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Quickbuild Wings or Fuselage?

Quick build wings for me, although my whole rv9a was slow build. I hate repetition and the fuselage was more enjoyable work for me.
 
We have the QB wings and fuz but I can tell you that whilst I would have liked to build the fuz slowbuild I am happy every time I work on them that the wings were partly built for us! The tank sealing, rib alignment and skin riveting among other things...no thanks!
 
rv9aviator said:
Quick build wings for me, although my whole rv9a was slow build. I hate repetition and the fuselage was more enjoyable work for me.
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I concur with Jim. I did slow build and found the wings repetitive and boring. The fuselage I enjoyed building. Significantly more variety in tasks.
 
Slow build fuse

Quick build wings here, it was a great way to go. Oh ya, didn't buy my wings till after the finishing kit was done and the fuse was finished up and headed to the airport, meant no storing the wings. Works good

Randy
8A
 
Depends on the cash situation

I wanted to pay as I went but also wanted to shorten the build as I travelled a lot for work, could afford either QB wings or QB fuselage. In my case if I bought the QB wing I would have had about one week of work and then nothing for six months until I could afford to order the fuselage, wheas if I slow built the wings I could be saving up the money for the QB fuselage while building. Only issue was that the matched center section that goes in the fuselage come with the wing kit, in my case Vans stored the center section for me until needed to build the QB fuselage.
As always it sort of depends on your situation.
 
Will you Alodine and Epoxy Prime?

Adam
As others have mentioned, building the wings is very repetitive and rather boring compared to building the fuselage. One thing to keep in mind is corrosion protection. Buying quick built means that you will not be able to apply Alodine to the interior surfaces. You can spray Mil-Spec Epoxy primer over the accessible interior areas. However, the areas which are most important to have Alodine and good epoxy primer are the faying surfaces [contact points between the ribs, bulk-heads, longerons and the skins]. These are the areas where corrosion is most likely to occur. Very hard to get primer in those areas once they are riveted together [Quick Build].
If you don't plan on applying any corrosion protection, buy the wings. If you plan on applying corrosion protection, buy the fuselage. Why? Once built, repairing corrosion in the wings will be a nightmare. You will have to drill out hundreds of rivets to peel back the skins. You will spend hundreds of hours of miserable work, to fix wing corrosion. Your plane will be out of service for months. Fuselage corrosion is easier to deal with, as you can still access the interior of the fuselage, once the plane is finished. Don't expect that lame wash primer Vans flunkeys apply at the Quick Build Factory to do much for you. That stuff is a joke.
Slow building of the wings is greatly aided by building both wings at the same time. Repeating an operation on the second wing right after doing it on the first wing will take 1/3 as long. You still have the tools out and the operation is still fresh in your mind. I also recommend that you build your flaps and ailerons BEFORE building the wing itself. Having just completed your rudder and elevators, the skills used in building control surfaces are still fresh. Also, once these parts are built, there will be a lot less loose parts to keep track of and store. Just a few more considerations for your decision.
Charlie
 
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Really

Charlie wrote:
Don't expect that lame wash primer Vans flunkeys apply at the Quick Build Factory to do much for you. That stuff is a joke.
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Charlie,
What facts do you have to back this up? And b.t.w. I dont think anyone at Vans is a "flunkey".
 
I did the slow build wing and quick build fuselage. I was not looking forward to match drilling, edge finishing, deburring and dimpling all that material. This to me is tedious and I had enough on the wings. I also believe the plans and instructions are "easier" for the wings than the fuselage. In the fuselage plans I find myself referring to several sheets of the plans at once to figure stuff out. And the manual is only somewhat helpful. The build manual for the wings and drawings are much better put together. So I think I'll save even more time by going QB for the fuselage.
 
