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Amazing Speed in lBuilding!

DonFromTX

DonFromTX

Well Known Member
Well, everyone has to get that first shot of sitting in your aircraft pieces making Rotax sounds, I may have set a record, I got to do it in less than 60 days, squeezed my first rivet on 3 Feb this year.
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Are you sure you really pulled them all? At that pace I have the suspicion there are still a lot of clecos where there should be rivets :D
 
Gosh is there actually a rule that you have to have the rivets in to be a legal sit-in? Next you will be talling me that the stick actually has to be attached to the parts pile too!
 
:D And you have to actually sit on the area you're supposed to sit on and not on the main bulkhead, pfft. :D :D :D
I have to admit I didn't have the guts to do that yet as it doesn't feel stable enough to support me without getting a dent somewhere...
 
DonFromTX said:
Well, everyone has to get that first shot of sitting in your aircraft pieces making Rotax sounds, I may have set a record, I got to do it in less than 60 days, squeezed my first rivet on 3 Feb this year.
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Nice Progress, but not quite the record :)

This was 331RV after 2.5 months (March 31st for the 1st rivet, picture is June 16th)

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ErichKeane said:
Nice Progress, but not quite the record :)

This was 331RV after 2.5 months (March 31st for the 1st rivet, picture is June 16th)

2qktn2c.jpg
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I don't see your wings in the background Erich. I think maybe we need some rules for this, prehaps the seat should be in place as well. I made my wife get in as well. I then became worried the work bench would collapse and I would be the first 12 to crash before I had had my first takeoff.

Julian 120316
 
:) I don't have pictures from the time, but when this picture was taken the wings and tailfeathers were complete, and the engine got delivered about a week later.

The finish kit took FOREVER, she actually ONLY just taxiied this last weekend, and will ohpefully fly within the next two week so or so.
 
FOREVER? What were the biggest hold-ups for you with the Finish Kit?? Just asking cause I'm heading there ...
 
Keeping motivation was the hardest part :)

The canopy was really the biggest problem, particularly the fiberglass layup. It ended up taking about 2 months for that, plus another month of prep on it. It looks perfect when done, but it took a bunch of time to do. The cowling can take a very long time as well, though it hangs pretty quickly.

The fuel tank took a very long time as well, you must be extra careful, though I think mine was overly cautious.

The most time consuming/careful-ness required bit was the wiring though. You lay every wire individually, and I ended up double and triple checking each connection.

331RV has probably been near-ready for flight since mid-december, but waiting on the painter took a while, and there was a bunch of stuff that was waiting on that. If you fly before paint,you'll be in better shape as far as that is concerned.

Avionics is pretty trivial when it comes right down to it, I think the whole kit went together in a less than a weekend. I had a bunch of problems with one of my AP servos (as well as having ot return the AP), so about 2 months were burned there.
 
I think the record belongs to John Nys and steprson 31 days from start to first flight.He also had the first RV10 to fly after the factorys two.
 
nice

nice pic Don, I make flying noised in my shop all the time, it keeps the anti aircraft people away!! :)

bird
 
In Response to Complaints

It was pointed out that my photo had me sitting in the wrong place, control stick in the wrong place, etc, so I had to re do the photo. This is supposed to be more accurate:
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I was hoping you would take a better picture. I thought Playgirl would be calling you to do a center fold with the first one. ;)

Slow down and enjoy the building process guys, this is not a race. This coming from a guy that started 8 months late and flew the second customer build RV-12. :D
 
I am just enjoying the build! I don't keep track of time on my kit log, refuse to come up with a completion date. It will be done when I am through making it to suit myself. I am however quite impressed with how fast it is going together.
 
Looking good, but I have to wonder, what is the load capacity of that table? OH and by the way, nice socks.

I'm working on the second wing with the fuselage kit due in mid April.

Hope to see everyone at Oshkosh.
 
The rolling cart was a pair of rolling motorcycle jacks under a piece of plywood :) I'm not sure where we got them, one of the partners had them.
 
Obviously the load capacity of the tables are great. I got them for a song (and I sung it) from the local Shriners. They had them for parties but were too heavy for the help to lug around and unfold! REAL heavy duty tables, perfect for my use, I took them all!

LittleJoeA said:
Looking good, but I have to wonder, what is the load capacity of that table? OH and by the way, nice socks.

I'm working on the second wing with the fuselage kit due in mid April.

Hope to see everyone at Oshkosh.
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