Another Newbie Question - Non Pilot Builder

[jahnnieb]

I wanted to find out if there are any builders out there that started building before they got their pilots license?

Would you do it again? Do anything different? etc.

I have been interested in flying for a few years now, parents live on an air strip and I have attended several fly-ins. My career is going to keep me very busy during the daytime for the next 2 or 3 years but should ease up after that (sales). However, I have plenty of time in the evening and a garage that can be cleaned out in a weekend!!

What I would like to do is start building now (RV-7, preview plans in hand), then work on flying in a year or two. I have helped a friend with his 7A and think that I would really enjoy the project.

I probably could have held off for a while if I didn't get my first ride in an RV-8 at the Rebel's Bluff Fly-in a couple of weeks ago.

Any feedback would be appreciated!!

[Captain_John]

Nuttin' to it but ta do it!



Build away!

We have a local builder here doing the same thing. His wife holds the pilot's license. He is building away on a -6! **** near done too! Looks GREAT!

Do it up!!!

CJ

[Dave_Boxall]

I'm building a 9A in the UK (finish kit). Neither I nor my build partner have a licence (though I do have a hot-air balloon commercial!). I have met another RV builder in the UK without a licence and have heard of a Europa builder without one. I'm sure that the flying part can't be that difficult - look how many people do it!

Just build it.

Dave

[johnp]

go for it.

you'll probably hear many opinions that will say that the rv is
"too slippery" for a beginning pilot, and that you should have
more experience in other planes first. but it's all about the
training -- if you get a well qualified rv pilot/instructor, there
is no reason you can't learn in the rv. consider the military
pilots that are flying jets with < 200 hours of piloting time.

[just please be sure to get good instruction.]

mho,

johnp
cfi-asmel-ia
rv7a - wings (fuse on order)
[gave doug some money at the midway fly-in, will have
a vaf number sometime soon, i guess.]

[thallock]

Of course, you should be aware that before you can get training in your RV, it has to have the initial hours flown off. So, if you do not have a license, then you are looking at someone else flying your airplane for probably 40 hours before you can even go up.

Tracy.

[N916K]

The cost of a rental plane for 40 hours isn't really all that much. I would get all your hard landings out of the way in some spam can then when your plane is finished you get to fly it, instead of watching someone else play with your ride-on toy for 40 hours. The flight lessens will also be good motivation, plus as a pilot you can make a better educated decision on what you want on the panel.

Cam

[alpinelakespilot2000]

I'm a big fan of trying flying on a sustained basis to see if you like it first. It's a terribly big investment to build a plane only to find that you don't enjoy it as much as you thought you would. Granted, everyone on this forum probably can't live without flying. There are, however, a lot of people who start taking lessons, realize it's not for them, etc. There are so many aspects to flying and aircraft ownership that I never knew about before getting my PPL--and I had been learning about flying for at least 15 years before I ever actually started my lessons! I now feel so much more confident about what I'm building, how I'm building it, and what each part is for than if I had done so before I started flying. One example: how are you going to know what you want/need in your panel if you've never been a pilot before? I know a lot of people who spend far more on their panels than either their kit or their engine--a lot of money can be wasted if you don't know what YOU need and what YOU will want. That can only be gained from firsthand piloting experience. [I just realized Cam used the same example above]

Also something to consider. If you are going to learn in your own plane, who's going to teach you? There are a lot of CFI's out there, but only a relative few willing to teach in an experimental, and even fewer (even among RV fliers/CFIs) who would be willing to teach in something their student built, so I'm not entirely convinced that you'd be saving yourself money. I'm not saying they're not out there, they're just going to be harder to find.

Like someone else earlier said--buckle down, spend what it takes to get your license and your REALLY bad landings out of the way in a Cessna, and then build/fly the -7. In the end, the learning to fly costs will be such a small part of the total costs that it won't really matter if you do it separately.

I definitely don't mean to sound discouraging, just trying to offer another perspective. All that said, I think you'll like learning to fly and building! It's a LOT of fun!

good luck,
Steve

[jahnnieb]

Thanks for the great info everyone.

I would want to have my license before finishing the project. I figured that I could finish the wings and start the fuselage prior to getting the license.

Jahnnie

[Highflight]

Originally Posted by alpinelakespilot2000

Also something to consider. If you are going to learn in your own plane, who's going to teach you? There are a lot of CFI's out there, but only a relative few willing to teach in an experimental, and even fewer (even among RV fliers/CFIs) who would be willing to teach in something their student built, so I'm not entirely convinced that you'd be saving yourself money. Steve

As a PPL now, I intend to get my IFR rating in my own RV. I've mentioned that in casual conversation only a handful of times, and I've already got two CFI's begging to "let them" teach me in my '7A.

From a practical standpoint, I don't think too many builders will have trouble finding an instructor once the initial 40 hours are flown off. They're no different from other pilots in that way, and I'd be willing to bet that there's a few instructors who are considering building their own aircraft who would be tickled to be PAID to fly in one of our RV's. Most of us have to beg to get a ride in a flying RV.

[Bob Axsom]

Seriously, what is your motivation? I sense that you have some nagging doubt that this is a wise thing to do. Learning to fly and acquiring broad flight experience is a very significant life enriching process that requires a lot of focus to maximize the yield. I know that a slam-bam learn to fly and build a hot airplane approach is being done but it is like sitting down to a gormet dinner and stuffing food in your mouth with both hands; a lot of enjoyment is lost. It is common to see people knock Cessnas and Pipers but in my opinion they are very efficient and well evolved products of the compromise art. I never thought of a clean, well running, all systems working airplane as anything short of a miracle machine. If you don't get some experience you will not be able to judge the performance and compromises in an RV - and there are significant performance differences and compromises with respect to production aircraft. If you have compromised all your life to get where you are and are running out of time then it is doable and it is something not to be missed.