C

chiefaponte

Member
As I get closer to finishing my Horizontal Stabilizer, I wonder if I am going to get in trouble come inspection time because I am not keeping track of my time as I build the plane. I have taken almost 200 pics with a 7 megapixel camera of the steps as stated on the plans.

How important is this?

I have read that the FAA is more interesting in seing you at work(pics) rather than a written log.

Any sugestions?

thanks
 
Don't worry about it.
Take some pix with you building along the way.
Your log is for you! Enjoy the building process.

Each FSDO has their own take.
Mine had no interest in seeing my builders log or any pictures.
 
You should start now it is not to late

You should start now it is not too late and you obviously are worried already. Why do this to yourself when you are just getting started. When I went to the FAA office at long beach several FAA people went through my log and photo album in great detail for the Repairman Certificate. The DAR also reviewed the log at the hangar before inspecting the plane. Get some photos of yorself completing work on the plane as well as the photos of the parts and assemblies.

Bob Axsom
 
It's not too hard

Frankly I like documenting my build. It provides a way to measure my progress, set goals and benchmark myself against others.

I use KitLog Pro which isnt expensive and is easy to use. It produces really nice reports and provides a way to capture your photos. Oh yeah, you don't need to format the photos for size or anything, Kitlog does it for you the only draw back is your are limited to 3 photos per entry. [No I don't work for Matt Dralle :)]

I have a calendar that I pinned up right next to my shop door that I write the time down on when I go in and I write it down when I come out - no biggee.

Some guys are adverse to knowing how long it is taking to build, but I'm just the opposite.

Either way - Have fun!
 
Builder's log IS required.

Building "time" is not required. Just a log to show the building process. Many inspectors don't spend a lot of time looking at the log because we can tell within a brief conversation if you built the aircraft, but it IS required.
 
Bob Axsom said:
You should start now it is not too late and you obviously are worried already. Why do this to yourself when you are just getting started. When I went to the FAA office at long beach several FAA people went through my log and photo album in great detail for the Repairman Certificate. The DAR also reviewed the log at the hangar before inspecting the plane. Get some photos of yorself completing work on the plane as well as the photos of the parts and assemblies.

Bob Axsom
Click to expand...


I fully agree with Bob.

Your log need not be fancy or formal. Mine was a combination of scribbled notes on a calendar, in the build manual and some photos.

The DAR made sure I had a log but didn't spend a lot of time on it.
 
I started with Kitlog Pro but quickly found that I was more interested in building than writing long reports on the computer.

I made a complete working copy of each build manual (empennage, wings, fuselage, FWF and finishing kit). I make notes in this working document. Dates of completion, special assembly notes,etc. I also take lots of pictures. I'm in about every 20th picture.

This makes for a smooth work flow and let's me note if there's areas I want to come back to. These working copies are my log.

Tom Hanaway
Boynton Beach, Fl
 
chiefaponte said:
As I get closer to finishing my Horizontal Stabilizer, I wonder if I am going to get in trouble come inspection time because I am not keeping track of my time...........
Click to expand...
Why not make a quick call to the local FSDO to ease your concerns? You will likely find they mostly want assurance that you built the airplane. The FSDO in St.Louis was satisfied with the "builders log" I presented them with. It consisted of nothing more than photograph albums, purchasing invoices, and a quick interview. Beyond that, I tend to doubt those busy folks are much interested in reviewing reams of detailed minutiae concerning your personal progress over the years, although you might be.
 
Why not use Excel?

I created a spreadsheet that hyper links to pictures. There is even a way to create HTML code from it to print the pictures along with the date.

At the end of each day I write a short sentence saying what I did, who helped, and what section. That way I was able to automatically total how much time I spent on each section.

There is a sample of it on my web site, if you want to grab a copy.
 
chiefaponte said:
As I get closer to finishing my Horizontal Stabilizer, I wonder if I am going to get in trouble come inspection time because I am not keeping track of my time as I build the plane. I have taken almost 200 pics with a 7 megapixel camera of the steps as stated on the plans.

How important is this?

I have read that the FAA is more interesting in seing you at work(pics) rather than a written log.

Any sugestions?

thanks
Click to expand...

Wow!! 200 photos of the horiz stab. By the time you finish the plane you oughta have.......92,000 photos of your project! :D

No need to obsess over the log. A few images of the basic assembly, a few of those showing you working on the plane, and maybe a few details along with notes of stuff that is not very visible and you might want to revisit if questions arise after the plane is in service. My RV-6 was extensively documented and there are only about 600 images of the entire project from emp inventory to the painted plane at the airport.

If the log is becoming a pain to maintain....it is too complicated. Enjoy your project and don't let the log get in your way. :)
 
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Kitlog Fan

I personally like to document the time I spend building. For me I log just the time in the shop, I spend countless hours looking for ideas and way to do things, but mostly I try to find out what pitfalls there are before I start a section. All of this research and thinking time far out weighs the hands on build time.

I can keep up with a log be cause I fly for a living which means long hours in hotels away from home. I have a white board in my shop, I write the date with start and stop times with a short description of what I did. I wait till the board is full or I am ready to leave home on a trip then I snap a photo of the board. Then while on the road I make updates to my log. This way all of my time at home is spent working on the plane, and of course household chores. Kit log is a great product but could use a spell checker, my work around is to do my writing in MS word spell check then cut and past into Kitlog. The 3 picture limit per entry is actually good, keeps from getting too picture happy. If I really want to document some more pictures in the log I just make more than one entry for that day.

Cheers
 
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