java

java

Well Known Member
Started building my 7 today (yes... absolute start). Finished the stiffeners for the rudder. I am sure you are all astounded ;-)

A few more firsts this weekend. I'm also working on picking up tailwheel time. Yesterday I flew the local SuperCub. First tailwheel hour, first stick (as opposed to yoke) time, first heel brakes, first tandem time... Overall, not as foreign as I thought. I really like it. I may have to build a cub type once I'm done my 7. OK... I'm getting ahead of myself...
 
Congratulations

Jase, Way to go! It is a BIG DEAL to start. It is also a large job that you have undertaken but it is possible to complete. Get a couple of friends that will come by to help and who will keep you motivated. It seems as if you will never finish but one day the unbelievable number of tasks do get finished and you have an airplane. Set up time for your family and time to work on the plane. Don't neglect either and both will do well. Good luck!
 
No Small Deals!

Congratulations on the starts....there are many important occasions between starting the project and first flight....but if you don't make that "first" part....none of the rest will follow. I think that makes it essential!

Paul
 
java said:
Started building my 7 today (yes... absolute start). Finished the stiffeners for the rudder. I am sure you are all astounded ;-)

A few more firsts this weekend. I'm also working on picking up tailwheel time. Yesterday I flew the local SuperCub. First tailwheel hour, first stick (as opposed to yoke) time, first heel brakes, first tandem time... Overall, not as foreign as I thought. I really like it. I may have to build a cub type once I'm done my 7. OK... I'm getting ahead of myself...
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Did you go in the recommended assembly order? I know someone had to ask, 'cause the HS and VS took me 40+hrs :)
 
Order... order... yeah... it's a good thing

osxuser said:
Did you go in the recommended assembly order? I know someone had to ask, 'cause the HS and VS took me 40+hrs :)
Click to expand...

I'm doing my empennage with a builder assist co. Not supposed to start until tomorrow... BUT I COULDN"T HELP IT!!! I came by today (I live close by) and got put to work on the stiffeners (easy, high time, low skill activity).

This is my training activity. I have no sheetmetal skills... yet, so I figured I'd pick them up on the emp and go on to build the fuse and wings (granted... QB) myself.

I'll report back at the end of this week. I'm hoping to be 95% done my emp in a week.
 
java said:
...and go on to build the fuse and wings (granted... QB) myself.
Click to expand...
Congrats on starting - it is the most important step of the entire process.

I had no sheetmetal experience either, so I took an EAA workshop. I always planned to go quickbuild but after the tail, I have found that I really enjoy the building process. Slow build for me! Maybe the same thing will happen for you.

Good luck!
 
Enjoy the ride

java said:
I'm hoping to be 95% done my emp in a week.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and my hair is growing back in, and those 20 pounds I don't need are leaving. Give yourself a break. Don't set goals that may be difficult or impossible to attain.

The dude is gonna take time, like it or not, and other stuff is going to get in the way like the pipe that just burst in my ceiling requiring 2 weeks worth of repairs. There goes my Feb completion target.

Those who have gone before us say: "Enjoy the ride". I suspect they're right.
 
All great things start from "the first step"....Congradulations on your beginning...and remember it all happens from one step at a time....one moment at a time....
 
Excellent that you have taken the first step. It may seem like a monumental task to you and it certainly will to others. Many get bogged down thinking it's just too much. However, I like to think of these projects as a series of small tasks. As someone else suggested, make small goals and set aside a certain amount of time each day or week that you are going to work on your project. The more time you set aside the sooner it is complete. You'll be surprised at how much you get done and eventually it will be a thing of beauty and something you can be proud of completing. :D
 
My tail may be taking a while, but the plus side is... it's a LOT nicer than other first builders tails. I've made my share of mistakes, but... it's nicer than most.
 
Flurry of a start...

Well... I didn't quite get to the 95% mark that I was shooting for this past week, but I got close. I'd call it 75% to 80% done my empennage.

Overall, things went well and I learned a lot. For those yet to start, you should know that I got this far on my emp via a builders assist, so there were extra hands for deburring, priming, etc. There is no way I could have got this far in a week otherwise. As it was, it was 12 to 14 hour days (6 days total).

I ended up finishing my h-stab, v-stab, rudder, right elevator, and about 1/3 of my left elevator. I'll finish the left elevator up over the next week or so, whenever I can get to the shop. To be honest, I still have some skin rivets in each section to do (in Canada, we need to have an inspection done and I left certain surfaces open for internal inspection), but that should only take an hour or two to close up in most instances.

In summary... I know a lot more about building an airplane than I did a week ago. I've had lot's of practice with drilling, deburring, riveting, bucking, plans reading, dimpling, drilling out bad rivets (my specialty), priming, etc. etc. etc. Doing the emp in a week was a good idea, but it wiped me out. It's a ton of work to do in a week. Can't be done by one person alone... in my opinion.

Anyhow, I'm tired, but gunned up that I've started. My pace will be much slower from this point on, but if anything I'm more interested than I was before. I finally understand the difference between 426 vs 470 rivets...!!!

I'm looking forward to the rest of my build, and thank you all in advance for the advice I know I will need in the process.
 
Congrats on starting! :) You did as much in a week as I've gotten done in a year... budget building sucks.
 
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