It's not all fun and games!

[rph142]

For the unlucky builders that lack heated garages and have wives that lay down the law(no building inside), the depths of winter can be tough indeed. Six inches of snow and 25 degree oat's are what Robert Pirsig would call a gumption trap. It would certainly be easy to fire up the PS3 and warm the couch cushions for the rest of winter, but this airplane won't build itself.

Building in the freezing cold is never fun, and neither is sanding fiberglass, but for some reason when I combine these two events it becomes a Zen like experience. The cold is wearing down my sense of touch, while at the same time I am intensly concentrating on the feel of the glass, searching for epoxy runs that aren't visible to the eye. I almost enjoy these winter ops sanding sessions.

 

[Ironflight]

Now that boy REALLY wants to fly!!

 

[Paul K]

Inspiration!

I have to get my sorry behind back to work in my nice heated barn. You make me feel so guilty!

 

[flytoboat]

Rob, Glad to see you're still making good progress. (And thanks for reminding me why I stay single )

 

[GLPalinkas]

Cold weather RV work

Well, I have been delaying working on my RV because it's down to about 60 in my garage. Thanks for the reminder that I don't have it that bad (anymore..... came from Ohio where winter RV building looks just like your photo )

 

[N941WR]

Rob,

I can't wait to read about your first flight!

The first winter I was building, my basement wasn't insulated and it was the same temperature outside and inside. (Note the walls in this picture.)

Thanksgiving weekend of year two found me spending three days insulating and and drywalling the basement. (Picture with finished walls.)

What a difference that made. It also reduced my HVAC bills.

 

[Inverted]

Now that is what I call DEDICATION.

 

[Allan Stern]

Dedication

Really looking at that picture in detail you realize that he dosen't even have a garage! He is outside in the snow sanding that fiberglass. I wonder where he is mixing the resin for bonding? It would be a very long time for set up wouldn't it? More power to him and keep on working.

Allan Stern, RV 6A
RV 8A both flying

 

[rph142]

Thanks for the replies! The structure behind me is actually my garage, but its detached so its just as cold in there as it is outside. I've taken up sanding on the patio because it prevents me from dusting up everything in the garage. The little corridor between my house and the garage creates a wind tunnel affect, which blows away the dust so I dont have to wear a mask. I was able to talk my wife into letting me layup the epoxy in my basement (no sanding allowed down there). By the way, it takes DAYS for epoxy to setup when its below 30...

 

[Andrew M]

Working outside

I feel your pain. Like the Ipod to. I am good to about zero, below that things really slow down to -10, then I stop, unless I am being paid. At that point I have a real Herman Nelson and can go down to -40.
The plenum slides on rail to adjust heat. There are two places to pull off heat. For working, one goes on my feet, the other on my hands. I can also preheat two airplanes at the same time.
I imagine your wife has hot chocolate or coffee ready for you. Mine does.
Keep at it!

http://picasaweb.google.com/1136005...?authkey=Gv1sRgCPPUvIaxurn0Aw&feat=directlink

 

[islandmonkey]

I am shocked!!!

 

[jimbower]

I live in Missouri where winters can be really nasty. Not always a lot of snow, but we can count on some times of single-digit temperatures. Why not bite the bullet and insulate your garage? I did, and was subsequently able to heat it acceptably with a couple of those oil-filled electric radiators (as long as I took the chill off with a 50,000 btu torpedo heater first).

 

[pierre smith]

Rob, you're incredibly motivated...

...and it sorta reminds me of myself when I was fresh out of the Army in '69 and just had to have a Cassutt. I built it in a single car garage with no heat, no air, no electricity and a dirt floor.

We don't see many guys sanding a cowl in the snow on here these days and I'm amazed at your stick-to-it-ness!!

What a man won't do to give his a$$ a ride

Best,

 

[turbo]

well...........

keep sanding and stay warm.
seems florida is the only state without snow on the ground.
its all worth it when done.

 

[dan.spellman]

Be Careful

A couple of years ago, while working in a cold hanger, I backed into a propane heater exactly like the one shown in the photo. I started my a** on fire and ended up with third degree burns and skin grafts.

Luckily, I had just washed my coveralls after replacing an engine in a Porsche and getting them really greasy. I probably would have gone up like a Roman Candle.

 

[Steve]

50 bucks

Rob,
I built my 9A in a non-insulated hangar in northern Utah. Because I wanted to continue building in the winter I spent about $50 for a 10x10 pop up shade canopy and a roll of the thickest plastic sheeting (4mil?) available at HoDe. Wrap the plastic around around the structure. Overlap about 3 feet for an entry/exit slit. Fold the excess plastic over the top canopy frame. Secure with plastic clips or clothes pins. Pull the sides of the nylon canopy roof over the plastic sheeting.
Run in some extension cords for lights and tunes. Throw an old piece of carpet on the floor. You'll need an exhaust system if you use the propane heater. I used electric base board heaters for heat. The temp inside my winter quarters would reach 65 degrees after a 30 minute preheat. I had more airport "helpers" in the winter than in summer.
You'll spend a few hours setting this up but it's well worth the time.

