General statement

Van's estimate of 600 -900 hours is about right. Depends upon if you do extra good detail work, whether you prime, and how much, and other variables. Also, I'd guess it will be faster for the later builders. Us early guys had to spend time finding and correcting little problem issues as we went. I'd guess I spent 50 -100 hours re-doing problems and revisions that came up.

John Bender
 
Build time

I agree with John; if you'd build the plane today and you had SOME kind of experience, you should be able to knock this thing out in the specified time. Even faster if you had a partner. If I were to start this plane, I would have spent the money on one of Van's classes, buit I was fortunate in having a buddy who wanted to build the same type plane and had experience with building planes.
Meade
 
COflyer said:
With over a dozen flying RV-12s, how many hours are they actually taking to build?
Click to expand...

Total Time - 1121 Hours (For a newbie-builder, Lots of learning time, includes time for revisions.)

Engine Kit and Final Assembly - 191 Hours
Avionics Kit - 43 Hours
Finish Kit - 290 Hours
Fuselage Kit - 285 Hours
Empennage Kit - 137 Hours
Wing Kit - 175 Hours

Wing Kit Started on August 28, 2008
Final Assembly Completed on October 23, 2009

Did NO work in October 2008, November 2008 and July 2009 because I was waiting for the next kit to be announced. So, approx. 11 months worktime. Professional exterior paint yet to do.
 
COflyer said:
With over a dozen flying RV-12s, how many hours are they actually taking to build?
Click to expand...

John is right...800 would be a good number. Not only did we repeat mistakes we also had to deal with the "beta testing" issues that go with being first. Anyone should be able to do one in a year easily.
 
When I totaled mine up it was 888. When I build a second one I should be able to knock 50-75 hours off that.
 
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... not the sharpest tool in the shed ...

So far ...

314.5 hrs. Fuselage Completed
151 hrs. Tailcone/Empannage Completed
232.5 hrs. Wings Completed
145.5 hrs. So far into Finishing Kit

Total to date ... 843.5 hrs.
 
555 manhours first kit to first flight. I was pretty diligent about keeping a log being the first one out of the chute and all. Next one would go a bit quicker I suppose.

But like I tell prospective or current builders: It takes what it takes for you to do the job you are satisfied with. This is fun, not a race. Take your time and enjoy the entire process because for many, this is most likely to be a once in a lifetime experience.

Now get back to the shop!
 
So far.....

There is no simple answer to how long does it take...... It is highly dependent on:

Experience level
Amount of deburring done
Amount of priming done
Tools available

... and probably other factors. In my case I had NO prior building experience. Every task was a new skill to be learned. I deburred the dickens out of every part. I chose to prime all internal parts before assembly. I am an old fuss budget. Keeping that in mind, here is where I am:

Empennage (Complete) 163
Wings (Complete) 127
Fuselage (Complete except rear window) 288
Finish in process

I expect the rest of the build to go very slowly. I am just entering new skill areas once again, such as plexiglas and fiberglas work, landing gear, etc.

The best advice I can give is, don't hurry. Enjoy the building process and don't set deadlines.
 
Slower yet

I've same level of experience as John - zero. I too, am deburring and priming everything.

To date:

Empennage 168
Wings 190
Fuselage 261 (with rear window still to do)
Priming 135 (spread across the above three areas)

So I'm already on around 750 hours, and just started on the finish kit...

My guess would be at least another 600 hours to go.

Cheers...Keith
 
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I have a kit on order and will start building around the end of February and am a first time builder. I have not see any of Vans builders instructions yet. On this thread there have been references to doing and not doing deburring and priming. Is this a builders discretionary decision and/or how is this addressed in the build instructions. Thank you for any comments.

John
 
Have to comment

As a Tool&Diemaker by trade, I have been manufacturing aircraft parts for almost thirty years now and have been involved with many different types of building. As far as Van's products go I have built a 7 (flying as of Oct/09). I received my RV12 (S.#315) tail/emp kit a few weeks ago. I have to say I can't stop grinning to myself at the ease of this kit whenever I work on it. This is definitly a great kit for a first time builder and Van's just keeps making things simpler for the builder with each new product. The rudder is a good example, I built it in the same time it took to do just the trailing edge on the 7's rudder!
I find the prep time to be close to the 7 but the big time savers are match drilling, deburring and dimpling the holes and of course, the riveting. As the holes are punched to finished size only the back side of the hole needs deburring as there is a slight burr there after the punch goes thru. I am also not priming most of the alclad parts as I want to keep the plane as light as possible. I'm leaving the blue on all the exterior skins so it's taking a bit more time as I'm removing just over the rivet lines. So far I have completed the V-stab, rudder and AST in 22.7 hours and I'm very picky!
Looking forward to the rest of the kit.
 
Bigjohn hit the nail on the head regarding time to build. I might add that since the kits go together so well, you get a sense of accomplishment sooner and don't lose interest in your goal to complete a real airplane.

In addition, having all the tools, a good work space and an understanding wife help to keep the project moving. Having to stop and purchase a tool or perform a honeydo can have an impact on your progress. Consulting this forum and contacting Van's excellant support group helps to avoid mistakes and head scratching when the plans are not fully understood. Check into the various building blogs such as http://www.Kitlog.com for addition help.

So time to completion is very subjective and individually dependent. You can look how long other builders have taken, though still early yet, and get an average range which you might fall into. Take what ever amount of time you wish. Building is only half the fun.

Art Pennanen
 
I have a partner, this is his third homebuilt, he has all the tools, know-how and got me hooked on it. He is 74 and his jobs are to de-burr and distract visitors. I do the other tasks. Since there is no 51% rule on this plane, we don't pay any attention to our hours, we just put the date in the instructions. We complete a page per day, a casual, but steady pace. We started in January 2009 and should be flying in June, 2010, which includes about 8 weeks of waiting for new kits to arrive and an average of four visitors daily. The quality of this kit is outstanding, every hour spent working on it has been enjoyable.
 
Pre-read some pages

jet said:
I have a kit on order and will start building around the end of February and am a first time builder. I have not see any of Vans builders instructions yet. On this thread there have been references to doing and not doing deburring and priming. Is this a builders discretionary decision and/or how is this addressed in the build instructions. Thank you for any comments.

John
Click to expand...
I was curious about the plans before I ordered too, so I downloaded page after page of revisions from Van's web site. They aren't in any kind of order and there are huge gaps between steps, but they definitely gave me a feel for how it all works. When I come across one of the pages I studied before starting the build, it's like meeting an old, comfortable friend.
 
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