And it looks like I'll be building an RV-7!
A couple weekends ago I met with RV6Rick down in Parkersburg to check out his planes. I ended up getting a flight in one of his bud's RV6's. Wow, that was an experience! I got to take the controls for a little bit, and the co-owner even let me do a stall. I got the bug, seriously, after that.
The next day I went and ordered the preview plans and the practice set. Today I started work on clearing my workspace (a 1 car garage sized workshop, this'll be interesting to say the least!) and I ordered the Cleaveland total airframe kit. Empennage to be ordered when I get my tax return check. This weekend I'm planning on building an EAA workbench.
I find myself drueling over the practice kit, even though it's only part of an aileron, and wanting to start test-fitting everything. But I can't even deburr the edges so I'll have to wait until my tools come in. For extra motivation I unpacked the 4 RC airplanes I have (3 of them have flown, the last one I stopped construction on when I realized I could build a real plane) so I could have airplane decoration in my house as a constant reminder. I want to make sure I take my time to do everything right, as I got a few great looks at Rick's workmanship down in Parkersburg. His Rocket was immaculate. I also got a good look at what bad workmanship looks like on an RV-4 (I think) that had shipping damage that Rick had acquired.
Now I'm itching to get my hands on a scotchbrite disk and a rivet gun/bucking bar to start putting together the practice kit. I've also been watching some Red Bull race videos. It's going to take constant motivation to get through this multi-year project, and a lot of reigning in my expenses to make sure I can get my PPL and also continue to fly.
I'm 90% sure I'll get the tailwheel version, and I'm waffling on the tip up vs. slider canopy. The 6 I flew in had a tip-up and I loved the unobstructed view. But, there's something sexy about a slider, and also maybe the potential for a slider to be easier to bail from in the case of extreme circumstances. I'd love to make my plane capable of inverted flight, but I think I'll stick with the basic airframe and engine first (but get an IFR or close to IFR panel) and modify as I go along, for instance, to get the engine set up for inverted flight. It was so easy to set up for RC airplanes, but these big ones take lots of money and thought to make it work. That, and I as a pilot need the necessary training...
But I'm excited! Flying in someone else's plane that I knew they built by hand was enough to leave me grinning loudly the rest of the day. I can't imagine what'll be like to leave the ground in something I built myself.
A couple weekends ago I met with RV6Rick down in Parkersburg to check out his planes. I ended up getting a flight in one of his bud's RV6's. Wow, that was an experience! I got to take the controls for a little bit, and the co-owner even let me do a stall. I got the bug, seriously, after that.
The next day I went and ordered the preview plans and the practice set. Today I started work on clearing my workspace (a 1 car garage sized workshop, this'll be interesting to say the least!) and I ordered the Cleaveland total airframe kit. Empennage to be ordered when I get my tax return check. This weekend I'm planning on building an EAA workbench.
I find myself drueling over the practice kit, even though it's only part of an aileron, and wanting to start test-fitting everything. But I can't even deburr the edges so I'll have to wait until my tools come in. For extra motivation I unpacked the 4 RC airplanes I have (3 of them have flown, the last one I stopped construction on when I realized I could build a real plane) so I could have airplane decoration in my house as a constant reminder. I want to make sure I take my time to do everything right, as I got a few great looks at Rick's workmanship down in Parkersburg. His Rocket was immaculate. I also got a good look at what bad workmanship looks like on an RV-4 (I think) that had shipping damage that Rick had acquired.
Now I'm itching to get my hands on a scotchbrite disk and a rivet gun/bucking bar to start putting together the practice kit. I've also been watching some Red Bull race videos. It's going to take constant motivation to get through this multi-year project, and a lot of reigning in my expenses to make sure I can get my PPL and also continue to fly.
I'm 90% sure I'll get the tailwheel version, and I'm waffling on the tip up vs. slider canopy. The 6 I flew in had a tip-up and I loved the unobstructed view. But, there's something sexy about a slider, and also maybe the potential for a slider to be easier to bail from in the case of extreme circumstances. I'd love to make my plane capable of inverted flight, but I think I'll stick with the basic airframe and engine first (but get an IFR or close to IFR panel) and modify as I go along, for instance, to get the engine set up for inverted flight. It was so easy to set up for RC airplanes, but these big ones take lots of money and thought to make it work. That, and I as a pilot need the necessary training...
But I'm excited! Flying in someone else's plane that I knew they built by hand was enough to leave me grinning loudly the rest of the day. I can't imagine what'll be like to leave the ground in something I built myself.