 

[flion]

During the summer, my hangar is very cozy. Right now, it's usually below ambient during the day (warms up slower than the sunlit terrain) until I get the propane heater going; then it warms up a few degrees (but still not very warm; I stick close to the heater). As the snow melts from the roof, it becomes ice around the door (no direct sunlight on the door this time of year). For building, I can live with it but I'll need an accessible hangar (I'm on the list) by the time I'm done; my -6A is in another hangar that gets sun on the door. Here are some pictures:

 

[panhandler1956]

Good on ya!

Glad to see that kind of motivation - that's what it's all about!

Plus you get double points for building an RV 3!

 

[ScottSchmidt]

Great work, your almost there.

Can't wait to see your plane at Oshkosh someday. Looks like you are getting close. It is cool to see the level of dedication you are putting into it.

I am going to show your website to my wife so I can build my next plane in the house, more specifically, in my bedroom. How cool would it be to wake up and buck some rivets at 6am, while still in bed!!

 

[java]

You win

Dude, you win. You win in many ways, not the least of which being the development/display of commitment.

For the rest of us, let the tall tales of braving the cold continue. Please... those of you from Texas (sorry DR... it's true), Arizona, Florida, Carolinas, Georgia, etc. don't insult us with the story of having to wear a long sleeve shirt last Friday .

Ok, my tall tales...

I've built in an unheated garage at -20C (outside temp... maybe -10C inside). The only real issue was dexterity. There is no bad weather, only bad clothes, but unfortunately the bad clothes (gloves) make it very hard to place a 3/32 426 rivet in the hole.

But if you want a real story, try hopping in your half-ton and almost breaking your back (cold enough and the seat freezes solid), driving away to a "thump, thump, thump" (flat spot in the tires from sitting frozen), and having to stop 5 km down the road on your way to hockey practice because the engine is overheating (antifreeze was gel, and not flowing through the rad). I can state conclusively that this happens at about -45C (not sure what the wind chill was).

 

[Craig23]

Gumption Trap?

Rob,

I had to laugh when I read your post. Either you really liked reading Pirsig, or you did it recently to reference gumption traps. I had to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for a leadership class I took at work a few years ago. When I wrote my paper discussing the definition of "quality" I talked about the process of building my RV-8. I did think that reading that book qualified as a gumption trap though.

Have great build.

 

[rph142]

I'm probably going to push off insulating the garage until the project is out of there. With any luck this should be my last winter of building. Not to mention the fact that they just deregulated energy prices in the northeast - resulting in a 30% price increase starting Jan 1 this year!!

I had to laugh when I read your post. Either you really liked reading Pirsig, or you did it recently to reference gumption traps. I had to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for a leadership class I took at work a few years ago.

Good catch. I read it last year over the course of 6 months and it turned out to be one of my favorite books. Its a looong read though.

 

[Inverted]

Java,

I am glad there are those of you who will live in those conditions. Leaves for room for those of us here in Texas

 

[SilverEagle2]

Rob,

Here in Utah...it gets cold. I am in the middle of building my shop for my 7 build that will start this year too.

My advice, get the garage insulated now if you can. I just did all my walls in one day and this weekend the ceiling will be done.

Will do wonders for speed of completion, or so I am told.

I admire your "stick-to-it-ness."

 

[ao.frog]

A few suggestions:

1) Trade wife in for a more "builder-friendly" one

2) Insulate garage

3) Move to a warmer place

4) Take wife on a romantic weekend with a rental plane (hopefully this makes her more soft and willing to change the house-rules)

5) Be the MAN of the house and change the house rule saying "no building inside"

6) Have the wife clean out and vacuum her car outside on a cold, dark and windy day. (that'll open her eyes for the need of a warm place to build).

You decide which one(s) to set into effect...

Lastly: I must say that I'm REALLY impressed by your willingness to build! It goes above and beyond EVERYTHING I've seen so far...

PS: could the reason behind her stupid rules be that you're building a single-seat RV?? Maybe you could switch to a -4? Or promise her that you'll build a two-seat RV the next time?

 

[Bartman]

Better Suggestion

1) Thake the wife on a romantic weekend and leave her there.

 

[MJarreau]

But you don't understand...

Java wrote:

Arizona, Florida, Carolinas, Georgia, etc. don't insult us with the story of having to wear a long sleeve shirt last Friday

..it's been a whole week now!