EAA SportAir Composite Construction...and other education sources.

[Lemmingman]

I have the usual fiberglass tasks approaching on my RV7 project and I want a kick-start on learning about fiberglass techniques and procedures. I have been looking at the EAA SportAir workshops for this training. I have a few questions, if you've attended the workshop before. Is the workshop worth it for RV builders? It seems there are a several topics covered in the course, all of which look interesting. I like to learn all kinds of stuff, but I want to make sure I get a good foundation for the tasks I want to do.

Another question I have concerns Oshkosh. I'm taking the family to Oshkosh this summer (first trip). Would it be better to wait until Oshkosh for this kind of training? Are there clinics given there that we can leverage instead?

[snoopyflys]

if you haven't any composite experience. It will give you hands-on experience in measuring, mixing, applying epoxy to the fiberglass and show you some of the gotchas along the way. You can find most of what course presents and demonstrates on the 'net but nothing beats good'ole fashioned hands-on. As far as Oshkosh, you will get a brief two hour discussion and demo that are good to get you started but there is alot more detail with a two-day course (IMHO).

[RV7Ron]

I agree with Dan, the 'hands on' time with someone knowledgable looking over your shoulder is where the value is in the class. I attended and had zero prior experience with fiberglass and really enjoyed the experience. It was worth the money to me, even for an RV builder.

Could you get by without it? Self teaching yourself? As with all of these classes...absolutely and many builders do. You will find out its really not rocket science and the glass work on the RV's is by and large not structural so its hard to foul it up so bad its a safety concern (not saying you cant however). And the cool thing about glass work is, you can almost always repair it if you do screw up.

After taking the class you wont be intimidated by it at all. You will know enough to comfortably experiment/practice on your own and gain a comfort level. Once you have the skill, there are a lot of things you can do with it...even as side projects around the house.

Originally Posted by snoopyflys

if you haven't any composite experience. It will give you hands-on experience in measuring, mixing, applying epoxy to the fiberglass and show you some of the gotchas along the way. You can find most of what course presents and demonstrates on the 'net but nothing beats good'ole fashioned hands-on. As far as Oshkosh, you will get a brief two hour discussion and demo that are good to get you started but there is alot more detail with a two-day course (IMHO).

[Lemmingman]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I was trying to see if I could sneak up to Detroit this weekend for that class, but it isn't going to work out. I will certainly be in the one in Kansas City next month though.