Jack Tyler
Well Known Member
I'm still at the front end of the learning curve and I'm sure this Q has been batted around before. But perhaps it's worth revisiting now that there are some new(ish) Vans models being built. So please bear with me on this...
If I'm going to build a plane, it's likely to be a metal low-wing, it's likely to come from one of the reputable USA kit builders, to future-proof the purchase it's likely to be an LSA, and so it's likely to be an S-19 or an RV-12. This Q relates to the RV-12, altho' probably everyone here who's built a Vans RV during the last number of years has an opinion that's worth me hearing.
Vans estimate on the RV-12 build time is 700-900 hrs. Perhaps that's quite accurate for some builders - those with relevant professional skill sets or repeat builders. But I've made it to a fair number of y'alls build blogs/websites/logs and, so far, I haven't come across a single project that was being completed in the estimated build time. Not by a long shot. And in some cases, these folks have done all the pre-work one could expect - reviewed the plans, been to see other projects, cleaned up/insulated/otherwise prepared their garages for the project, all before the Big Day arrived and the crate was opened. And yet the project takes multiple years. Sometimes lots of them.
So how about it? For a guy who's kept a sailboat's systems working for lots of years without outside help (so I'm not a total klutz), who doesn't have a 'real job', and who's never tackled something like this before (when every single step will be, initially, a learning curve), what kind of Reality Factor should I be applying to that 700-900 hr build estimate that Van's promises?
Editorial comments welcomed, not just some numbers. And thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Jack
If I'm going to build a plane, it's likely to be a metal low-wing, it's likely to come from one of the reputable USA kit builders, to future-proof the purchase it's likely to be an LSA, and so it's likely to be an S-19 or an RV-12. This Q relates to the RV-12, altho' probably everyone here who's built a Vans RV during the last number of years has an opinion that's worth me hearing.
Vans estimate on the RV-12 build time is 700-900 hrs. Perhaps that's quite accurate for some builders - those with relevant professional skill sets or repeat builders. But I've made it to a fair number of y'alls build blogs/websites/logs and, so far, I haven't come across a single project that was being completed in the estimated build time. Not by a long shot. And in some cases, these folks have done all the pre-work one could expect - reviewed the plans, been to see other projects, cleaned up/insulated/otherwise prepared their garages for the project, all before the Big Day arrived and the crate was opened. And yet the project takes multiple years. Sometimes lots of them.
So how about it? For a guy who's kept a sailboat's systems working for lots of years without outside help (so I'm not a total klutz), who doesn't have a 'real job', and who's never tackled something like this before (when every single step will be, initially, a learning curve), what kind of Reality Factor should I be applying to that 700-900 hr build estimate that Van's promises?
Editorial comments welcomed, not just some numbers. And thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Jack