Mar 17, 2024     Spar fix - left side done - (3.0 hours)       Category: General

Ended up oversizing some of the rivets to -4s and had to wait on those from spruce along with replacement bolts for the ones I had marred up when removing. Those supplies are in and finally go to finish up the left side. Not looking forward to doing the other side but all in all, not too bad.

As expected, I had to slightly ream the holes for the bolts from outside skin to landing gear mount. This is confirmation that the spar did in fact shift about 0.020”.

Everything is reassembled with the correct number of spacers.

  Mar 03, 2024     Fixing spar issue - (5.0 hours)       Category: General

Started into fixing the fuselage spar gap issue. The biggest concern was removing the landing gear mount so that I could drill out the rivets. Finally sucked it up today and started into it. Took almost two hours but finally got the gear mount out on the left side. Damaged some bolts in the process so will need to order some new ones. But it's out.

Then drilled out all the rivets in both sides of the spars. Used my all thread to spread the spars apart and inserted the correct number of spacers. Then started the re-riveting. The spacers are tight, but I think I did improve it enough that the wings should slide in reasonably well.

Will finish up the left side once I get some additional parts from Spruce. Then need to tackle the right side.

  Feb 26, 2024     Finish kit update Category: General

Spoke to Anne today to inquire on status of my finishing kit she pulled up a big spreadsheet and said I'm listed for October. About 6 months behind schedule. That will slow down my engine purchase discussions a bit.

  Dec 30, 2023     May have messed up months ago - (1.0 hour)       Category: General

When joined the front and rear fuselage together, I had already located the stack of 0.125” spacers that get bolted between the spars. I counted out 13 for each side and confirmed 13 in the instructions. Today, in a different bag I found 4 additional 0.063” spacers. Where do these go? Looked back at the instructions and confirmed it is 13 each side. Hmm. Then re-read and saw “13 0.125” spacers plus one 0.063” spacer” missed that part. If the number of spacers had not been correct I suspect I would have had a hard time getting rivets to align when I joined the bottom skins or on the side skins. I don't recall having any difficulty. The aluminum tube spacers between the spars inboard also fit just fine.

So now I have a potential problem. I took out the bolts and measured the gap. It's pretty consistent around 1.650”.the stack should have theoretically been 1.688”. I don't have the wings so can't measure them but will get it soon. Crossing fingers.

Not even sure how to fix it. Drill out all the rivets in the bottom skin? Would maybe need to re-drill and upsize the holes with -4s. May need to call Vans.

12/31: wing measurement came back at 1.710”. That's not good.

1/3: spoke to Van's. Need to get some more measurements and they will send to engineering.

1/5: I did experiment with using some all-thread and nuts on the inside to see how easily the spar would spread. I was able to easily achieve 1.7"+/- but it immediately closes back up. I'd be hesitant to open it to the point that it doesn't come back - it would need to inelastically deform somewhere and that's probably not good.

  Dec 08, 2023     Stalled out a little Category: General

This has been developing for the past couple months, but this week it is official that Van's has filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Best case is that costs me some more money for my finishing kit. Worst case is that Van's doesn't make it through this and I can't finish my build with any reasonable amount of time or money. I'm hearing 30% increase in a lot price that I already committed to. That's not the end of the world but the overall uncertainty of the situation is causing me a lot of anxiety.

I'm basically stalled in the build right now. I can't finish the baggage area until I get the air conditioner and I'm reluctant to sink more costs into the build until I at least know what my kit price increase is going to be. Even then, I'd like to have some more confidence in Van's ability to deliver my finish kit. I'm. It going to vent in VAF or Facebook, but I will track my frustration here.

Might just take a pause for a few months and see how things shake out.

  Oct 27, 2023     Bad news from Vans Category: General

A depressing weekend with a lot of uncertainty on what things will look like going forward. Van's announced that they are essentially insolvent and sounds like on the verge of bankruptcy.

Even if they're not going out of business it sounds like I could lose a deposit on my finishing kit or pay an increased price. Oh, I hope I don't have a $60,000 paperweight in my garage.

