[Jamie]

Just in case you're building your RV and you wonder if you'll be able to fit it in the garage with wings on....

My garage is 19.5 feet by 21 feet. I have about 4 inches from leading edges and ailerons to the walls/garage door. ;-)

Still got an interference issue with the rear spar...looks like I'll need to trim it down just a bit to get it to no sweep (ok according to Van's incidence FAQ)...but everything else was waaaaay easier than I thought it would be.

 

[txaviator]

Envy.....................

Must be nice in a 'two-stall' garage! I am working in a one hole'r detached shop (hangar)

 

[rjsflyer]

Must be even nicer to have a wife that will park her car in the driveway, too.

Rick Schwandt
RV-9A Fuse
www.rjsflyer.com

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Shoot, I got all excited and then ran out to measure *my* two-car garage.... 19 1/2 X 18.75.

Dang.

 

[Davepar]

But how are you going to mount the other wing?

 

[John Courte]

Luxurious.

I'm building an RV-7 in a 1-car and sharing it with laundry machines and a hot water heater. I can do one major piece at a time. However, there's a nice barn-sized slab in the backyard with nothing on it at the moment... The RV isn't going to be the only kit assembled during this project, I guess.

 

[tomwebster]

Same here, building in a one-car garage.
I boxed myself in a corner by not finishing
the tail fairings while I had the tail feathers
on. Now the engine is mounted, I can't
put the horizontal back on and will have to
do the tail fairings at the airport.
Tom Webster

 

[Rosie]

2-car garage

We used only half the 20'x20', two-car garage for our RV-6A until getting to the fuselage. Here's how we did the fuselage-wing flaps/ailerons/push-tubes/wiring etc then reversed the fuselage for the other wing.

We were able to complete the entire plane at our house and did not move to the airport until there was ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, nothing more that could be done at home.

We arrived to the airport on May 13th, then two weeks to assemble, one week to rig, one week for inspection and were signed off by the FAA on June 13th. First flight was 5 days later Rosie

 

[Jamie]

But how are you going to mount the other wing?

Dave:

I think you're joking (based on the smiley) but just to clarify since the pictures don't show it very well...both wings are on there.

 

[ericwolf]

When to mount wings?

Thanks Jamie for that post, I've been considering mounting both wings in my 20.5 X 20.5 garage, and I now know that it is possible.

Sorry for the minor thread hijack, but when do the wings really need to be mounted? In other words, could I mount the wings and set the incidence as a last step? If so, should I at least mount one wing at a time to route the wires and rig the ailerons & flaps? I'm trying to avoid the crowded situation that Jamie had, but I suppose that it would only be temporary.

Thanks

 

[kevinh]

Sorry for the minor thread hijack, but when do the wings really need to be mounted? In other words, could I mount the wings and set the incidence as a last step? If so, should I at least mount one wing at a time to route the wires and rig the ailerons & flaps? I'm trying to avoid the crowded situation that Jamie had, but I suppose that it would only be temporary.

I built my RV in half of a two car garage - my wife would have kicked my ass if I started skootching over into 'her' side ;-). I stored the emp (and later the wings) in my basement. I didn't mate the wings to the fuse until final assembly at the airport. I hung generous loops of wire out of the fuse while doing my wiring at home - when I reached the airport I just slid the wires into my wing conduit and set the incidence. Final assembly took me about two months of weekends and the occasional evening during the week.

It really wasn't much of a burden leaving the wings off that long...

 

[Davepar]

I think you're joking (based on the smiley) but just to clarify since the pictures don't show it very well...both wings are on there.

Whoa, I didn't see that in the pictures. You must have shoe-horned them in there. Now I'm wondering if I could do that. Then again, as Kevin points out it's not a big deal to leave the wing mounting to the end. However, it would be cool to see the wings on the fuselage...

 

[Jamie]

Here's a crappy picture of my messy workbench along with the right wing in the garage. You can see that it goes all the way to the corner.

I'm glad I mounted the wings now, since I've discovered a .5 inch forward sweep in both wings. There's an AN470AD4 rivet on the side skin that interferes with the rear spar 'stub'. Looks like I'm going to have to a) replace the rivet with an AN426AD4 or b) grind down the stub. I may try the rivet first then grind the stub only if changing the rivet doesn't give me enough clearance.

Also I'm using Rosie's approach of doing absolutely everything possible in the garage before moving it to the airport. I hope to take it from my garage to my neighbors paint shop (he has a brand spankin' new spray booth he's promised to let me use) and from there to the airport.