Newbie I "was" so frustrated

[marttibenson]

Last November I was having real doubts about whether or not I could tackle a project of this size. I had failed at my first attempt to fabricate the HS attach brackets and I was getting pretty frustrated. Here I am, 4 months or so later and my tail kit is complete. I have a couple of dents when I forgot to adjust my regulator and I built no less that 4 trim tabs before I got one right but in the end it all worked out and I'm happy with the result. I just wanted to thank everyone out there that sent words of support and encouragement. This is a great site visited by many great people everyday.

Martti
RV9
Tail complete
SB Wings being inventoried

http://www.pilotvids.com/media/files_image/user140/2385e5d1c6.jpg

 

[Vlad]

Martti you are not alone Your tail looks very good! The learning curve is very steep when you are working on empennage. You will enjoy building the wings.
Come to your shop every day and keep pounding...

 

[cjensen]

Excellent to hear Martti! Like Vlad said, the emp is a tough lesson, but get going on the wings, and you'll find you've learned A LOT on the emp that will make the wings seem easier! Repetitive, but easier from a knowledge standpoint.

 

[krw5927]

Funny, I was just thinking about my early frustrations with the HS attach brackets as I made my tank attach brackets from even larger, thicker extrusion material yesterday. Knocked them out in under an hour and came out perfect, and they're a much more complex shape than the HS attach angles are.

Funny how these things work, isn't it? Early on those HS attach brackets vex just about everyone who is new to machining aluminum, but only a few months later we laugh at our early troubles as we knock out much bigger, more complex parts in a fraction of the time.

 

[Jamie]

I actually found the wings (with the exception of the tanks) to be easier than the fuselage because you have better access to everything. Getting bucking bars up into the vertical and horizontal stabs can be a challenge if you have big hands.