I need an RV Construction History Lesson

[N941WR]

Mel,

Over the years you have posted comments about your early -6 kit. Could you elaborate?

Things I think I've heard:

1. No holes of any kind
2. All dimples were done with a pop rivet dimpler. Didn't they have a C-frame in that cave?
3. How about the cowl? Did you have to make that too?
4. Electricity, did you have electricity?

I realize how easy us match hole kids have it but would like to learn how rough the true RV pioneers had it.

[Mel]

Originally Posted by N941WR

Mel,

Over the years you have posted comments about your early -6 kit. Could you elaborate?

Things I think I've heard:

1. No holes of any kind
2. All dimples were done with a pop rivet dimpler. Didn't they have a C-frame in that cave?
3. How about the cowl? Did you have to make that too?
4. Electricity, did you have electricity?

I realize how easy us match hole kids have it but would like to learn how rough the true RV pioneers had it.

1. No holes of any kind!
2. The "C" frame was around. Bob Avery's invention BTW.
I just used the pop rivet dimpler because I was used to it.
3. We got a cowl but it was a pretty poor example. I had to glass the upper and lower halves together with material added in between to get it to fit properly, then re cut it.
4. We had electricity, but Ann had to pedal the generator to keep the compressor going.
5. Added note. The plans ended at the firewall. The firewall and everything in front of it was up to you.
6. The wing plans were converted from -4 plans, so the fuel tank mounting holes were all screwed up. The plans and the drill plans were different and they were both wrong.

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by Mel

2. The "C" frame was around. Bob Avery's invention BTW.

What did they do in WWII and since? Where all those planes built with pop rivet dimplers? Oh, that would have taken a long time!

Originally Posted by Mel

4. We had electricity, but Ann had to pedal the generator to keep the compressor going.

She's TOUGH!

Originally Posted by Mel

5. Added note. The plans ended at the firewall. The firewall and everything in front of it was up to you.
6. The wing plans were converted from -4 plans, so the fuel tank mounting holes were all screwed up. The plans and the drill plans were different and they were both wrong.

Are you saying you didn't even get an engine mount?

[Kyle Boatright]

The kits showed up on a horse drawn wagon. You had to pay in gold bullion, diamonds, or emeralds. Sometimes they would accept Jade or Amber. You submitted questions to tech support by carrier pidgeon. The answer was always "make it fit". (Some things never change.)

We had to use these wooden fixtures called jigs to hold the parts in the correct orientation. Lots of fun with measuring tapes, plumb bobs, shims, chalk lines, and other apparatus from the stone age.

There were no pre-punched holes. Making sure you hit the centerlines of the ribs and bulkheads when you drilled holes was an excercise in measuring, marking, re-measuring, checking plumb, then drilling and hoping you hadn't screwed up somewhere. I eventually learned to pre-drill the holes in ribs and bulkheads, then back-drill the skins.

The plans were OK, but the manual went from excellent on the empennage (10 or 20 pages with pictures, diagrams, good sequences, etc.) to pitiful (I swear, the fuselage section of the manual was about 2 pages.).

The best thing about it was that RV's were far less common back then. Anywhere you went, you got compliments on your airplane and questions about how it flew, how long it took to build, etc. With the popularity of the RV's today, you just don't get as many of those experiences.

[Mel]

Originally Posted by N941WR

Are you saying you didn't even get an engine mount?

Engine mount, cowling and spinner were supplied. But no plans forward of the firewall. Landing gear legs were not drilled top or bottom.

[Geico266]

There is a guy on our field that has one for the first flying RV-3's. A beautiful airplane. When he looks at the "new" kits he just shakes his head.

[AMURRAY]

And you had only one choice of canopy. The tip up.

[zilik]

Mining the bauxite ore was easy. Smelting and rolling the aluminum into sheets was the hard part.

[yakdriver]

A friend of mine got RV6 kit #7 actually #207 in the Van's numbering system in 1986. It came in flat boxes with almost no prefabrication. How he didn't cut a finger off fly cutting all those lightning holes in the ribs I'll never know. He did get one of the first Phloginston spars but otherwise it was all built by him. He finished it in 1991 and flew it for almost 10 years before selling it when he hung up flying at age 79. N number is 207DC and its still out there flying. Don

[Mel]

Originally Posted by zilik

Mining the bauxite ore was easy. Smelting and rolling the aluminum into sheets was the hard part.

The hardest part for me was the hours and hours sitting at the lathe turning out rivets.