  Oct 22, 2023     Running list of kit modifications/additions Category: General

Modifications and Additions:
Empennage:
- Ran conduit and installed doubler and nutplates for VS mounted NAV antenna (As a contingency in case Archer antennas don't work well)
- Installed Garmin pitch servo bracket
- Installed RV-14 Yaw Damper bracket with minor modifications for RV-10. Use with RV-10 Bow from Garmin.
- Installed upgraded Static ports from Cleaveland Tool
- Installed nut plates in bottom rudder fairing to make removable
- Purchased and drilled holes for ADAHRS bracket, but likely not going to use
- Aeroled tail light

Wing:
- Aluminum pitot mount
- Garmin Regulated Pitot/AOA
- FlyLED seven star landing light.
- Aeroled nav/strobe lights
- Ductwork leading edge light kit
- GMU22 Magnetometer bracket near tip
- Bob Archer wingtip NAV antenn
- Electric aileron trim
- Roll Auto-pilot servo mount
- Warner Fuel Sending units
- (Planned) Icing proof fuel vent? https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?p=21691
- (Planned) Fuel caps?
- Installed extra bung for possible fuel return line - capped
- Stainless hex head screws for installation of fuel sending units
- Inadvertent use of LP4 rivets on left aileron end ribs instead of CS4. Looks fine. Went ahead and did the same on right aileron to match.
- Fiberglassed over the wingtip trailing edge rib to close up hole and just generally better finish.

Fuselage:
- (Planned) Tosten Grips or Pioneer?
- Andair fuel valve - FS20-7T with 90 degree fittings on left and right and straight AN fitting out bottom
- Stainless Heater Box
- TS Flightlines brake lines at pedals and gear legs
- installed return springs on brake master cylinders to reduce brake drag.
- (Planned) TS Flightlines wing root filters
- (ordered) Airflow systems air conditioner
- (Planned) Aerosport center console w/o throttle
- (Planned) Aerosport overhead console
- A pillar conduit run to overhead? GPS, lighting
- Overhead pod? Lighting, Heat, AC controls?
- (Planned) Leaning toward stock panel - hydrodip?
- access panels for landing gear mount. 45 degree bolt install, TCW bushings
- 3M fire stop around firewall
- Airward tunnel access kit - just on co-pilot side
- Com antenna doubler under rear left passenger seat
- transponder antenna under copilot seat

Finish:
- (Planned) Plane around door handles
- (Planned) Low profile handles
- (Planned) Sikaflex (sikadur?) window attach?
- (Planned) upgraded Matco brakes
- (Planned) heavy duty door struts

FWF:
- (Planned) lava shield
- (Planned) TCW vent control servos
- (Planned) TCW oil cooler servo
- (Planned) Red Cube mount FWF

  Sep 27, 2023     Laser Cut Parts Update       Category: General

Van's finally released the portal for getting laser cut part replacements. I was expecting to order new rear baggage floors and the upper fuse center rib because they were listed in yellow on the previously released list of affected parts and I haven't installed them yet so might as well. The baggage floors have been removed from the yellow list, but the forward fuse center rib (F-1044A) is still on it. I requested a new rib - this will hold up my upper fuse completion a bit, but I already figured that would be the case.

There are two other parts on the yellow list, the outboard baggage ribs that support the steps. Van's suggests these are highly loaded from the step, but low cycles. The step is also supported by a steel weldment, and the rivets aren't dimpled. I'm going with Van's determination on this one that replacement is not necessary.

There are three other fuselage parts that are on the red list - the F-1048-L&R which is the main tunnel sidewall ribs, and the F-1005A which is the rear spar bulkead. It is the F-1005B plates that really carry most of the load though, and those aren't laser cut - too thick. Both of these parts have notes indicating they're priority may be reduced with further testing, or they recommended to not replace and wait for additional instructions. I'm 95% certain that these particular parts were not laser cut in my kit, but I can't be absolutely certain. Given the difficulty or replacing these parts and the fact that they are relatively easy to inspect, I am not going to do anything regarding replacement.

