Various Thoughts on Building an Airplane
Thoughts After 5 Years of Building
Dec. 2010: I recently sat down to migrate my web site from one hosting service to another and couldn't believe that it has been nearly 5 years since I started building. I thought it might be interesting to document a few thoughts and comments regarding my experience so far. Here goes:
1. I can't believe it's been 5 years already, and I'm still working on the stinking fuselage !!!!! Actually, in many respects I don't mind that it is taking this long. One, I really do look forward to working on the airplane. I'm a builder and a tinkerer at heart so it gives me something to do at night. Second, I'm not currently in a position to purchase the engine ($26K) and the panel ($25K to $35K). We need to get to the point where our son has started college and then I'll be ready to pull the trigger on these major investments. He'll start college in the fall of 2014. Only 4 more years !! Woo Hoo !!
2. Life interferes with building an airplane. For the past 5 or 6 months I have been working pretty steadily (about 12 - 16 hours per week) and I have been making good progress. However, this has not always been the case. There are times when I have not made much headway due to other priorities. Building at times, has taken a back seat to family activities and other projects around the house (FYI, I haven't done any major household projects in the past 5 or 6 months either, coincidence ??? I think not!). I have to say as the kids have gotten older, my progress has also improved. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not ????
3. I spend too too much time on deburring, surface prep, and priming. I know I do this, but I just can't seem to stop myself. I like knowing that I have reduced the probability of stress risers that lead to fractures by scotch brighting the parts until they are nice and smooth. The question is; How much do my efforts really help to reduce the probability of a fracture? Also, I am certain there is a line between roughing up the aluminum surface enough for good primer adhesion and maybe going too far and removing the layer of pure aluminum that is found on Alclad sheet. Anyone have a feel for how easy it is to go through the pure aluminum coating? I've got to believe it is pretty thin. Anyway, I am sure that all of this deburring and surface prep is slowing down my progress.
4. Am I glad I made the decision to get started? Definitely Yes! Sometimes I wonder if my time and energy wouldn't be better spent:
- 1. Spending more time with my wife and children. They all love me, but they would get tired of me. My daughter is off at college. My son is 15, so there is a chance for some male bonding activities (he likes golf, but I stink). My wife can only take so much of me.
- 2. Working more to get promoted and make more money $$$. I'm not rich, but I'm not poor either. I don't know that I want to work that much. But who wouldn't like more money.
- 3. Volunteering to help others. This is a tough one. I do feel a little guilty about not devoting more time to help others. I wouldn't mind helping out now and then, but I would not want to make a commitment that had me devoting 4 hours every week or two. And if you can't do that, I'm not sure how many organizations are interested?
Oh well, I just keep building and pondering.
5. Could I ever imagine myself building another plane after this one? You know that say there aren't any dumb questions. Well this is a dumb question. I not even close to finishing this one, but I do sometimes find myself asking this question. Ask me in another 4 or 5 years.
6. How the hell do people build a damn RV-10 in 18 months??? You read about some schmuck who said they finished an RV-10 in 18 months. You've got to wonder. Particularly if they aren't even retired yet. I have heard the comment made that some people are not match drilling components that will be dimpled (e.g. wing skins and spars). The pre-punched holes in the current kits are close enough to the final size that the dimpling opens up the hole just enough to fit the rivet. The only issue is that on a microscopic level I think you are introducing significant stress to the edge of the metal around the hole. How much, I don't know. It's been a long time since I had my metallurgy class in college (I've got an undergrad degree in Mech. Eng.) But work hardening and the build-up of stress at the boundary is going to promote fractures. Maybe just deburring the dimpled holes removes the added stress? I don't know. My guess is that everything will be fine until at some point the plane starts to experience a relatively large number of fractures. Only time will tell.