How long from "Gonna build" to building?

[N674P]

This will be my first foray into plane building, even though I said to myself "Someday I"m gonna build a plane" when I first discovered a person could build and fly thier own. That discovery came when the BD-5 first splashed on the scene - what - 30 years ago?!
I told my wife when we first got together, someday I'm gonna build a plane and if you can't stand behind that, we better not even get engaged.
She's behind it enough she bought me a -6 tailkit for my 40th birthday! I found Dans website (y'all know him...) about 7 months into his project, and followed it daily for the next year and a half or so. We bought a house a few years back with a 30x40 hanger and (so far) access to an airstrip. And I have neighbors that 1) has completed and flys an -8A, and 2) is building an -8A. I'm a tool junkie anyhow, and I've accumulated most of the tools I need - certainly enough to get started. And the kits have developed to where consistency and safe, good flying planes can be built by average people. And now I've stumbled across these forums, and have reserved an N number.
So with this steady long time dream, and far fewer obstacles than most builders face (well, outside of a significant shortage of cash), Why have I still not put drill to metal?
Many many moons ago, I took a long hard look at myself. I saw I tended to get sidetracked, or too perfectionist and frustrated, or whatever, and not complete projects. I believed that once I got started I needed to roll right through the years without stoping, or it could be all over. The statistics on starts to completions (especially in those days) was pretty grim, and this was too important to me to start and then abandon it. Over the years as I've been getting ready to get ready, I've come to embrace Done is better than Perfect, and that time takes time. So here it is, 30 years and counting.
Now I'm ready - well, after Thanksgiving...
Oh yeah - the whole point of the post - Is anybody or has anybody been on the fence? How long, and once started, have there been pauses in construction, and how did you get back to building?
Sorry this was so long for a short question - but now you have the background on the really wannabe that's not off the dime yet...

[cjensen]

well, i had been wanting to build for about three years. i finally bought a -7 tail this summer, and i've got the order form for the wings sitting right next to me, but haven't had a chance yet today to fill it out (guess i could do that, instead of typing this!!). even though i'm still in the beginning stages on the airplane as a whole, i've found it motivational to at least go out to the shop and fiddle with something EVERY DAY that i'm home. if i can't actually work on something due to time, i review what i'm doing next, or organize tools, something...worked so far. haven't had any major pauses, and i think it's because i get out there everyday at least once...

now, get started!

[jcoloccia]

Screwups are part of the process. Paul Rosales told me "You don't build 1 plane...you build 1 1/2 planes". Don't be afraid to screwup. Most of them can be fixed, and the ones that can't can be replaced with a simple call to Vans (his prices are very reasonable). If you haven't already assembled his practice kit, go ahead and do that. You'll see that there's nothing to it.

Here's what happened to us: We were going nuts trying to find a reasonable plane to purchase. The more we looked, the more depressed we got at how poorly the certified aircraft performed, not to mention how expensive they were to buy and maintain. There was simply nothing out there that we could buy that would do what I wanted it to do.

We made the decision to build a Bearhawk. Neat plane, actually. It took me WEEKS to send a check to Barrows for the plans. I don't know why we hesitated so much, but we did.

Then we decided that what we REALLY wanted was an RV (we liked the speed and the aerobatics). This time around, we ordered the kit and the tools basically the next day. I knew if I didn't do SOMETHING, we'd never do it (strike while the iron's hot).

We had just moved into our house so we weren't ready to start building at all. Then the kit showed up, and we stared at it for a while. We didn't even inventory it for some reason. It was just really really tough to take that first step even though we had boxes full of parts and a garage full of tools and workbenches.

When I finally got my act together and started building, I just blazed right through the vertical and horizontal stabs. Piece of cake. Then I got to the rudder, and things got busy at work, and I procrastinated on cutting out the stiffeners because I thought it was a much bigger deal than it actually turned out being. I made one excuse after another. In the meantime, the wing kit showed up (I haven't even opened the boxes yet, hence no inventory. Hopefully, nothing big is screwed up....my fault if it is and I'll pay for it, I guess).

Now I had a garage full of half assembled empennage parts, an unopened wing kit and what I thought was very little spare time. I made excuse after excuse why today was a bad day to start building again. This went on all summer. I was absolutely destined to be just another builder that never finished.

The love of my life (God bless her soul) finally snapped me out of it and kicked me back into the workshop. That's all it took and now I'm back to building full steam. I think the trick is to DO SOMETHING EVERYDAY (something else Paul told me when I first got started...I should have listened). It doesn't matter what you do. Finish an edge. Drill a hole. Debur something. Sweep the floor. Drain the compressor. Cleco something together. Organize your dimple dies. Clean your files. If all you have it 5 minutes, that's fine. Do something for 5 minutes. If you're so busy you don't have 5 minutes (as I was), set your alarm clock for 5 minutes ealier.

If you're waiting for a tech counselor to come check something out before you seal up a major subassembly, that's okay....move on to something else. Whenever I'm waiting on something (or maybe it's too late to be making a racket, or maybe I'm just plain ole' tired from a long day at work), pick a part at random, see where it fits on the plans, and edge finish it as appropriate. It only take 5 minutes, and it's one less pain in the butt job to do when you get to it. I have a whole collection of parts now that are edge finished and ready to go. It's a good feeling.

Hope this helps.