I was thinking that I had no exposure on my wing, but they did include the opportunity to order wing parts and that got me looking. There are some parts that entered the inventory in January through March of '22. I received my wing kit in March so it's possible. Thankfully I do have photos from my wing inventory and there are enough to verify all of the aileron and flap parts are good.

So that's it - I'm ordering just one part off the portal and putting the Laser Cut Parts behind me. I feel bad for others that have it so much worse than me. I look at the list of red parts on the empennage and wing kit and my heart breaks for those that have completed those parts. Then again, I might welcome the opportunity to redo some of my early empennage parts.

10/8: I had a big order of other stuff from Van's so just went ahead and ordered that fwd fuse rib and paid for it out of pocket.

1/7/24: F-1048 L & R moved to blue based on further testing. No concern.

  Jul 29, 2023     Airventure 2023 / Laser Cut Parts - (2.0 hours)       Category: General

Really just a place holder to remind myself that I went. Ben and Max and I drove up and tent camped in Scholler. Friday-Thursday.

Didn't take a lot of photos but did see several nice RV-10s including my friend David's - hadn't seen it since it was painted.

Picked up a couple of antennas from someone off of VAF and ordered my nav/strobe lights.

7/30/23: Didn't catch the Van's update on laser cut parts, but I watched the recording of it when I got home. Seems there is more concern on parts that don't have visual defects. I took some time to go through Van's list and at least confirm what has and has not been installed and what I can confirm is laser cut versus punched. I was hoping I'd have enough photos to eliminate some parts that have already been installed, but I typically immediately pull the vinyl off now - I was not able to eliminate any parts from the list. I have identified a handful of parts that have not been installed yet that I will ask for replacements.

  Jul 15, 2023     Laser cut parts Category: General

Seems the $h!t is hitting the fan for Van's regarding the switch to laser cut parts. I had no laser cut parts in my wing or empennage and just a few in my fuselage. I don't recall exactly which ones, but most are access panels that I'm not too worried about. I know there were at least a few ribs and miscellaneous parts that have made it into the construction to date but in general I have been impressed with the quality of laser cut parts. I've looked over a few of the remaining laser cut parts on the shelf and holes are very clean. None of the dramatic notching or slag that I've seen in photos from others. I don't think I have a lot of exposure to their quality issues. Maybe RV-10 parts are from a different vendor, or I had a good run. I have not seen any cracks in dimples or riveted holes.

I understand everyone's frustration though. I will hold off some remaining laser cut parts for further direction.

  Jun 22, 2023     Oshkosh countdown       Category: General

Not a lot of work lately, just so hot. I did manage to do a little flying though. Got bonanza current, got a flight review, and a tail wheel endorsement in a cub. A lot of fun. A little boost of aviation in my blood before Oshkosh.

Oshkosh is a month out and getting excited to talk to new folks. This year focusing on interiors, engines, and wheels and brakes. Need to make some decisions.

Also plan to pick up my NAV/strobe lights if there is a deal.

  Jun 16, 2023     Finish Kit Ordered       Category: General

Finish kit ordered today. Just a couple weeks ago it showed January 2024 delivery date - that was a little too soon so I waited. Now it says November 24. Guess I missed the Train.

Price dropped since the wheels and brakes are no longer included. Will just need to add them later anyways. Likely upgrading to Matco so will have to talk through that with them.

6/26: order processed and I was happy to see an estimated crate date on the portal of March-April 2024. That would be perfect. We'll see if it holds.

  Feb 17, 2023     Fuselage inventory - (8 hours)       Category: General

Broke down the boxes and unpacked everything as best I could into the garage. Some stuff is going to immediately go to the storage unit. The windshield and side glass are obvious, but also all of the access panels and baggage door work that won't be needed until tail cone joining.

I'm missing one part - F1003-C. And I'm not thrilled about the weld quality in the center cabin to brace. I can grind it down but it will then lose the powder coating. Maybe Vans will just replace it. [They said to just grind it down and touch it up]

Still some work to do cleaning up and organizing before I dig in.

