Purchase timeline ?

[speed]

Once I have selecte my kit, RV8. I am trying to determine if I should purchase all kits at once or as I build. I intend to only order the tail kit and build it first to ensure I enjoy buiding enough to continue. Then I will be 100% commited to the completion of the project.

Barring storage issues and money constraints, which I see to be the two largest factors for one method over the other.

Do I have any advantages of one over the other. I have heard of some kit improvements, but it sounds like the RV6,7,8 kits are fairly bullet proof. true/false?

Well after writing this, I feel I have sorta anwsered my own question. What have been the your experience purchasing over the life of your build, do the parts match up? Any comments about build issues I should consider when ordering my sub kits ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Transporter]

Kits

I used the lead times on Van's website to sequence my kit orders to fit my budget and storage space.

The empennage kit doesn't take up much space, but the crates for the wings and fuselage are large (see Van's website for dimensions).

You won't have any problem with parts matching-the pre-punched kits are very precise.

You'll find lots of advice here on tools and workshop layout-find a workbench location, tool storage, parts storage (shelving, bins, etc.) that works best for you and go for it!

Good luck,
Mike

 

[Norman CYYJ]

Buy it all at once if you have the money. It will save you many hundreds of dollars in shipping. Also order as many of the accessories as you can think of now from Van's and have them shipped at the same time. The individual shipping prices you will have to pay will go a long way towards populating the instrument panel.

 

[RVbySDI]

all at once or in pieces?

Costs and storage space are important to consider but you should also consider the corrosion issues of storing parts for long periods of time. Depending on where you live and the condition of the storage space you intend to use you may be better off waiting to order kits as needed.

If you live in Florida or Houston, as an example, you should be very concerned about where and how your components are stored. You may have to consider some form of humidity control for your storage space.

Just another thing to consider.

 

[Danny7]

Buy it all at once if you have the money. It will save you many hundreds of dollars in shipping. Also order as many of the accessories as you can think of now from Van's and have them shipped at the same time. The individual shipping prices you will have to pay will go a long way towards populating the instrument panel.

sounds like the OP is in TX. I'd say the above post is true for that location. I live around 3 hours away from vans so when i need a kit i go pick it up.

th the OP- once you finish the emp. and like what you are doing, i'd but everything at once if you are able($) and realize the time commitment. the time commitment is probably at least 3 hours a day 5x a week if you want to finish in less than 2 years.

15 hours a week x 52 weeks, about 780 hours a year. at least it will probably take 1500 hours if you have everything all set up in your shop, work really efficiently and have someone to help you.



edit- I don't think i've ever heard of someone saying they bought the wing kit 2 years ago and had problems matching it to a fuselage bought last week. so i think the kit matchup is pretty set.

 

[N208ET]

If I had the funds

I would have bought the whole thing, and I only live an hour away from Vans. I think having everything you need at hand will make the build go faster and there won't be any waiting. I am buying it one piece at a time and look for deals constantly, picking up things as I go and saving myself a little here and there. But I wish I could just buy it all, put it away and when I needed something, pull it out. IMO

Randy

 

[lancef53]

Buy it all if you can swing it, the lead time isn't always right.
I ordered my QB fuse in Nov.07, vans sent me an estimated delivery date of Feb-Mar 08. My kit was ready for pickup the last week of June, and delivered the 1st of July.

 

[flion]

I bought my empennage in 1994, my wing a year later, the fuselage kit in 2003, and the finish kit in 2006. The first kit was totally non-pre-punched, the second kit only had the spars match-drilled, and the rest of the kit was modern. No fit problems whatsoever. That said, if you don't have to pay for the storage, then ordering the kit all at once is a good idea, especially if you will be a long-term builder. This avoids the yearly price increases and lag time between kits if you fail to guess the lead time correctly.

 

[b17fe]

Advances in kits

I'm lucky I bought my kits 1 at a time.
By the time I was ready for the fuse kit vans had come out with
the new prepunched "no jig" -1 kit. (Saving a lot of build time!)
Other updates have also come with time.
Just something to consider.
My .02