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RV-12 Documentary??

pstraub

Well Known Member
Don't know what else to call it....I never did a 'blog' but now that my build is over, I wanted to document the story somehow. When I was considering building an RV-12 a couple years ago, I watched Dave Gamble's "Building a Van's RV-12" on YouTube and that is what pushed me over the edge (in a good way) to build the plane. I'm hoping this might help someone that is just thinking about building or on the fence. If you ever can't sleep and are willing to give up an hour of your life that you can never get back, it may or may not be interesting, but this is the story of my build. https://youtu.be/Ch4lyqv1IcQ
 
Wow, fantastic job on both your airplane and the documentary! It inspires me to keep building, but also makes me realize how much work I have left to do. Thank you so much for putting forth the time and effort to create this for the rest of us to learn from and enjoy!
 
Dave's Youtube channel also has great videos of his flying experiences. So perhaps you can continue your story the same way!
 
Fantastic video

That's a fantastic video. Thanks a lot for sharing.
It's also an injection of motivation for me to get my project done. The last 5% of the build are somehow ...uuuhmmm hard :rolleyes:
 
A great video and a very useful tool for prospective and current RV-12 builders. Nice job!
 
Well done!

Paul-

That is a really nice video tutorial highlighting the overall construction of your RV-12. Nicely done!!!!!

Happy flying!
 
Thanks to all for the very kind comments, if it helps any future builders, or just sparks some good memories in past builders, it was worth it. :)
 
Fatastic Video

Paul:

Thank you for a very informative documentary of your building journey. A few months ago you were kind enough to spend a few hours of your time showing me your outstanding aircraft and now you have provided me an inspiring film. You, and all like you on this site, make my building experiences more enjoyable and hopefully more precise. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.

Neil
RV-12
Tail Feathers Complete
Wings Started
 
Great job by the way, I sure enjoyed it.
Interestingly, this shows how inconsistent the FAA and the DAR's are, I flunked my first AW "inspection" because the wings were not installed (even though the DAR was fully aware of that prior to coming to "inspect")and you amongst others have got yours with them off. Seems to depend on wind direction and temperature mostly I guess.
 
I flunked my first AW "inspection" because the wings were not installed (even though the DAR was fully aware of that prior to coming to "inspect")and you amongst others have got yours with them off. Seems to depend on wind direction and temperature mostly I guess.

Thanks Don, I understand your frustration. I was prepared to roll the fuse into the street and install the wings, but the inspector said it wasn't needed. He did scrutinize the wings in the wing rack. They were stored 'leading edge down', so he was able to work the flaperons and inspect where they attach to the torque tubes. I was lucky on that one. Happy Thanksgiving!!
 
nice video

Paul, fantastic job on the video. Evie and I just finished watching and she kept saying "I remember when you did that", it brought back good memories of the build. The DAR out of Fresno FISDO has my paperwork so I'm getting close.
 
Paul,
Very nice?the plane and the video! You did an excellent job of capturing the experience of building your own plane!
 
In addition to the completion of the RV-12, I offer sincere congratulations for going through heart surgery and then getting back into the air. With modern medical technology, especially for coronary vascular conditions, we are seeing more and more pilots able to "exercise the privilege" of flying.

As a heart patient myself, your story means a lot.

Thanks for the excellent video!
 
As a heart patient myself, your story means a lot.

Thanks for the excellent video!

Thanks to all for the nice comments. I especially wanted to encourage anyone with a medical condition that could be safely managed! When I was considering getting current again, I never considered Light Sport (honestly, I didn't even know it existed). I just figured I would go get a fresh 3rd class medical and start flying again. That's when the symptoms started, which finally led to an angiogram and a quintuple bypass. Then I got excited about the RV-12 and Light Sport, until I found out I didn't qualify anymore because of my surgery. I was gonna give up, but decided I would fight for the one-time special issuance, then let that evolve into the driver's license/light sport medical. I was resigned to fly day VFR with only one passenger.

Then the miracle of BasicMed appeared and that has really changed the game. I love to fly at night and IFR/IMC, so in a couple months, I will let my 3rd class go and transition to BasicMed. You gotta love the EAA and AOPA for getting that pushed through, I still can't believe the latitude they give you under BasicMed. Now, hopefully, privatization doesn't pull the rug out from under all of us!!!
 
Paul,

What a great job! I was particularly impressed with the balance you demonstrated in characterising the various building phases; not sugar coating the difficult steps or minimizing the complexity of the project. Also I did not see a single error, mis-statment, or unsafe practice. The quality of the finished product and your efficient use of limited space should be an inspiration to others.

Dick Sipp
RV4,RV10, RV12
Retired USAF/Corp Pilot
 
Thanks to all for the very kind words. By the 4th time I watched this, I started thinking that this video was probably not interesting or helpful, especially to this community!! Thanks again for the warm feedback!
 
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