2/19: got out the label printer and went to work organizing all of my hardware. Got through all of the larger bolts and nuts, as well as organizing all the rivets. Still need to go through the smaller screws and whatnots.

  Feb 15, 2023     Fuselage arrives / wings depart - (3.5 hours)       Category: General

After XPO losing my crate and having to call them every day for updates, it finally spontaneously showed up at the house today. Perfect timing as I'm hauling off the wings this weekend.

2//17: rented a UHaul and packed up the wing. Lesson learned.- a 15' truck must be counting the attic space because I had to put the wings on an angle to get them to fit. I was hoping to transport the cabin too too but it won't fit with wings skewed.

Also note that the loading ramp is 25” wide, about 2” narrower than the wheels on my cradle. After struggling with loading the wings individually into the truck and then loading the cradle into the truck, there was no reasonable way to get the wings back into the cradle once it was all in there. Just too tight.

So since the wings were out of the cradle, I took the opportunity to remove and reposition the wheels so they would fit within the ramp. Then reloaded the wings and pushed it up the ramp. That sentence grossly simplifies a fairly difficult process for just the wife and me but we got it done. Off to Houston to storage.

Purchases: XPO shipping, UHaul van

  Feb 04, 2023     Airplanes and Coffee Fly-in       Category: General

Went out to Airplanes and Coffee fly-in this morning at KGLE and got to see the AOPA Sweepstakes RV-10. The owner was very nice and let me sit in the cockpit. He had a full aerosport center console and 310 panel. I found I had plenty of room, so that is still certainly an option. Looked good. He had rear NACA vents feeding the South Florida overhead console. I asked if it worked well and if he wishes he had air-conditioning - Texan to Texan. He said he doesn't regret not having AC, but he does recommend the Aerosport overhead console over the SF. The SF tends to leak around the vents.

Thought there might be more -10's out this morning. A -6, a -7, and an -8, but just the one -10. It was a very nice example though.

  Feb 01, 2023     Fuselage Shipped Category: General

Got the email today that the fuselage has shipped. Right in the middle of the crating window that Van's had set back in October. Good timing.

  Nov 10, 2022     Tech Counselor Visit - (1.8 hours)       Category: General

Had a tech counselor visit today prior to closing up the wings. He looked over the wings and asked several questions about why I had done certain things the way I did, and we had good conversation about the progress. He had no issues with my work.

We did discuss the location of the pitot tube related to the tie down ring and the possibility of the rope fouling on the pitot tube. It was a consideration when I determined the location and I felt like I was clear, but it is something I'll have to be conscious of when tying down.

He raised some good questions about bolt lengths that caused me to go back and check a few bolts with significant thread exposed. The concern is that if the bolt was too long, I may have been tightening against the shoulder of the bolt and not compressing the plys. I put a wrench on a few of them to see if I could move them easily. While I was able to move them it a bit, it took some effort and no less force than the bolts which I'm confident were fully torqued. I think I'm ok, but I'm glad he brought it up and something I'll keep an eye out in the future.

He also pointed out the lack of minimum threads on the ends of the torque tubes. I explained the challenge of the additional washers I added on the inside of the bearings to take up the slack and I had already used narrow washers. I thought they were good enough with a sliver of thread showing, but he pointed it out as an area that DARs have commented on before on RV-10s. He suggested that these nuts were nut in tension and that a slimmer "shear" nut could be used. I verified those would be appropriate and ordered some from ACS. Good catch and good suggestion.

Good visit. Thanks for coming by Michael.

  Aug 23, 2022     New Primer Category: General

I've been using Ecoprime to date on everything and I'm happy with it, but I do note that it is not solvent resistant at all. I'm out of Ecoprime and opted to get one more quart to finish out the wing, but I'm going to switch to the Ecopoxy for the fuselage where exposure to fluids is much higher. Bought a quart of each and a new spray gun.

