I would avoid that compressor because it is oil free. Oil free compressors are generally loud and do not last as long as compressors that use oil.
 
Get a oil type!

I second the vote on not getting the oiless. Stay away from them since they are NOISY as all get out and they don't seem to last as long as a oil type.

I'd get the biggest compressor that fits your budget, shop, and power supply. An airdrill uses a lot of air and your going to be drilling a bunch of holes. Waiting for a small compressor to catch up SUCKS. When selecting a compressor ignore the amps and HP. All your concerned with is the CFM @ 90 psi.
 
Porter Cable makes a 5 horse, 60 gallon belt driven compressor that ought to work. Home Depot has their Husky that is similar in capacity, CFM, HP and price, although there are differences--they're not made by the same outfit.

I have an Eagle, made in Canada that puts out more power (true 5hp, not just starting draw), but it is quite loud. I would want to hear any compressor before I bought it, now that I have bought one without hearing it first. The Eagle puts out 12.5 CFM at 100 PSI. The Husky & PC put out a couple CFM less at 90 PSI, if I remember right.

Compare compressors on CFM at a given PSI, not HP. Look at the cylinders, are they aluminum or iron? Can you get to the drain? If not, you'll want to install a Harbor Freight automatic drain or put in an elbow & a short pipe and move the petcock out to where you can easily reach it. Just use standard plumbing fittings for this.

Somewhere around 10 CFM should be plenty or more than enough unless you plan to paint your plane with it. Painting requires more air, but search the archives to find out how much. My compressor puts out plenty for priming, but I don't paint as continuously priming as I would doing a finish paint job. Aside from painting, one of the tools that uses lots of air is a die grinder and mine is rated for 6 CFM, but that's at a 36% duty cycle, which is probably about right. Rivet guns, squeezers & most other tools don't use much air.
 
That compressor is one of the newer oiless types that are very quiet. I have one of the sears "professional" models (the tank is black instead of craftsman red) that I got on sale for $388. The specs are identical to the Porter-Cable unit who probably supplies sears. Its surprisingly quieter than many oiled units. The saleman fired it up in the store for me so I knew beforehand!
 
Throw in one more vote against oil less. Next step is to determine how far you are going to build you airplane. Is someone else going to paint it? If you don't know and think you might want to paint it yourself then you need 10 to 12 CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) and at least at 90 PSI. Riviting and drilling will only require maybe 6 CFM. Forget about advertised HP. It is often only a computation of current draw and not necessarily an indication of volume of air supplied at a given pressure. Maximum PSI is only part of the equasion you need. I have a 12 volt comprressor that will go to 250 lbs (if I have all day). If you want a really good compressor that will last forever try looking into a Quency. Last I checked, they put out the most CFM & Pressure per advertised HP and are a very quiet compressor. They are professional grade and will cost you a bit more.
 
I've got this one. I like it pretty well, a little be better specs then the porter cable one, and it runs on 120V (Unlike the bigger 60gal ones).
 
I have a Quincy QTV 54. Roughly the same cost as the HD 7 horsepower but way nicer. Benefits are: QUIET, US made with repair parts in stock and available from most of their dealers, quich recharge, and reasonable price. I got the 60 gal tank because of space. It comes on a couple times a session depending on what I am doing, but recharges fairly quick. It's rated at a continuous 5 horsepower where most other 7 horsepower units are rated at peak load (startup). 5 horsepower does not require a mag starter like a continuous 7 horsepower would. This kept the cost down as well. Works great for HVLP painting too.
http://www.quincycompressor.com
 
17 gal??

The reason I am looking at Porter Cable and DeWalt is that i can get a special deal on those brands.
What about the 17 Gal tank? Is that going to limit me? Is 20 or 25 the minimum I should consider?
 
cfm

I think you would be better off with the higher cfm of the 17 gal DeWalt. The compressors with the smaller tanks will be running much more frequently than the large tanks. I have seen guys with the smaller tanks who solved this by getting 2 or 3 of the 20 gal portable air tanks and plumbing them in series to the compressor. You then essentially have larger stores of air at good cfm, and the compressor doesn't kick on every 15 minutes. Been there, it's very annoying.
 
If you want additional capacity

If you find a compressor that you want, but it doesn't have quite the capacity your looking for, you might try adding this to it:

Vertical Air Tank

-John
RV-7A (Wings)
Houston, TX
 
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