What kind of notes do you leave inside your plane?

[uuacallis]

So I am about to rivet the vertical stabilizer skin onto the skeleton and it occurred to me that there are large areas of unprimed, shiny metal that in theory should never be seen again.

I was thinking of letting my children each sign their names, and write a little note using a sharpie before I rivet it closed "just for fun"

My question to you guys out there

1 - Will this damage the Alcad or metal in any way using a sharpie (note, we didn't prime anything inside the vertical stabilizer

2 - If it is indeed safe to do, what kind of things did you guys write?

I know it sounds silly, but my children are younger (8, 6, and 4 mo) so I want to give them ways to participate now that don't involve a grinding wheel or messing around too much with rivets since I am just getting the hang of it!

Pics of the clecoed, but not riveted vstab are on my website(s) below-

 

[bobnoffs]

i would say a sharpie is ok because vans recommends them instead of a pencil which vans says can cause corrosion.

 

[RickWoodall]

Search

A search on here of Bob Collins posts, or his blog "letters from flyover county" will give you some fun reading about how many names are hidden in his rv7. A pretty cool thing to do. Family members and friends are then connected to the plane and sometime when someone special is lost before the plane flys its kind of a neat thing to know they are still with you.

 

[flion]

Sharpie won't hurt your plane but it can fade off of bare alclad. You can also use a paint pen (Testor's still makes them in many colors, available online if you can't find them at a local hobby shop). My RV-6A carries a dedication to my father on the wing spar. The whole RV-10 is dedicated to my mother but there will be some notes for other family members left inside.

 

[Dgamble]

So I am about to rivet the vertical stabilizer skin onto the skeleton and it occurred to me that there are large areas of unprimed, shiny metal that in theory should never be seen again.

I was thinking of letting my children each sign their names, and write a little note using a sharpie before I rivet it closed "just for fun"

Examples here: http://www.schmetterlingaviation.com/2011/02/therapy.html

 

[mike newall]

Usually very rude messages.......

 

[RFSchaller]

I have pet parrots, so I put a feather from each in the wings. The RV flies better than the parrots!

 

[Low Pass]

Back when I was building my -8, my kids would sometimes hang out in the shop with me. They were just learning to write during that time.

It wasn't in the plane, but I did pull out a very infrequently used tool in its cardboard box recently and found quite a few observations written and pictures drawn in the box from my kids. Just like a time capsule. I flashed right back to that time reading some of their old expressions and seeing their drawings. What a great unintended gift from my little girls.

All of that said, you may never again see what they've written in a closed up airplane. But maybe it's not meant for you. Best wishes!