I have a long way to go on my RV-7 build. I'm currently planning the workshop that I'll use to build it! The workshop will probably be used for some other things first, so first rivet is probably a few years away, but it seems a shame not to plan ahead.
I'll be building the workshop as a shed in the garden. In the UK I can do a building with an external size of up to 30 square meters (320 square feet) before the regulations get complicated. This probably ends up closer to 25 sq meters internally once the width of the walls is taken into account (I want some insulation to make it pleasant to work in). With that area to play with, what shape of building should I go for?
A bit of searching on this site and elsewhere tells me that the RV-7 is 4.6m (14'7") long without engine, and 6.4m (20'4") with. All the build logs I've looked at show that lots of the build time is towards the end of the build doing instruments, wiring, fuel etc., so I'd ideally like to fit fuselage+engine in the workshop. If go with 7x3.5m (22'11" x 11'6") it should do that, but is this width going to be impossible to work with? Should give up on getting the plane in with the engine on, find a hanger for that part of the build, and go for something like 5x5m (16'4"x16"4') to have more space for the rest of the build?
Planning ahead even further, my other question is about workshop doors. I'd like to take the completed plane out of the workshop without having to dismantle the workshop! When you've gone as far as you can without the wings on and it's time to move to a hanger, what are the dimensions of the bit of plane you need to get out of the workshop? Presumably taking the engine back off at this stage is a bit of a pain?
Also do let me know any other advice you all have on stuff I haven't thought of yet?
I'll be building the workshop as a shed in the garden. In the UK I can do a building with an external size of up to 30 square meters (320 square feet) before the regulations get complicated. This probably ends up closer to 25 sq meters internally once the width of the walls is taken into account (I want some insulation to make it pleasant to work in). With that area to play with, what shape of building should I go for?
A bit of searching on this site and elsewhere tells me that the RV-7 is 4.6m (14'7") long without engine, and 6.4m (20'4") with. All the build logs I've looked at show that lots of the build time is towards the end of the build doing instruments, wiring, fuel etc., so I'd ideally like to fit fuselage+engine in the workshop. If go with 7x3.5m (22'11" x 11'6") it should do that, but is this width going to be impossible to work with? Should give up on getting the plane in with the engine on, find a hanger for that part of the build, and go for something like 5x5m (16'4"x16"4') to have more space for the rest of the build?
Planning ahead even further, my other question is about workshop doors. I'd like to take the completed plane out of the workshop without having to dismantle the workshop! When you've gone as far as you can without the wings on and it's time to move to a hanger, what are the dimensions of the bit of plane you need to get out of the workshop? Presumably taking the engine back off at this stage is a bit of a pain?
Also do let me know any other advice you all have on stuff I haven't thought of yet?