If you could tell a newbie builder, what would it be!

[ron sterba]

I would tell a new builder to install plate nuts under the baggage floor instead of RIVETS. When plans for the RV9 emerged there was not the vast array of electronics as of today market.

I'm sticking to my word on this one. ,,,,,yes ALL rivets drilled out in bag floors.

Ron in Oregon

[grayforge]

1. Don't stray too far from the plans. The further you go, the longer it'll take.
2. Try not to refactor things. IE, redoing things for a better option. If I would have determined the final option on many things, it would have saved a bunch of time. Example: I installed standard brake lines and Grove parts. Then redid everything with steel braided lines/Beringer setup.
3. Read ahead... Like the entire manual. There are numerous areas I had to undo things that I should have just not done. One example was installing the doubler for the Facet carburated RV fuel pump. I knew I was going injected and didn't realize at the time that the Facet pump was for a carburated engine.
4. Any structure that has piano hinge riveted to 2 sheets of aluminum should have the piano hinge machine countersunk. (Flap hinges)

[curtis]

1st - Stick to the plans! Every time you change something it never ends there and it will drive changes later for what you have done.
2nd - DO NOT buy your avionics until you know you are getting really close to needing them. Avionics are changing at warp speed and nothing is worse than having a first flight with old avionics if your goal was to have a the newest stuff.

[C-FAH Q]

Buy one, it's cheaper.

[TX7A]

Originally Posted by curtis

2nd - DO NOT buy your avionics until you know you are getting really close to needing them. Avionics are changing at warp speed and nothing is worse than having a first flight with old avionics if your goal was to have a the newest stuff.

Amen and amen!

[N941WR]

If you don't have the proper tool for the task at hand, don't make something work,stop and beg, bower, or buy the correct tool. If you don't, you will bugger up the part you have spent 10 hours working on and then order a replacement part AND the tool.

[videobobk]

Since I work with new builders quite a bit, this is personal, and a great question! First, understand what the plans are trying to tell you. That may mean assembling things several times with clecos, or it might mean asking someone else to figure something out. Second, if it doesn't line up right, chances are you have something assembled wrong. Since we work on RV-12s, and the plans are pretty complete, the answer to almost every question is, "Read the instructions." Perhaps it should be, "Understand the instructions." I am a big believer in trial assembly of whole components, even when it doesn't seem important.

Bob

[wirejock]

Prime and go with a nose wheel. There. That should get the flames going.

Actually, you got good advise already.
I would add...
1. Pound on scrap, build the practice kits then drill them all apart and do it again.
Drilling rivets is as important a skill as pounding them.
2. When you get tired. Quit immediately. Mistakes inevitably follow.

[Kyle Boatright]

Van's philosophy: Make it work. This isn't hard.

Many of us (myself included, without a doubt) waste a LOT of time looking for the perfect tool, the perfect method, etc., when "just doing it" will deliver an indistinguishable result 10x sooner.

[rv8pilotpaul]

Buy a GOOD bandsaw