friend do the other 9 while he goes on to the next item, he is within the federal rules? that is one way how builder assistance gets you a plane built very fast, not to mention having room, tools, expertise, etc. We pooh pooh build centers, but never think twice about having a friend come over and help us out with half the work on a stage or part.
 
........ that is one way how builder assistance gets you a plane built very fast,.......... never think twice about having a friend come over and help us out with half the work on a stage or part.

No wonder my build is taking so long, I build alone with no body else. Change a few lyrics and George Thorogood could make a good song about it.
 
93 days! WOW..for a standard kit? Must have had a bunch of "assistance". Amazing.

Oh, yes here sure did.

He was retired, so he could spend all day on it.
His son lived nearby, so he stayed with him.
He had a good plan for his plane, and he stuck to it.
And most of all, he went to a really great builder assist center.

It is amazing what you can do if you happen to have a spare $100,000 in your hip pocket.
 
John Harmon must be...

...one of the fastest slow-builders, turning out Rockets in well under a year IIRC. Most guys take 8-12 years to build a -4.

Regards,
 
i recall reading somewhere that an RV was done and flying in 89 days...:eek:

i'll try to verify that.. i don't remember what model RV it was
 
Jerry Scott built his RV6 cs, ifr, painte, uph, carp., by himself, from opening the crate to flying in 127 days.
 
update

from my post earlier.. direct from the Van's Aircraft Brochure that came with my -8 preview plans... on the page titled "Time and Money"

Van's Aircraft Brochure said:
"One builder, working by himself in a T-hangar on a hot, dusty, airport, and getting help only when absolutely necessary, completed an RV-6, including the paint in 85 days. That's certainly not typical, but it does show what's possible."
:eek::cool:

i know it's not an RV-8, and correct me if I'm wrong, but i don't remember if the -6 was ever offered as a QB.. I'm pretty sure it was never offered with match drilled holes.. :cool:
 
Yep, I have a QB -6A....

....that a partner and I finished in 21 months, working just about daily and weekends. It was a later model, around 2002, with the counterbalanced -8 fin and rudder.

Regards,
 
2 RV8 QBs

I may have the record here at RV Central

One built here in 54 days, a RV8a QB
Another built in 92 days, a RV8 QB

I built my RV6 kit,my first RV, in 18 months, by myself. I was motivated to get it finished. That was 1995/96

We have the experience to get it done IF you do not make us learn a bunch of NEW tricks. ie,,,.... The new sumps coming out have different nonexestant mounting brackets for throttle cables, just one thing that you can get hung up on. Another is the New Glass stuff have a bunch of remotes to mount. ALL this add up to a LOT of extra time, figuring it out. ,, aren't you supposed to be looking outside the cockpit? The remotes that come with this new equipment add up the hours. I have a friend that has 5 different airplanes and they all have carbs, and mags. Why? He says they are easier to work on. I have these to "fly not so I can have an extra job".

The aforementioned 'super' quick builds had the owners working up to 14 hour days with me as supervisor, Troy fiberglass, and Vroom electrical, all helping the owner. Both RVs did NOT have any thing out of the standard Vans kit, and parts. We put mags to fire the engines. Standard round circuit breakers, not square ones. We made our own panels so we did not have to wait for a water jet company to get to us. The gauges were round and we could cut the holes with a punch. We used simple paint in the interior. Both, the owners had built the empennage before coming here.

The The 92 day RV8 won Reserve Grand champion at the Casa Grande Air Show Fly in the same year. He also had the smallest labor bill in my 12 years of helping people with their RVs.

I have seen builds from out there that take too long because the owners are putting 10 pounds of stuff in a 5 lb bucket. It adds to the hours to build like you would not believe. Keep it simple and you can have a RV in a reasonable time.

Hear is the math....
RV8 QB, Carb, Night lights, Cross country VFR = 1000 hours to build.
3 hours 3 nights a week + all day Saturday,,, go to church on Sunday = a flying airplane within a year of receiving all the parts.

Easy... but you have to be motivated.
I sell my time to others because I can condense their time to build an RV. I have helped a lot of RV builders get flying sooner.
 
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