B Cunningham said:
Charlie wrote:
Charlie,
What facts do you have to back this up? And b.t.w. I dont think anyone at Vans is a "flunkey".
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Ben,
I was referring to the workers at the Quick Build factory. Perhaps minions would have been a better word. As to my opinion regarding the wash primer used, it is based on my own experiences with it, those of local quick builders [SE Florida] and others on various RV lists who have reported that it is often damaged by salt water spray during to voyage from the Philippines. In other words, it does not even make it to the purchaser intact.
We have several owners locally who purchased quick built kits. While they did nothing other than rely on the wash primer for interior protection, for the exterior, they did Alodine, epoxy prime and top coat with quality urethane or polyurethane top coats. These planes are/were kept in hangers. Yet, within 4 years, all of them experienced corrosion on the interior surfaces, which were protected by only the wash primer.
Common sense will tell you that the easiest solution [wash primer] will not protect as well as the more labor intensive & costly forms of corrosion protection. There are many reports of the folks in New Zealand also having issues with wash primers. Below I have attached one such thread discussion.

Charlie

I am posting this for Mr. Jerry Thorpe, a local builder who is working on a RV-6 quickbuild kit and does not use PC's. He would appreciate replies from anyone who may have had a problem similar to the following, and if so what they did about it. Jerry was rinsing off primed aluminum sheets with water and the primer started peeling off in hand sized pieces. He contacted Van's and got a letter back saying it was either a bad batch of paint, or the folks who produce the QB kits applied it wrong. He was told not to worry about it as primer is not necessary ("Piper and Cessna don't do it"), but if he wanted to he (Jerry) could re-prime it. He contacted the manufacturer, Sherwin-Williams, and was told one characteristic of the P60G2 Vinyl primer Van's is using is a tendency to lift itself ,if it is applied too thick. The dry film thickness should be 0.2 to 0.4 mils, compared to 1 mil for DuPont Variprime. He has measured the film thickness of the lifted pieces.
Jerry is concerned about the quality of the prime job in the inaccessible areas like inside the wing, that if it peels off there he can't do anything about it, and he won't have the extra corrosion protection he paid for. If anyone has had a similar experience, Jerry would appreciate you contacting him at (414)593-5470, or E-mail me and I will pass on to him (E-mail me directly as I am not on the list). Thanks.
Bob Reiff RV-4 #2646

Two weeks ago, I spoke with Van's who informed me that the primer used on the quick builds was a clone of the Sherwin-Williams product. I just completed applying primer to a large number of parts using the Sherwin-Williams 2-980 product - 1:1 mix with the 981 reducer. I applied it at approx. 45 degrees and was very impressed with the adhesion. As the day warmed up, I was no longer able to visually see it migrate and etch so I stopped. Tonight, I ran some tests on scraps that I had sprayed. After bending, sanding and applying various solvents, only MEK or the reducer itself had any effect. I had the opportunity to talk to the regional rep who insisted that 'moisture sensitivity" was an issue with this product and he insisted that it should be 'sealed'. While putting my parts up, a drop of sweat fell on a spar web. The water was quickly absorbed and discolored the product. In summary, I am very happy with the etching and adhesive qualities of the product, however, don't expect moisture to bead up like it will with an epoxy product. Any feedback on applying a 'shop coat' of something on top of it on spar components ? Is build up an issue?
Jerry Prado rv6A, wing

Now that we have a fleet of more than 2000 RV's (some of them 15 years old or more) does anyone have first hand knowledge of an RV developing corrosion with it having been primed with Sherwin Williams P60G? Does anyone have any first hand knowledge on any RV developing any significant corrosion, period?
Scott McDaniels

Well, our -6 has been flying 2 months short of 4 years and it is in a hanger but lives right beside the sea ,and does most of its flying around the shores plus we have high humidity. Several different primers were used on the various parts of the plane (each time a builder came to visit we were recommended a different primer - confusion was rife! and still is) and we did try to follow the manufacturers recommendations about metal preparation and priming only in the good weather.
I can report that where any of the paint has been damaged there are small patches of Filiform corrosion forming .(We are starting to tackle some of these now). However, I have looked at all of the planes on the airfield where we are based and have to report that over 80% of these are suffering the same problem. When Bill Benedict was down here he looked under the wings and commented "Wow! You guys really do have a corrosion problem down here," as he spied the pitot tube that is un-primed and is definitely showing corrosion .(The only shiny part was the end where the pitot cover was keeping it polished)! Inspections internally reveal no problems (yet!). The other problem is that the fins on the front two cylinders are rusting very nicely which is not good and if anyone can recommend remedial action for this problem without requiring the engine to be removed we would appreciate it.
L.Coats ZK-RVL RV6 314hr
 
The wings may repetitive, but they progress very quickly in far fewer hours than the fuse which borders on tedious. Therefore, for dollars spent the fuse is the bigger bang for the buck, BUT being as far assembled as it is makes customization and fit-up of many subassemblies much more difficult to reach, jig, and drill/rivet.

