riseric

riseric

Well Known Member
Patron
Hi to all,

I will be happilly drilling my first hole in aluminium in the next coming week.
I'm almost done finishing the organisation of the workshop.

My question is, has anyone logged their time for building the individual sections like the empennage, the wings (slow build) and the fuselage (slow build).

I can imagine that everyone builds faster or slower, but I would like to get an average.

Why am I asking?

I will be moving from France to Canada in 4 1/2 years, and plan to finish the project once there.

My goal is to get the empennage, the wings and the fuselage done here (up to the needed inspection by the MD-RA).

Then get it all finished up in Canada. (engine, avionics and interior)

I estimate that I will put more or less 40 hours per month in the shop.
(40 hrs x 54 months = 2160 hrs)

Feasable ???
 
Eric, Average build time is a relative thing. Are you building a show quaity plane or just want to get it flying as fast as you can? Have you ever built an airplane before? Will you have help etc., etc.

I'd say for an "average" RV your looking at:

150-200 hrs (incl fiberglass) for the tail feathers
400-600 hrs (incl fiberglass) for the wings
400-600 hrs for the fuselage
200-300 hrs for the finish kit
100-150 hrs for FWF
100-150 hrs for panel and wiring
200-300 hrs for finishing and paint

So.............. your propably looking at somewhere between 1550 and 2300 hours! If you want a "show plane" add at least 50% to these totals!

As far as 40 hrs. a week goes, that's a lot of building if you have a "day job". Just hope you have an "understanding" wife and family! Goog Luck!!


Hope this helps,
 
Thanks Dave & Tommy,

Of course speed is relative and everyone has its own...

But your numbers give me a good idea of the time needed for the sub-assemblies.

I've never built a plane before but consider myself pretty handy in mechanics and with tools in general.

I don't intend to rush anything and will strive to do the best I can at every stage. We'll see when finished if it's worthy of show... :cool:

I do have a "day" job, but the scheduling is all over the place, mornings, evenings, nights... So I can manage to kick in lots of hours before or after my "real" job without getting sour remarks from the missus... She works regular office hours :D

Today, for example, I did 5 hours (9:30-14:30) in the shop before going for work at 3PM!!

Cheers to all !!!
 
Eric, one caution to add to the discussion. I am an unmarried guy with no kids, i.e., not much responsibility to others...I work a day job (obviously to pay for this darn thing!). I started out my build with the idea I was going to easily crank out 20-25 hrs a week. Now, after being "seasoned", I try to log 15-20 hrs a week and even find that to be a grind at times.

15-20 hrs a week for me goes something like this...about three weekdays at about 2-3 hrs a night and then working 5-6 hrs on both saturday and sunday. You may be thinking...that doesnt sound too bad. But consider EVERY weekend I am working and usually 5 days a week total I am in the shop...that doesnt leave much time for a life outside the project.

I'm not saying you cant do it...some guys have a much higher threshold for "burnout" than I...I dont do well with 80 hr workweeks of any kind...including RV building. I've learned 15-20 hrs is max for me personally, that combined with a 45 hr day job and commute time and I am getting up there. My message is, with the enthusiasm you have at the beginning, its easy to overestimate how much time you will actually spend on it.

The good news is, at 15-20 hrs a week...50 (2 weeks off for vacation) weeks a year...thats 750-1000 hrs/year, you'll have the plane flying in no time if you can keep up that pace. Its not easy though.

Good luck, although sometimes a grind, its a great journey!
 
I also have a day job plus 3 hours travel each day. My experience is an average of 10-12 hours per week for the 18 months since I stated building. I seldom work evenings during the week so most of my building gets done on weekends and occasionally when I take a few days off work. The days off work are the most productive.
When I started I thought that 15-18 hrs/wk would be easy, and while I could probaby do that if I really wanted to get it done, I find the slower pace is OK for me. It's supposed to be enjoyable after all. On that basis your 40hrs/month seems quite realistic.
 
I did my empennage kit in about 200 hours. I'm about 150 hours into the wing kit and have the flaps and ailerons done, and I'm working on the main wing parts now. I'm probably averaging 30 hours a month now, but I also had about a year off for a basement remodel.

A big time sink to be aware of is any custom work or modifications you install. I ran conduit up to the top of my vertical stab in case I ever want to put a camera or antenna or something up there and it took a few extra hours to find and figure out all the pieces and how to mount them.
 
Build Time

I can't give you a breakdown for build time for each kit but I have an RV8 built including tail, wings, and fuselage but I do not have the finish kit. Labor is sitting at 1280 hours for the total slow build with no outside help except for bucking hard to reach rivets. The tail and landing gear have been mated to fuselage but the wings have never been mounted nor have the boot cowl or aft turtle skin been riveted in place as I have no wiring or electrical yet. This is my third RV so that experience probably made things go a little faster. At this point the project should be easily transported also so your project looks feasible to me.

Good luck.

Dick DeCramer
Northfield, MN
 
Hey, many thanks to all for your inputs.

They encourage me in a most positive way since, thanks to your numbers, I estimate about 1200 hours for the emp, the wings and fuse.

Again, all sub assemblies not closed up because of future inspections...

So, 1200 hours divided by 54 months = just over 22 hours/month average. Doable !!!
 
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