bret

bret

Well Known Member
To build an RV? Time, Family, Work, Money, Sanity? What were the consequences, and was it worth it?
 
Plenty but would give more

I am not flying yet but would do it all over again. I have a very understanding wife who has her own passions and no kids so I my not be the best case to gage by but

I have given up;

A nice lawn, I do minimum required
Nice cars mine are all 11 years old
Time with my wife but we do have our quality time
TV shows I used to watch all the time
Playing in the stock market
Home improvements (my old hobby)


bret said:
To build an RV? Time, Family, Work, Money, Sanity? What were the consequences, and was it worth it?
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I don't feel I gave up anything, but I did rearrange my priorities.

Money- would have been spent on something else.
Time- the clock is always running
Family- no, kids are grown and gone. When they come around we do family stuff.
Work- are you kidding? gotta work to pay for stuff.
Sanity-building is great therapy

Bonus, we gave up DirectTV($50/month more in build fund).

My only consequence has been I don't hunt, camp or snowboard as much...oh and I spend too much time on VAF.

Yes it has been worth it!
 
Not as thing...but you do need to add it to life's balance, Never forget what's really important in life and never let that hunk of aluminum become #1. Make it a point to step back and never change your schedule to fit the project in place of your family...until the DAR is due and phase one begins...then all gloves are off;)
 
Gave up spending the entire evening and weekend on email for work. Huge sacrifice; however I had to give something up :)
 
building nerd?

Mom said those kids get board and leave.... you are always working on those (airplane) models. Maby you should be more friendly and talk to them more.
MOM!>!!!>>>> I played football/ baseball, and walked the creek with those guys!!!. I gotta finish this aileron, they will be there tomorrow needing me to block, play first base, or what ever... I GOTTA finish this aileron, engine instilation, ect....

You have to do what you were born for. I am a builder and a Flyer. I LOVE ANYTHING THAT FLIES!!! If it flies, I like it. Frisbees,,? YES!!! it flies.. duaaa.

Life with out flying airplanes would be tough for me. Follow your dreams. Flying has added more than it has cost.

I DO NOT consider that to I fly I had to give up anything ..... NO, NO, NO, flying has added to my life experince. NOT taken anything away.

EVERY morning I look at the weather,, I ASK MYSELF.... CAN I FLY today? YOU are a pilot if you Have to look,,,,,, if you do not ,,,,,wach TV?

Flying is my passion...
 
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It was not a novelty for us

I started late in life with a plan to own an airplane we could travel in and race in and that I could maintain. Once the decision was made my wife and I did whatever we had to do to finish our RV-6A. I am the only pilot and this is a very expensive undertaking so the decision was not taken lightly. We arranged an equity line of credit on our home to assure that cash would be available whenever we needed it for anything. It took us eight years to complete the project strictly on our own. Work was primary and I had a 4 hour commute each day to work. I worked on the plane in every moment of my spare time. Previously, I spent like amounts of time getting an decent education at night for 15 years. There is no question that the RV is an excellent airplane and building and flying are themselves valuable educationally. One has to decide if it is wise at the present state in ones life to devote the time and money resources to building an RV as opposed to something more beneficial to career growth. In our case it was and we are not disappointed. Six years of flying completed with many long trips and many races won - life is good.

Bob Axsom
 
This is poetic in that strange Texas rant way. I can think of no better way to convey the desire to build and fly.

Jaypratt said:
Mom said those kids get board and leave.... you are always working on those (airplane) models. Maby you should be more friendly and talk to them more.
MOM!>!!!>>>> I played football/ baseball, and walked the creek with those guys!!!. I gotta finish this aileron, they will be there tomorrow needing me to block, play first base, or what ever... I GOTTA finish this aileron, engine instilation, ect....

You have to do what you were born for. I am a builder and a Flyer. I LOVE ANYTHING THAT FLIES!!! If it flies I am fasinatided by it. Frisbees,,? YES!!! it flies.. duaaa.

Life with out flying airplanes would be tough for me. Follow your dreams. Flying has added more than it has cost.

I DO NOT consider that to I fly I had to give up anything ..... NO, NO, NO, flying has added to my life experince. NOT taken anything away.

EVERY morning,,,,, I look at the weather,, I ASK MYSELF.... CAN I FLY today?... YOU are a pilot,,,, if you have to look,,,,,, if you do not ,,,,,,,watch TV.

Flying is my pashion...
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Beer, Golf, Fishing...

I would agree with an earlier posting. I didn't give anything up. I have decided to pursue other passions in life.

- When I started building, it had been 23 years since my last hour as PIC. After three great years of building, I managed to change that and get current. I have since flown about 30 hours, as I like to take up a rental two or three times a months for half hour flights.
- Before spending all weekend building my RV9A, I used to spend several hours making home made beer.
- Before spending all weekend building my RV9A, I used to spent at least half the weekend at the golf course.
- Before spending all weekend building my RV9A, I used to go up to the lake and go fishing.
- Before spending all weekend building my RV9A, ......

