I just got back from the weekend class at Tom Emery's shop in PA and I can unconditionally recommend this to anyone considering building an RV. I have been researching and reading about this project for over a year but the amount of information I learned from Tom is unbelievable. I now know what all these tools are for, how they work, how to set them up, and which ones I want to buy. Tom let us work in his shop and use all of his tools, so we got a great look at what is good and what isn't. He has a wealth of information and tips, and is really interested in teaching his students how to build safe airplanes. We only had 3 students (class is limited to 5 - compare that to the EAA Sportair workshops that may have 12+), so Tom was there to demonstrate all kinds of cool stuff. We each completed the sample airfoil project from Van's (you can see our photo on the website listed below).
Additionally, there are several hours of discussion on topics like certification, aircraft hardware, etc.
Tom's wife, Nicki, whips up a great meal for lunch every day, so there is no need to leave the workshop and search for food (we had burgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad and homemade cake the first day!)
If you are considering a workshop I echo Dan Checkoway's thoughts and highly recommend Tom Emery. Not only is the workshop cheaper, but there is more personal attention and more hands on experience. If you're willing to spend thousands on tools and kit parts, consider this a very small investment (moneywise) towards making your kit building process a lot easier. I have seen lots of questions posted on several forums that will be no brainers after Tom's workshop (trust me - I'm no expert, we just learned a ton this weekend!).
Check him out....
http://www.wparvbuilders.nstemp.com/
Thomas
p.s. I get no kickbacks or anything, this is an unsolicited recommendation...
WPA RV Builders Workshop
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