9/1: after two shipping errors from aircraft spruce I finally received my paint. I opened it and it had the consistency of drywall mud. That can't be right. Need to call Stewart. Frustrated. Update: so it is right and that's just how ekopoxy is. They suggested a drill driven paddle stirer to get it mixed up.
Purchases: ACS: Ecoprime, Ecopoxy, Proseal

  Jul 22, 2022     Airventure 2022       Category: General

Filed KADS to Iowa City (KIOW), ended up diverting to Centerville, IA. Found a great Mexican joint for lunch, Ben's pick. Second leg was VFR past Cedar Rapids, over Dubuque, across the Mighty Mississippi and into Wisconsin.

Picked up the ATIS indicated the arrival procedure was starting at Puckaway Lake. We were already following someone since Dubuque about 3 miles in front of us and we just kept following as he made the turn at the lake. We were looking for other planes joining from the north or west, but no it was just us. This was looking pretty easy. As we hit Green lake, we could see someone coming from the south on ADSB that looked like he was going to cut in front of us. He did, but still a good 1-2 miles in front of us. No issues. Held my 1800' and 90kts pretty well, hit Fisk, rocked the wings, landed 27. Piece of cake. Not the great Green Dot landing I was hoping for but passable. So glad I came Friday.

Got a great camp spot in the North 40. Row 521. Right between the Red One Market and the Cafe. Couldn't be a better spot. Had I known our spot would be so good and that you can in fact get coffee at the market at 6am, I wouldn't have brought a stove or as much food.

Great time at KidVenture and the rest of the show Monday and Tuesday. Went to the RV-10 dinner and met some nice folks. Of course stopped by Vans and saw the RV-15. Visited with Garmin, Steinair, Scheme Designers, and Flyleds. Was set on buying my Flyleds nav/strobe and landing light at the show. The more I look at the nav/strobe lights though I don't think I like the look. I'm leaning toward Aeroleds now. I do still like the seven star landing light though and I did pick up a pair.

Wednesday morning was set to leave but the bonanza failed a mag check before takeoff. Taxied over to maintenance and they confirmed the left mag was dead. Stayed an extra night hoping the airplane could be fixed. Long story short, left the plane in Oshkosh and took the airlines home on Thursday.

Purchases: Flyleds Landing lights

  Mar 16, 2022     Wing inventory - (3.0 hours)       Category: General

Wing arrived today. No damage. Inventory looks good and only a couple minor things backordered.

I was planning on taking a lot of stuff to storage unit, but most of it fits on my racks. I'll still take a few items that I won't need for quite a while, like wing tips and maybe the bottom skins.

Seeing all these parts reminds me I'm getting low on primer.

So excited! Ready to start on the spars. For the record, spar serial numbers are:
V10-0821-063 and V10-0821-508

Purchases:Stewart Systems: primer

  Mar 04, 2022     Wing shipped Category: General

As I hit the one year anniversary of receiving my empennage kit and the official begin of the build, I received the bill of lading for my wing kit. Finally on its way.

Purchases:ABF Freight:shipping

  Feb 17, 2022     Fuselage Ordered Category: General

Based on the lead times I was planning to order my fuselage as soon as I received the shipment notice for my wings. Well, I haven't quite received that shipping notice yet, but I did receive notice that kit prices were going to increase this weekend. So, I went ahead and pulled the trigger - fuselage is ordered.

Purchase: Van's: SB Fuselage Kit

  Oct 10, 2021     Moving day - (5.0 hours)       Category: General

Spent nearly all day driving around and directly related to the build so I'll log it. Today I moved the empennage to a storage facility to make room for the wings. The HS just fits running diagonally across a 10'x10' unit.
I also drove down to Lancaster to pick up a wing cradle that was offered to me by a fellow EAA member. Such a great way to pay it forward; I'll do the same. Just seeing the wing cradle in the shop gives a good idea of the scale of the next phase.
Then cleaned up the shop a bit to get ready for the wings to arrive.

  Apr 08, 2021     My other airplane project       Category: General

Not RV build related, but the other ever present object in my shop is the rather large RC Cessna 182 that has been hanging on the wall. Started this project with my dad in 1995 and never managed to finish it until this past year. 25 yrs! Finishing this was my first big COVID quarantine project. It has been done since the summer, but I've been waiting for my dad to come up to see its maiden flight.

