F

fstringham7a

Well Known Member
Hi to all

Wanted to post this just to share my excitement. All of the electric materials, panel instruments (except for the Dynons), Garmin stack, are in the house. Van's FWF kit, B & C stuff (SD8 / alternator / etc). ECI IOX 360, Whirlwind 200RV prop are ordered and should be in the house straight away. Man talk about a drain on the bank account!!!!!!!!!!!!! Abbie at Flight line will be getting a call shortly to start the interior....more money............

With all that said if I only knew on Sept 4, 2004 what I know now I might have made some decisions differetly as to my aircrafts mission, budget to accomplish that mission, and what stuff to put in the machine. I do know that if you are going for bragging rights in terms of speed, fantastic curb appeal, and advanced utility expect to pay high dollors (go figure you would have thought a 60 year old guy would have known that from the beginning). But, if you also want good speed, a fine looking plane, that is light, and will haul you in reasonable comfort don't get in a fast, impossible beauty, high tech contest with youself or others.

With all that said I would humbly suggest to those of you just beginning to determine your mission / budget / why your building the aircraft / get good help and go for what ever aircraft comes out of that analysis. Now I know some will say that it is an evolutionary process and that your mind will change as you build. No argument from me because that was my process. All I am saying is don't get into the mode of thinking that our wonderful little aircraft is going to be a near perfect end all of end all aircrafts. Hard IFR, 777 instrument panel, heavy xcountry hauler, with blazing speed, and a Chip Fosse paint job.

I have enjoyed the build, the new friends found, and the knowledge learned. This forum has become my life line of experienced, helpful, friendly, and inquiring minds that will insure my success.

So Thanks

Frank @ SGU RV7A "NDY" but getting closer!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
For those of you in the "planning" stage of building an aircraft, come to my forums at Southwest Regional Fly-in, SWRFI, in Hondo, TX June 1 & 2. "So You Think You Want To Build An Airplane" covers all aspects of, deciding if you should build, what type material should you use, what type of airplane fits your mission, etc. I will also be available after the forums for 1 on 1 discussions.
 
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swrfi dates?

For those of you in the "planning" stage of building an aircraft, come to my forums at Southwest Regional Fly-in, SWRFI, in Hondo, TX September 1 & 2.
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september? i thought swrfi was next weekend? (may/jun)

john
 
Nope. You may be thinking about the Texas RV Fly-in at Ft. Worth Spinks. It is THIS Saturday.
NEXT weekend, 6/1-2 is SWRFI. (swrfi.org) Gates open Thursday afternoon 5/31. Fly-In starts Friday 6/1.
 
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swrfi dates

ok next vs NEXT, still not September :D

john
(planning to be at both -- fly-in at FWS and SWRFI at HDO)
 
johnp said:
ok next vs NEXT, still not September :D

john
(planning to be at both -- fly-in at FWS and SWRFI at HDO)
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Yea, Like I said......June 1 & 2
(Isn't age wonderful?)
Previous post corrected. Thanks.
 
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Well ...

Building an airplane is very expensive but you have to be satisfied with the plane you end up with. If you are going to use your RV for travel I will just say be sure to put in enough essential equipment to allow you to maintain control and navigate if you encounter low visibility and put in an autopilot with altitude hold. The rest is gravy.

Bob Axsom
 
It's not just age.

Mel,

You are forgiven. Building an airplane tends to cause you to lose track of time. When I started, I estimated 3 years. Next month on my wife's birthday, will be 4 years since receiving my empennage kit. My current estimate is three more years. June/September, 3 years/7 years, close enough.

BTW, if you are thinking about building, then be sure to attend Mel's forum. He's an interesting guy. If you don't make the forum, then just look him up on the flight line. His 6 is the one with the little star on the front, and the painted canopy. You can't miss Mel, he's the friendly one with the big smile and sunburned on top.

Cheers,
Tracy.
 
I lived 10 minutes from the factory when I made the decision to start my 6. Of course, the wife had to be involved in the decision so we made a quick trip to Vans. We got the tour, as it was back then, and Ken Scott did a great job selling the wife. "What does the kit cost", she said. "Around $15-$18K" Ken replied. "Oh, that's not so bad" she said, and off I was with a tail kit.
It took her a couple years before she picked up on the fact that it was just the kit, not everything needed to make it into a flying machine.
So here I sit, 8 years, $80K, and oh, one wife later. Worth every penny!
 
Jon,

Oh, oh. $10K per year, I've only been spending about $5K per year. Looks like I have a few more years to go than I estimated.

Tracy.
 
thallock said:
Jon,

Oh, oh. $10K per year, I've only been spending about $5K per year. Looks like I have a few more years to go than I estimated.

Tracy.
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Sounds like you're not to the instrument panel or forward of the firewall yet.
Be patient, it's coming.
 
$5k per year was about right for me. Of course it took me 8 years and the kits were $11k

The surprising thing for me was that the airplane had about the same annual cost after it was finished as during the build.

John A



thallock said:
Jon,

Oh, oh. $10K per year, I've only been spending about $5K per year. Looks like I have a few more years to go than I estimated.

Tracy.
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