What derailed your RV project...for a while

Paul Tuttle · #1 10-19-2007, 04:07 PM

I am wondering what has caused people to stop building their RVs for extended periods of time and how they kept their eye on the prize while not being able to build.
I?m in a situation where I have everything in place to complete the project, I can afford it, I have my engine, firewall forward kit etc. and a considerable amount of work is already done. My big problem is that another opportunity has come up that I have to take advantage of. The down side is it absorbs a huge amount of time. It appears this will be the case for quite some time. When I go into my garage and see everything just waiting for me, I feel a sense of guilt that I am not making any progress. Anybody else been through this?

Jim P · #2 10-19-2007, 04:46 PM

Paul,

I did a relatively simple bi-plane from plans and took almost 8 years, now I'm over 5 years on a slo-build -7. We're supposed to be having fun doing these things so in the course of these lengthy and complicated projects, there's bound to be other priorities that take precidence. Jobs, weddings, divorces, relocations, illness, and of course, the addition of our little people all inject themselves into the build process. In short, its' just life.

apatti · #3 10-19-2007, 05:02 PM

A move and, at the same time, hurricane Katrina. It probably set me back about six months.

shiney · #4 10-19-2007, 05:09 PM

Reading the Vans Airforce forum !

Brantel · #5 10-19-2007, 05:12 PM

5 Years was spent between emp and wings going to night school to finish earning my BS degree and creating two beautiful girls one now 6 and one 2 1/2

Oh and also the total lack of available funds for the wing kit!

DeltaRomeo · #6 10-19-2007, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiney

Reading the Vans Airforce forum !

Classic.

For me, as others have said, it was the combination of kids, career (two jobs in my case) and family (the big one).

Susie agreed to the build project on the condition that I not spend more than 10hrs per week on it. This signed contract (not kidding) was on the refrigerator for 5.7yrs. Witnessed and signed by neighbors. She held me to it, I might add

.

b,
dr

ww2planes · #7 10-19-2007, 05:28 PM

My delay was mostly due to the fact that I do not enjoy the building all that much. I have a great support staff that has pushed me to the point of getting back on track. My divorce deraild me for awhile and through that chapter I told myself that I would not build until I had my head on straight. Well it is straight and I am back at it. I have trained myself to look at it in a new light and I cannot wait for my son to start his flying in it. He wants to be a Navy aviator and I think that I should give him every advantage before he turns 18, graduates and assults this world with his generation.

Besides, it would be ultimate cool for him to be young with a license and be able to take his girl to lunch or breakfast just like us big kids do. Thank goodness I 8 years until he gets to that point. I know that he and I will be seeing a lot of this nation and maybe the world after it is done.

MNellis · #8 10-19-2007, 05:32 PM

1 Divorce, a marriage, 3 relocations, 1 business purchase, 1 sale of business, a couple of jobs in between and now the owner of 3 restaurants that consume between 10 - 14 hours a day. In fact, in this very difficult staffing climate, my wife and I have not had a whole day off in the past 20 days or so.

No complaining, but that's the facts and it's what contributes to the long term build time of a -6 kit that I started around April '97 and we've just recently flipped the fuselage.

Bryan Wood · #9 10-19-2007, 06:01 PM

I took a month off of work one time to finish my plane working up to 14 hour days at times, seven days a week. At the end of this 30 days it wasn't anywhere close to being done and it kind of deflated me. Two years later it finally flew. It was the baffles that got me if the truth be told with 8 days spent fitting those %@&*$##@#$ pieces of sheet metal. The next one that got me was actually right at the end of the project while putting nutplates on the wing tips. This wasn't a hard job but I remember the feeling of being overwhelmed and considering quitting the build. It also got pretty old cleaning the garage up and putting everything away every so often.

Best,

jus10stephens · #10 10-19-2007, 06:23 PM

My daily driver decided to have an injector leak which filled a cylinder full of gas which did not compress when I tried to crank it after it sat for a weekend and broke a rod. I have spent the last several months rebuilding it and hope to have it running in a week or so. Wish me luck. I have a fuse kit that is mocking me.