Well this is going to be the big weekend. Dad is coming up and we're hoping to fly on Saturday. Had to get it down and clean it up.

Not quite an RV build, but I do know something about having the patience to stick with a long project and balancing the desire for perfection with the reality of just getting it finished.

  Mar 26, 2021     Wing Kit Ordered Category: General

I'm running about two months ahead of my schedule. Things will slow down a bit over the summer, but still I'm going to need my wing sooner than anticipated. Combine that with Van's running a little behind on lead times - they're currently quoting 6 months for a wing kit. So I went ahead and ordered the wing today. I added the fuel tank sending unit and aileron trim options. I think I'd also like to add the Ductwork leading edge landing light kit.

When it gets closer to crating, I need to remember to have them throw in two new rudder skins and a new trailing edge wedge just in case I feel like redoing those.

  Mar 24, 2021     GMP visit with EAA members Category: General

After flying this morning, I made an impromptu visit to go see my tech counselor down at his hangar in Grand Prairie (GMP). I just wanted to get a feel for the airport, see how long the drive was, and maybe get to see his RV-8. First, I was pleasantly surprised that it was only about a 35 minute drive from the house. And then when I pulled up to his hangar, two other gentlemen were already walking over to meet me. It was two other RV-10 builders! One has just a tailcone almost finished and the other just got his finished and had his airworthiness inspection last week. The latter was in the process of reassembling and reinstalling all of the inspection panels that had been removed. It was a fully decked out RV-10, just about every option that is available, including AC and long range tanks. He said his empty weight was 1705 lbs - I think that's actually not that bad. He was running gross at 2900, but that was with long range fuel. I mentioned my progress outpacing my financial plan and he chuckled and said he stopped counting at $215,000; He had a $60,000 panel though.

Had a great time out there with them. Very inviting and great atmosphere. What I would want in an airport. At only 35 minutes away and fairly cheap hangars, I'll definitely consider going out there and maybe sooner than later.

  Mar 04, 2021     Empennage Inventory - (3.0 hours)       Category: General

The empennage kit arrived today. I anticipated I would need some help to get the crate off the truck and recruited my neighbor. Got everything mostly unloaded and into the garage. Time to inventory.

Was excited to see no damage to the crate. I'd seen so many stories of people that had issues. Got through all of the inventory and everything was except a couple back-ordered items. I was happy to see that everything fit on the two 24”x48” shelves that I bought. Even the large skins that I was worried about got tucked away.

Can't wait to start. It came with another very small practice piece. Couldn't hurt to do one more little practice.

It doesn't appear that any of the parts in my kit are final sized. Good thing I bought those reamers. [4/16/21 update - I think I misread the flyer in the kit. All of my holes appear to be final sized.]

Purchases: Roadrunner Freight

  Mar 01, 2021     Primer test #2 - (1.5 hours)       Category: General

The weather broke a bit today and I really wanted to get my second priming test done. This time I tested out the Stewart Systems Ekoprime - first cleaned the parts with their Ekoclean, then etched everything with the Ekoetch and a red scotchbrite pad. Rinsed and let dry while I figured out my spray gun. Just a cheap harbor freight HVLP gun but it should work for what I'll need. The primer sprayed well. The issues I did have were pure operator error and trying to figure out the flow on the new gun. The primers coverage is fantastic and if you keep the coats light it dries in a couple minutes. I tried for two light coats, but it did get a little heavy in places. No runs, just thicker than it needs to be. Also a little bit of trash in the paint. Again that was my fault; after etching and rinsing and drying I was not careful to wipe everything down with a lint free towel or something.

Within 20 minutes the parts were dry, and finger print resistant. I did a mild scratch test with my fingernail and it was already more scratch resistant than the self etch was after 2-3 days. Within an hour I was dimpling with no problems. I think this is the way to go.

All they offered for the small trial can was the light gray. I really would like to see their chromate green. I'm afraid it will be a little too green though.

