However, ask around locally about the TCs before you ask one to visit your project. I had never riveted before I started on my kit but I had an IA teach me. I had the inevitable dings and was reassured that they were alright. I proceeded largely without help until I finally got the project to a hangar at Flagstaff. At that point, my project was visited by the local pilot community, including A&Ps, who expressed admiration for the project. Still, I wanted a TC visit for that piece of paper (though I am since told that the insurance break is a thing of the past). So I call the nearest, from a town 30 miles away.
He charges me $50 for the trip, reasonable enough for gas and trouble. When he arrives he is somehow under the impression that I want him to design a panel for me. When this misunderstanding is cleared up, he looks over my work and immediately focuses on a riveting ding. I am told I will have to cut the skin around the rivet and install a circular patch. Why have I not completely finished each structure before continuing to the next? (I had not finished the glass work on the empennage or wings; I couldn't do the latter until I was ready to install the lights.) Frankly, I shouldn't be building an airplane...
I was in shock. The next day he called and said he wanted to discuss the inspection so, thinking maybe he had reconsidered, I drove to his town where he sat me down and reiterated that I should give up the project. "Dump it on Trade-a-Plane." "But, if it's that bad, would it be ethical to sell it to someone else?" Well, maybe I could get a bit of my money back.
I checked with some of the people at the airport and got the scoop. This guy was a grand old gentleman who had been in aviation forever. He truly had a long history in the field as both a pilot and mechanic. But he was also somewhat of a 'character' and old age (95) had left him even more eccentric. The consensus was that he would probably have offered to take the project off my hands had I not sought second opinion, thereby getting himself a new toy at a bargain price.
I subsequently had a couple of A&Ps look my project over - my riveting will not win any prizes but the aircraft is safe. A DAR even looked at it, unofficially, when he came to inspect a friend's Lancair propjet and said he didn't see any problems. I found out that most of the locals already knew about this TC and would have warned me had I asked first. So, ask around. Not all TCs are competent and not all have experience with RVs. If you are doing anything unusual, like an auto-engine conversion, ask if they have experience with such or be prepared to look farther for advice.