[Alex]

For me, as a long time fence-sitter, the bottom line is cost. I just don't have the money right now, and refuse to go into debt.

We had a previous discussion of economics of RVs on this thread:

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ead.php?t=1298

[painless]

The most time-consuming, head-scratching, pensive hole that I have drilled in my 6A kit was that very first one in the horizontal stabilizer skin. Once you get past that first hole, you are hooked for life my friend!

Dive in and have at it, and by all means, enjoy the journey.

Regards,

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by N674P

...And I have neighbors that 1) has completed and flys an -8A, and 2) is building an -8A.

I believe all builders need 3 things to complete their plane; time, money and want (desire). Without any one of those, you will not finish, YOU WILL NOT FINISH. I've known many builders who had the time and money but not enough want... you have to want this plane (and I wanted our something fierce!)

Has your flying neighbor given you a ride? Have you had a ride in any RV? Bill Benedict gave me my first ride 3 months after starting the kit and the next ride was 3 years later given by Gary Sobek. After 5 years of building, I was sitting in the left seat of our flying RV, and 'Oh what a feeling!'

Those few rides given by Bill, Gary and others during my 5 year building process were tremendously motivational. After each ride, I came home a building-fool. The RV rides went straight to the want 'bucket' and kept me building all the way to first flight.

I encourage you to find out what's missing there then fix it!

Good luck, Rosie

[mgomez]

I first found out you could build your own airplane in 1981 or so. I procrastinated for many of the same reasons you did, principally my tendency to abandon projects without finishing them. I fell in love with the Bushby Midget Mustang 1, and started bashing aluminum from plans, but something always made me stop.

Two things pushed me off the fence:

1) From 2000 to 2002, I went to grad school part time while working full time. I finished a Master's degree in Applied Physics with decent grades, taking two courses per semester, continuously, with only two summers off. I still managed to spend time with my family, do my job, sleep, etc. The time I spent on school was about 1800 hrs...about the time I figured it takes to build an airplane. Building an airplane -- like grad school -- requires time management: spend a little time on it every day, don't waste time channel surfing, have the discipline to treat each little job like an accomplishment in itself, not just as part of a bigger job. For instance, the other night I installed my rudder stops. Not a big job, but I went down there intending to finish just that, and I did.

2) Although I'd been aware of the RV-3 and -4 for a long time, I didn't pay attention to anything earlier than the RV-8. The more I learned about Van's modern kits the more I realized that the RV-7 was an airplane that I could finish, and that would be useful once I had it flying.

So the credit goes half to Van's and half to John's Hopkins University (and half to my wife and kids, to be honest...if you don't have your family's support, it's all over)

The QB kit is in my basement, and I'm about 300 hours into this...and about $25K if you count my tools. I'm going in debt to pay for it.

Good luck!

[rzbill]

34 years.......... 34 friggin' years since OSH '71! And up until about 2 years ago, I had filed this away as something I would never do in my life. DO NOT GIVE UP!

My life has made a 180 since then and I am living the dream. I love proseal.... and I kick myself for not trying harder to make the dream happen sooner because I could have if I WANTED it more than I obviously did at the time.

I find the task easy. It is hard for me to NOT be in the shop mentally ALL the time. I have to focus at work to give the company it's due rather than thinking about the next construction task or cool trick I'm going to build into the plane. Going out to eat or visit friends is out of the question!

[Baja_Traveler]

Growing up my bedroom ceiling was full of airplane models hanging from fishing line. Mid 80's, my heart-throb was a Long-Ez. I took the 2 1/2 hour drive up to RAF in Mojave to drool probably half a dozen times. I wanted it bad at the time, but being just out of high school and still living with the parents I had no place to build it. Fiberglass didnt and doesnt bother me - I was building fishing boats at the time, so the thought of a glass plane was natural to me. Here I am 20 some years later, with a good paying job, married and with my own house (no rug rats), I let the wife know that my life long dream was to get a pilots license (I spent that money on dive equipment, so I never got that either) and build a plane of my own. The wife thinks I should finally realize these dreams and go for it - but first our finances need to be in order (pay off student loan & credit card). Looks like my flight lessons will begin this March and sometime just after Oshkosh I can start my RV-8. The other day my wife asked "You are going back to Oshkosh next year arent you?" - god I love that woman!

[N674P]

Thank you all - I've found these posts to be (as are the majority in these forums) enlightening and informative. And entertaining.
Of the three things I need to finish: 1) I have the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else has, and if I manage it better, I'm sure I'll have enough. 2) I've never given up on the Dream of building - I've always taken it as a given that I would. The failure to actually do it does indicate a lack of really wanting it... 3)I've never been able to afford a plane. We're currently on track to retire in 10 years at the "comfort" level we currently enjoy, plus supporting a plane. Where the money to acquire a plane in the first place is coming from we haven't really worked out yet. Which probably adds to my hesitance, though I think once I start rolling priorities will adjust and we will "find" the money in the budget somewhere.
I got a demo in the factory -6A about 10 years ago. Unbelievably awesome! My brother went up that day too, and he could hardly contain himself! For a guy that nothing ever fazes, it was startling to see him excited.
I used to think building would be a very solitary undertaking, but I have found, especially by way of these forums, that it can be overwhelmingly social - what a huge community! Now if only I were a sociable person...