One thing I noticed is that the primer covers so well that it covers sharpie. I'll have to be careful tracking parts through prep and priming.

I also sprayed a test piece with varying levels of surface prep - scotchbrite only, etch only, and full etch plus scotchbrite. The scratch test for the etch plus scotchbrite was definitely the best, but the scotchbrite only is also really good. I definitely plan to do the full mechanical plus acid etch per the directions, but wanted to have a feel for durability if the acid doesn't take. The portion with acid etch and no mechanical etch was fine too, but slightly less resistant to a finger nail scratch. I could easily expose metal on the acid only, versus the other two I could not get to bare metal with my fingernail. I went ahead and order a full quart of green Ekoprime. I hope the color is good.

Purchases: Stewart Systems Primer

  Feb 24, 2021     Empennage shipped! I think.... Category: General

Received an email from Roadrunner freight today with a bill of lading. I think that means my empennage has shipped! At least I think so, trying to get confirmation from Van's.

Purchases: Cleavleand reamers, 2" 3M wheel, oops rivets

  Jan 27, 2021     It's Official - Builder #42329       Category: General

Order confirmed and deposit paid. I have a builder number! Should arrive in 6 weeks. I also made a nice CPM schedule I can hang on the wall to track my progress. I included somewhat scale representations of what my garage configuration will look like for each stage. It's based on about a 7 year build.

My tools from Isham came today too. It's so much stuff. I'm always so envious of people that have really well organized tools. I need to figure something out if I'm going to be successful in this fairly small space. Just the back-rivet set and DRDT-2 still to come.

  Jan 25, 2021     Empennage Ordered! Category: General

Order form submitted for empennage. Also ordered another practice kit - I'll need it. This one is the control surface.

Purchases: Empennage Kit, Airfoil Practice Kit

  Jan 22, 2021     N-number reserved Category: General

I've been thinking about N-numbers lately. I know getting way ahead of myself, but having a name for my project will help. I'm not just building some airplane, I'm building our airplane. I'd like to pay homage to the "10", and of course all of the Nx10RV's are taken. Something more personal - maybe with an MK for wife and my family names. Or maybe the kids - Ben and Everett - would be Bravo-Echo. I prefer Echo-Bravo actually, just sounds better on the tongue. I finally occurred to me - "an RV 10 for Everett and Ben". Has a nice ring. N104EB. Check the FAA registration and it's available. Reserved. Done. N104EB is perfect.

Purchases: FAA Reservation

  Jan 09, 2021     She said yes...well, she didn't say "no" Category: General

After obsessing about building a plane for the last year or so, I finally have a realistic financial plan and the ambition to get it done. It was time to make the case to the wife. She knew it's been coming. She still thinks it's a huge amount of money, and she's right. But she is generally very supportive of my hobby and knows that it is inherently expensive. I think she sees the opportunity that I do for family trips and adventures. I highlighted how long it was going to take (probably 6-7 years) and that now is the time to start if we want to be finishing it up when the boys are teenagers. I'd also like to work on it some with my dad while I still have time with him.

She only had one request. Don't paint it plain boring white. I promised her she could pick out the paint scheme.

  Jan 02, 2021     RV-10 vs. RV-14 Category: General

I've been pretty set that if I were going to be successful building something, it would be a Vans RV. Of course aerobatics are fun, but what I really enjoy about GA is going places, getting there quick, and getting there comfortably. I have a wife and two kids so naturally I'm drawn to a four place airplane. But I do recognize the argument that many make - how many times are you really putting four people in the airplane? For me that is probably only 25% of the time, if that. They say buy (or build) a two place plane and then rent a 4 place when you need it. That would mean building an RV-14 and then continuing to just rent a Bonanza for family trips. That would save considerably on the RV build versus an RV-10, but that would guarantee that this would always be my plane and not the family's plane. I want my boys to help with the build, and I want it to be theirs too. I'd say that is a very big part of this endeavor, and the RV-14 is just not going to work. Even if the upfront cost is higher and the operating costs is marginally higher for the bigger engine, there is no doubt in my mind. It's RV-10.