MikeyDale

MikeyDale

Well Known Member
I had originally projected my 7 to be finished in two years. (I bought a project with quickbuild wings and fuse and 80% finished empennage). After working all week on the elevator trim tab, I am going to need to move the projected finish to 4 years! My shop looks like a tornado has hit, I'm knee deep in aluminum scrap from building riblets, my wife has threatened to leave me twice!...I have farmed for 25 years, I can build hay baler parts in the middle of the night with scrap iron, a torch, welder and grinder by flashlight but this aluminum is kickin my butt!...I've got a new found respect for you airplane builders out there!...It's a good thing I'm so stubborn!
 
I think you'll find with a bit more practice/exposure you'll start to acquire a feel for it. The trim tab is a challenging piece for many builders. My first attempt was acceptable and my bends worked out without making riblets. I will say that it is not flawless though and after letting it bug me for a few nights, I ordered a new trim tab. That was 3 or 4 months ago and I have not started on the second tab yet but I am confident my second attempt will be more acceptable to me.
 
I eventually gave up on estimating a finish. I even gave up on estimating just some of the individual tasks.

I finally settled in on the notion that a good day was when things moved forward (at all) - even if just a little. And a funny thing happened. One day there was this guy in my hangar handing me an airworthiness certificate. I remember thinking that was nice, but what was I going to do now?

Enjoy the building time.

Dan
 
Working with aluminum is a learning curve like any other. I would expect there to be some"Ah ha!" moments in the next few weeks or months. It will get easier. The key is doing some work, no matter how little, every day.

As to completion, I predict you will be done on a Saturday...

Bob
 
Here?s a little encouragement...

I?ve been flying since 2007 and I?m still not ?finished?.
 
Well Mikey, lemme tells ya...

I thought my slow build was going to take 4-5 years. I am on my 9th year now!

In that time I got a divorce, took a 3 year hiatus from the build, met a wonderful girl who loves flying and has been pushing me to get it done!

Lately things are really coming together!

I say that it is like eating an elephant, one bite at a time!

Btw, you need to make a decision. Are you a PILOT OR A BUILDER?

I savvy myself a builder but this project has tested those abilities!

If you want a plane, buy one. If you want to build a plane, build one. Either way RV's are great!

:eek: CJ
 
Mike, I know where you're coming from. A coupe of months ago I felt the same way. You'll learn quickly, just keep at it and here's a link you will need from time to time...

http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/parts.txt

:)

I'm a pilot, not a builder. I'm not building to fulfill a life long dream to build an airplane -- I'm building because it's a way I can fly MY airplane, built and equipped and maintained the way I want it, and be able to afford to do it. If I thought for a minute it would take me 8-10 years to finish, I'd never have started. Mine wasn't as far along as yours when you started, and you'll probably be done before I am. Hang in there, it gets a lot better.

You're in TX, I'm in NE. In two years, let's fly to some good BBQ place in the middle and have dinner. :)
 
DanBaier said:
I eventually gave up on estimating a finish. I even gave up on estimating just some of the individual tasks.

I finally settled in on the notion that a good day was when things moved forward (at all) - even if just a little.
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I think Dan best described where I am today.

When I started my daughter was just starting high school and my target was to fly her on her first trip to college (Shes hoping to be an Aggie) and now I think a more realistic target is flying my wife and I down there to attend graduation.
 
Thanks for all the encouragement. Actually, I have enjoyed every minute if it so far. I think I may be a little to particular an a few things that is probably no big deal. I am a pilot but I believe I will enjoy building more than flying. I went the riblet route because I didn't like my bends on the elevator and I wanted to actually fabricate some parts. I will definatly look forward to that dinner somewhere between Texas and NE!
 
MikeyDale said:
Thanks for all the encouragement. Actually, I have enjoyed every minute if it so far. I think I may be a little to particular an a few things that is probably no big deal.
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You get over that quickly. :) A big step for me was having the EAA tech counselor come over and look at my work and that of the previous owner. Some things I thought I'd screwed up he said were fine. When you start out you're determined to have every part perfect; then reality sets in and you learn to correct mistakes to make it sound, airworthy and good looking if possible.
MikeyDale said:
I am a pilot but I believe I will enjoy building more than flying.
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I dunno. I like building, but I love flying. I'm building so I can fly it.
MikeyDale said:
I will definatly look forward to that dinner somewhere between Texas and NE!
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If it's winter we'll settle on somewhere closer to you! :) 5 degrees here this morning. Yeesh.
 
As you have already found out ...

...building an airplane - be it a kitplane or scratchbuilt - is quite a journey. Some things go really well and you're totally fired up for the next step. Others times you get ambushed by tasks that turn out to be near-torture. But as long as you make steady progress, the satisfaction is huge and you press on. I figured mine would be four years to completion; it turned out to be 6 1/2 , but it was an experience I'd never pass up today. A lot of that satisfaction comes from the many new friends I've made in the EAA and RV communities. Nothing but great people.
 
Expectations

FWIW 1: My 3-year -8A QB project took 6 1/2 years. Now have nearly 300 hours in nearly two years flying. Yesterday was a perfect High Desert day in the Mojave so I decided to do a FACIT hop - "Fool" Around and Call It Training. 1.5 over the Sierra, Owens Valley and Death Valley. At the end right after I shut the engine down I sat in the cockpit exalting in the fact that I had just done something routine - but very special - in a machine that I had built. You can't pay money to get a feeling like that - you actually have to do the work.

FWIW 2: Regarding your trim tab frustration. Sitting under my radial saw in the workshop are 2 (TWO !!) scrap elevators - scrapped because I couldn't do the trim tab right. A lot of what followed wasn't perfect - but I didn't end up scrapping stuff.

Hang in there.
 
I am in to the 7th year of what was going to take 2-3 years, but I am nearly there now. Actually it is encouraging to hear I am not the only person that took longer than planned. :)
 
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