<<I took a Sonex builder friend to SERFI, he left Evergreen with that bad feeling you get in your gut when realize you made a bad decision. You see, when you go to SnF or Osh you see TONS of RVs as compared with the numbers of other craft there.>>
A common belief, and worth addressing. Actually the EAA Judging Standards
http://www.airventure.org/awards/judging_manual06.pdf
don't offer an RV any advantage over a less expensive or less complex airplane.
Take a look at the Judging Decision Tree found on page 5. You'll find two words repeated over and over:
workmanship and detail. These are the ultimate measures.
Now take a look at the Scoring Sheet on page 11. You'll find nine individual areas in which a judge assigns a score based on evaluation per the decision tree. Judges examine these nine areas one at a time. Two through Eight are fundamental airframe quality catagories. This is where the bulk of the points come from. A wing is a wing, tail surfaces are tail surfaces, paint is paint. What sort of airplane they are attached to matters not at all.
Areas One and Nine are more subjective, although they still rely on the decision tree. Nine is the admitted wildcard area; note "judges discretion". This is where a judge can reward outstanding items that are rarely seen and hard to build (perhaps handmade metal fairings instead of glass), or the fact that this particular airplane is much more difficult and/or time consuming to build. (Assuming equal quality, a well done slow-build kit will probably pick up a point over a quick-build kit. A plans-build might pick up two.) To be blunt, it is also where judges consider important details like "Did he build it or write a check?" (Did you bring a presentation book?)
Area Seven (cockpit) is subject to the belief that a huge avionics investment sways the judges. Not true at all. Judges look at installation quality, not what you have installed. Steam gauge or digital matters not, but if the cutout isn't perfect, well, sorry. They look at safety (for example, long blade toggles and sharp edged glareshields will lose points, as will a lack of shoulder harnesses). They frown on scrambled instrument layouts, lack of labels, and controls that be confused with another. Logical, obvious, safe, tidy, and easy to use are the keywords for panel installations. The bulk of the interior is strictly by the decision tree.
Most of the areas include consideration for innovation and improvements. Note that these can be a two-edged sword. It is not unusual to see "innovations and improvements" that detract from safety. Sometimes nice innovations stole build time better spent on fundamental workmanship and detail, the result being a lower overall score. Sometimes they are truly wonderful ideas incorporated into a very nice airplane. Consider carefully before you change things just to add features and toys.
The most common loss of points happens when the owner does not stay with his airplane so that it is open for inspection when the judges arrive. We cannot judge what we cannot see. For example, if you do not remove the cowl on your RV, the judges can't score area Seven (powerplant) higher than a 4 (average), maybe a 5 based on what we can see through the inlets and oil door. It is equally hard to judge an interior through a locked canopy. If you return to your airplane and find that the judges were there while you were gone, all is not lost. They understand. Go the judging shack and ask for a return visit. You will get another visit, IF you scored well on the exterior items. Frankly, busy judges are probably not gonna come back if your scores on exterior items were mostly 4's and there are a lot of airplanes in your class.
The RV advantage is found in peer pressure and the huge RV information exchange. An RV builder has plenty of opportunity to see just how good it has to be in order to be
really good. Yes, sheer numbers have an effect, but let's be realistic. Basing your award hopes on the idea that nobody else will show up is not a plan for building a nice airplane. Besides, at any fly-in with good weather, it won't work.
Dan
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