flytoboat

flytoboat

Well Known Member
RV-7A Empennage kit delivered to my home yesterday. I hope to see you in the skies in 3-4 years.
 
Congrats

Congratulations!! You've embarked on a grand journey, full of many small victories, and an equal number of trying times and confused head scratching. Along the way, you meet the best people in the world.

(I have, and I'm not even finished yet!)
 
Welcome!

Welcome to the club, and say hello to Southern Illinois for me, I used to live in Carbondale in a previous life.
 
congrats

Thats great. Have you built before? Is this your first build? Have you or are you going to take a build class before you start? Why I ask I am starting to build my tail and I have done some practice peaces from Vans but am still not shure of myself.
 
v/stab

If you hurry you can have a very nice coffee table built by Christmas;)
Congrats!!
 
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m3tt5 said:
Thats great. Have you built before? Is this your first build? Have you or are you going to take a build class before you start? Why I ask I am starting to build my tail and I have done some practice peaces from Vans but am still not shure of myself.
Click to expand...

I just started the tail kit in October. I too was quite apprehensive at first, but I just finished riveting the vertical stab together this week. That's a great confidence booster! I chose to rivet the VS before the horizontal stab because the VS is smaller with fewer parts. Now I feel pretty good about the development of my skills so I'm going to start the rivet process on the HS tomorrow!

Have a great time flytoboat! I'm only two months in but it's been great so far!
 
Congratulations Don! You are embarking on quite possibly the most challenging and rewarding hobby you will ever embrace. Sooner or later, many of us discover that frustration is also part of the process but know that there is plenty of help out there. Many RV builders live within an hour or two of you and something tells me that Wicks, just 25 minutes away will quickly become one of your favorite resources! Have fun. It is truly worth it.
 
A Character builder......

........is what an old timer called it. You'll increase your patience. Your tongue will be quite blistered from saying words you shouldn't. Your resources will improve because you'll have to ask questions. All in all, you'll be a better man, with newfound skills few opt to learn. ...and an airplane to boot!:)

Have fun,
 
It won't ALWAYS be fun! But, don't let those screwups you are bound to make discourage you. Just accept that you are mortal and no matter what you did, someone out here who is flying did it, too. Try to work on it everyday. Tha is really key. And don't be afraid to skip ahead in the construction. If you come to a stopping point on one part (either because you screwed it up and have to order a new part or you are waiting for a good day to prime parts), skip ahead. Do something else. Keep moving. When you get tired of dimpling, move to a different part for a while, then come back later. Play some music you like to make the endless deburring go by a little faster.

When you get frustrated, come here and vent. We will help you out and keep you motivated. But, yeah, it is mostly fun. I have even found myself wondering what I will want to build next.
 
Congratulations!

I would give you some words of wisdom but it looks like you've been doing your research for a while. You're in the right place to get lots of experienced advice from guys smarter than us.

Are you going to create an online log, so we can follow your progress?

Welcome to the family...Now get out there and bang some rivets!!!!

Happy Holidays
 
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First build

Matthew,
I have not built before. I took a builders class last month at Grov-Air in Indiana. Troy Grover does an excellent job in preparing first time builders. I highly recommend him.
btw, Where is "Biggsville, IL" I am near St Louis.

m3tt5 said:
Thats great. Have you built before? Is this your first build? Have you or are you going to take a build class before you start? Why I ask I am starting to build my tail and I have done some practice peaces from Vans but am still not shure of myself.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to all for your words of encouragement. I have been trying to prepare myself for this for the past year or so. I am amazed at what I have learned from this site and all the great builder web sites out there. I am not planning to track my progress on the web - I've never built web pages before and would rather just build an airplane ;).

Rick, I used to live 2 blocks from Wicks Aircraft. I'm sure I will be visiting them quite often. I have read many of your posts, and made a mental note to keep you in mind if (when) I get stuck and don't know where to go from here. I also joined the EAA and local chapter 864 (ALN, St. Louis Regional, Bethalto) and there is lots of experience to draw from there. I have visited 3 or 4 builders shops already and got an $80,000 ride in a 6A :)

I am going the "standard build" route and hope to have the airframe constructed within 3 years when I retire. Then I will finish the other 90% (panel, FWF, and painting) I am building in my basement, so I won't have any excuses about it being too hot or too cold.

Rick6a said:
Congratulations Don! You are embarking on quite possibly the most challenging and rewarding hobby you will ever embrace. Sooner or later, many of us discover that frustration is also part of the process but know that there is plenty of help out there. Many RV builders live within an hour or two of you and something tells me that Wicks, just 25 minutes away will quickly become one of your favorite resources! Have fun. It is truly worth it.
Click to expand...
 
Gateway RVers

Welcome to the RV club in Southern Illinois. There are 2 RV projects and a flying RV4 just down the road at the Shafer STL Metro East Airport (3K6). An RV7A and an RV7 are in various stages of work.

Come visit someday and compare notes, exchange ideas or just talk RV. (That goes for any RVer out there :) )

I usually stock cool drinks and keep the popcorn popper stocked for serious consultation sessions.

Maybe we need a "Gateway RVers" group for the STL Metro area RV builders and flyers. :rolleyes:
 
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