If you're schedule driven, QB fuse. Otherwise save the money for gas as QB wings in my opinion are not worth the expense.

John Siebold
 
+1 for neither

I have been on the fence several times about possibly getting the fuse QB for my 10. However, reports of the contortions people have to go through to mod (or fix) the QB fuse don't make it seem worth the bucks. As far as the wings go, I've heard several complaints about leaking tanks (to be fair, this happens a lot in slow build tanks too). My view is: no one will care as much about your plane as YOU. I figure, I'll have a go at both wings and fuse, slow build style, and save the bucks for gadgets. Then I can honestly say I built (assembled :D) the whole airframe.
 
SB wings, QB fuse

For me, it was SB wings and QB fuse. Right when I needed a boost the fuse showed. It was a good thing.

I didn't think the wings were repetitive so much, but I chose to build both at once, not one then the other. I may have had to do everything twice, but it wasn't like that - considering there are a whole bunch of ribs . . .

I alodoined wings and emp, and will only shoot a year corrosion skim coat inside the fuse.

Just my $0.02

Rick
 
QB wings

I went with the SB fuselage and QB wings. Of course, having both would have been nice.
 
QB the world

I know this is not the answer you may want to hear but I would QB EVERYTHING! Here is why:

Most people on here would pay 70-100K for an airplane that they KNEW was safe (just as if they built it) and skip the build process. Oh they will say no but they really mean yes. They will tout the build "process" as just the best thing that every happened to them in their life. I don't see too many of them taking it apart and re-doing it. No they want to fly. Most of us are pilots and want this thing in the air NOW. Every now and again you will see those that have built 15 of these and sold 14 of them. Don't listen to these people. Their wife has kicked them out of the house. :)
This is of course all just an opinion but here is where I am:
I have QB wings & Fuse bought and have finished most of the final steps.
I am almost done with the QB panel courtesy of Stein Air (thank you!!).
I am then going to put on my QB engine courtesy of Americas Aircraft Engines.
Kit bought and received on 3/31/12. Wanted to be finished sooner but such is life. (With an 18 month old...)
Point here is those guys in P.I. QB for about $8 per hour. That is money well spent! So save a little more and QB it all!! Remember if you want to build forever, build it, and sell it then do it all over again. But first talk to Vlad or Turbo. These guys are flying the wings off the things!
 
QB

I did the slow build wings and built both of the at the same time. After doing the fuselage QB there is still a lot of work.. But as most folks will tell you it all depends on how much detail you give to the build. Some folks are happy with seams that other scoff at.

As far as primers I have primed most items with Sherwin Williams commercial epoxy primer. I used pre-coat as a scrub/wash etching prior to spraying the epoxy.
The only draw back is that if your not putting on a top coat right away the you have to sand the epoxy primer to get good adhesion at a later date.

A few friend suggested using spray cans of self etching primer on small parts to to save time but after experimenting if you don't sand through the .005 pure alcad coating on the part you are using ths spray self etching primer on your wasting your time since the primer lays on top of the alcad finish.if you have doubt just put masking tape on top of your nicely finished painted part and leave it there for 4 days and take it off the top coat will stick fine to the primer but the primer just pulls off the metal...(self etching my foot and half way through my build I stopped ever using self etching spray cans of primeron any part and have redone most parts with epoxy primer.

The discussions of primer will be here until we're all long gone, but with that I will say if you live around salt air environment
You need to prime every thing in sight.
Just my .02 c.
Smilin' Jack
 
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