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Basement Exit Strategy

Phil Sprang

Well Known Member
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It’s about to get real. My RV-14 kit has been ordered and I just finished my hangar renovation project so my attention has turned to getting my space ready to build, at home.

I’m seriously looking at my unfinished walkout basement as my build space. I have a 43’ x 16’ area and an adjoining 20’ x 20’ area available with 10’ ceilings. That should be more than adequate.

The main question I have is my “exit strategy”. The only way out is a 6’ wide French door, in a brick wall.

Can an RV-14, on it’s landing gear, fit though a 72” opening if I put the gear on castering dollies?
 
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I got an RV-10 and RV-8 fuselage out of the basement via the same size door - but the gear cannot be on the plane.

I built two legs with wheels that bolt onto the fuselage spar ends. The legs are 2”x2” steel angle. The lower height but still movable came in handy during construction.

Carl
 
I think if you put it on dollies you would be close to making it but not quite!
If it is wood frame basement wall you can always make the hole bigger and then fix it. Not the easiest but would work. Maybe just removing the doors, trim, and frame would work. You can pick up another 3-5" and tha may make the difference.

I know you didnt ask but I thought it would be cool to have my plane on its gear because it looked like real progress. I was in my garage so getting out wasnt an issue and I rolled it around the driveway and had fun for an hour or so. Then I started working on it and the next day I took it off the gear and back onto the rolling cart I made for it because it was so much easier to work on at a lower level.

It is cool to see your plane on its gear and fun to show it off to all the non believers but sure is easier to work on at a lower level!
 
On dollies, no wheels or axles, might work. Plus you can get a ratcheting strap and reduce the width of the gear legs somewhat.
 
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Thank you all for the responses!

Some more to the story, as always.

I have an available 2.5 car, air conditioned garage, adjacent to the basement space. It is currently set up as a wood shop. I could move all the woodworking machines into the basement and build the plane there but I’m trying to avoid that. Additionally, the garage floor is not flat. They poured the floor with some flat areas and some steep transitions to sloped for water egress. I wasn’t happy with that but such is life. It would make it less than ideal for rolling tables and fixtures.

I think I’ll likely build the airframe in the basement then transition to the garage for landing gear/engine/cowling.

Again, thank you for your input.
 
90" is wider than a 6' doorway, but diagonally maybe it could fit. With a few people to lift and rotate the fuselage it might go through.

Gotta stop thinking in two dimensions on some of these problems. :)
 
I took my RV14A out through a basement window

Before it is on the gear and without the engine on it, four of us were able to pass it out through the window. We moved it to my garage where I installed the main gear and the engine (which took about six weeks). We then trucked it to the airport on a tilt bed car hauler. That was a year ago. I had to remove the center support from the window - my wife reminds me every month or so that I have to put that back in. I'm gonna get to it.

One thing that everyone who has done this will tell you, is don't move to the airport until the last possible moment (unless you live on an airport). It is so nice to head downstairs or out to the garage for a 30 minute build session that would never happen if you have to commute back and forth to the airport.
 
I have done my tailcone without top skins and my wings in the walkout basement.

My Tail cone -"barely" fit through a slide glass door (and I had to remove the sliding door). There was a little tweaking of the bulkheads (the top skins were not on). Without the top skin I could maneuver it sideways out the door rotating as required to get the bulkheads through.

The cone did not fit well through a rough door opening (studs). So if you have a straight shot at a standard sliding glass door you could probably get as far as me.

For the wings, they are really long comparatively, so make sure you have room to move them around.

For the fuse, my plan was to build pieces in the basement, then bring them to the garage.

Finally - remember you will need compressed air. Your wife, roommates, dogs etc and your ears will not appreciate a compressor indoors. I ran 3/4 pex (dont use pvc, abs or black pipe etc, they fail pretty nasty) from my compressor in the garage down to the shop in the basement and it worked wonderfully.

Even with my extensive basement shop, my 3rd stall was usually pretty used for things like a priming booth etc.

Having as much work as I could do in the basement was so key to my progress - airconditioning and heat make a HUGE difference in getting off the couch and going to work on it!
 
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If it is close...

The wheelbase on an RV14A is only a couple of inches wider than my garage door opening. I bought castering dollies but ended up not needing them. On the big day, I was able to skid the fully assembled fuselage sideways, working it side to side diagonally until it was out. It wasn't that hard to skid since my garage floor is very smooth concrete.
 
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