Yep, my priorities have changed. But soon I can spend all weekend flying to fun places to where I can golf, fish and maybe even buy a cold one now and again.
 
I haven't given up anything. I would have liked to have spent more time with the kids, but that wasn't really the fault of the project and what parent doesn't think that.

I still had gardens. I still have the same marriage I had 28 years ago (only better). I still take vacations. The house is in good shape. The dog is trained.

Give up stuff? On the contrary. If I weren't building, I'd probably have given up flying years ago. The prospect of one day having my own airplane makes me not mind driving 30 miles each way to an FBO and plunking down $120 an hour not including taxes and fees.

I've got a pay-as-you-go cellphone who's one "add on" is a flashlight. So maybe I've given up being one of the cool kids with blackberrys and IPads and IPhones, but I'm not that interested in being connected all the time anyway.

Give up stuff? This is who I am. This is what I do. This is what I love. I haven't given up anything.
 
Given up

I find with the build I fly a little less than I want to, but thats the trade off with the big expenses now in the final stretches. I will make up for that shortly I hope!

I find I watch WAY WAY less tv. I never spend an aft or evening on the couch any more. Last period of a hockey game is about all I can sit for. I would rather be doing family stuff or online researching/learning about the next build task.

To help with the costs, Vehicles have taken a back seat. They arent as important as they used to be. They are nice and safe, but the 2-3 year replacement has stretched out to 5-10. Really not important in my books as long as they are safe and reliable.

I find I work more efficiently at my office so that I dont have to feel guilty taking days off work to build. I will not work nights on the plane, nor miss any of my kids sports or functions for building. That way nobody suffers or feels like they arent as important as my project.

It is a much bigger project than I expected when I ordered the tail. The learning, the friends, the experience beats all the missed tv shows. No contest. How many people can really say they learned how to build a plane and now fly it. Very very cool hobby.
 
i tried...

I tried to give up flying, but that only lasted 1 year. After a year, it was killing me. I thought I'd be able to do it, but I couldn't last. After a year off from flying, I joined a flying club and flew a Cardinal RG for 2 years. I didn't fly nearly as often as I would have liked, but some was better than nothing. We did a few trips in it, but it was like driving a station wagon. Makes me really appreciate the RV now that it's flying!
 
RV sacrifice

I have given up (for the last 3 years) my annual SCUBA trip to the tropics:(

I hope to resume this activity soon.

A guy can have more than 1 hobby can't he?:D

Dave
-9A almost done
N514R
 
N164fj said:
I gave up a lot of sleep at night. Life is to short.
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Right there with you. I was up building until 2:30am the other night. Up at 7am for work. Gotta love it. I have a wife and three kids so family always takes precedence. The plane work comes after 9pm. Just make sure that if you stay up late to work on the plane that you take a quick shower and clean off all the aluminum dust and shavings before you crawl into bed next to your wife.:D
 
Gave up a couple of things:
1) Dirtbike (sold it and bought the tail kit)
2) Some TV shows that were not worth watching anyway
3) Lots of stress-working on the plane is great therapy

Gained some things:
1) More tools!
2) Stress-when something gets screwed up on the plane

Skyking902001
RV8
Emp.
 
I really didn't give up anything. Instead of building model airplanes I was building a real one. Usually worked after kids went to bed. I didn't spend that much time on the internet when I was building.

I miss building.

Now I "waste" several hours a day on the internet. I want to build again.
 
For me, the choice was simple enough. Put down the remote. Lose the easy chair. Don't be a couch potato. What would I have to show in a few years for all the hours I was "investing" in watching TV shows and doing other stuff? Nothing! Time is like money (except you can't make back what you lose). You can fritter it away or invest it wisely and have something to show for it. If the dream is there, you'll find or make the time for the project. And you can do it without alienating the wife or the family, if you're careful and thoughtful.

My astronomy hobby has taken a back seat. For now. The universe will wait for me. I'm not a sports fan. I could care less about watching overpaid grown men playing with a ball. My home improvement projects have slowed down or taken a back seat. My lawn needs mowing. My cars will age a lot longer before replacement. I don't think I spent a nickel on clothes or wardrobe last year. I can't even remember the last time I set foot in a shopping mall. And you know what? None of this has been hard on me. When you have an airplane project waiting for you out in the shop, a lot of things pale in significance and your priorities change.

Stress or sanity? This project IS my sanity. I couldn't begin to describe how much this has enriched my life and added to it. The sense of accomplishment is big and the rewards are many. Oh... one more thing... the RV grin. You don't have to have a finished, flying RV to have an RV grin. I'm having them all the time these days.
 
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