JulietWhiskey
Member
On Saturday, February 25, 2017, at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Chesapeake, VA, I finally had the distinct pleasure of attending an EAA Sport Air Workshop. For those that can?t bear to read further, here?s the BLUF:
It was awesome, I learned so much, I strongly recommend it, if you?re thinking about it then please go!
Okay, so over the course of two days I went from ZERO practical experience to knowing I can build an RV. And, yes, I?ve been reading the forums, watching YouTube videos, and generally absorbing what I call ?academic? knowledge for years but I?ve taken a huge leap into the real and tangible world of building something ? a first for someone who has so far been only an academic hobbyist. Of course, that something I built is just a couple simple projects, but now I?m getting ahead of myself.
Saturday morning at 0730 we, yes my wife joined me (Best wife ever! ? love you sweetie), reported to the Sport Air Workshop check-in table and received our name tags. We were directed to wait by the coffee and we generally milled about making casual introductions while we waited for the official start at 0800.
After an official welcome and instructor introduction that took about fifteen minutes, we split up into our respective classes. There were four classes being held during the weekend. Sheet metal, composite construction, fabric covering, and gas welding; but, I already mentioned that we were signed up for sheet metal construction. I think I would have preferred the Van?s RV Assembly class if given the choice, but after waiting years the sheet metal class was a close second, available, and attendance was ultimately overdue.
We sat down in a respective classroom with nine students and our instructor, Mr. Ed McGowin. A quick round of ice-breaker introductions and our little class started into the lecture portion of the workshop. Mr. McGowin took us through about 60 slides of course material which served as a basic introduction to the knowledge behind sheet metal aircraft construction including: types of aluminum and rivets as well as their respective purposes, common and specialty sheet metal tools, construction techniques such as layout, drilling, deburring, dimpling, countersinking and various methods for riveting. He even briefly brought up the dreaded priming once we all agreed not to fight.
We were provided with a manual that included those slides, had the instructions for the projects, and included a collection of EAA?s Homebuilt Aircraft Council Reports written primarily by a Mr. Jack Dueck. The reports were especially nice because they included a couple of referenced discussions on follow-on topics pertaining to sheet metal construction such as riveting methods, stress and fatigue. Of course, a basic list of required and nice-to-have tools was also included. Mr. McGowin also brought along some preferred books from his personal library so that we could have a look.
After about two hours of classroom discussion, we left the classroom and moved out to the main workshop floor. We each took our place, with a respective vice and air compressor line, at a work station at one of the four person shop tables. Mr. McGowin had already positioned a tool bag for each of us. Here we each went through the bag to make sure we had all of the required tools. He passed out the respective project components, and we opened up the manual to the construction chapters.
The first project was a simple assembly of four pieces - three of which were flat aluminum strips, one of which was a 90 degree aluminum angle ? all of which were six inches long. All told the project required 24 rivets. We set eight AN470 (round head) rivets, another eight AN426 (flush head) rivets into dimples, and a final eight AN426 rivets into countersunk holes. The primary purpose was to familiarize everyone with the basics in preparation for the second project.
The second project was started on the first day but completed on the second, and it consisted of building a simple wing (two ribs, two spars) complete with piano hinged flap/aileron, stiffener, and round inspection/access cover. For those that might be concerned, the class has continued to undergo refinement and each participant built their own winglet! We continued to drill holes, debur, dimple, countersink, shape/bend and fit parts. The project incorporated a doubler plate and nutplates for the access cover. We also practiced back riveting and blind riveting. Throughout the projects we used a manual rivet squeezer as well as rivet gun and bucking bar ? there was even a mini c-frame for dimpling.
Now if I?m being honest, the class wasn?t perfect. There were a couple of typos in the manual, some gotchas and various hick-ups along the way, but it all made for an unforgettable experience. When Mr. McGowin walked over, at one point, and asked me what I was doing I knew that I had made a mistake. Sure enough, he reminded me (and he warned about his very mistake during the first morning?s lecture) riveting is supposed to be a way to connect two pieces of metal and that only works when you don?t forget the second piece of metal. I think we each learned during the course that no project is perfect - Drill ?em out and keep going.
The knowledge and confidence I gained will serve me well moving forward in this very real, very rewarding experimental aviation passion. So again, for those who aren?t quite sure yet, I would recommend signing up. I don?t think you?ll regret it. I know I left with what can only be described as an RV grin.
Thank you to EAA and the Sport Air team who have kept alive this invaluable course!
It was awesome, I learned so much, I strongly recommend it, if you?re thinking about it then please go!
Okay, so over the course of two days I went from ZERO practical experience to knowing I can build an RV. And, yes, I?ve been reading the forums, watching YouTube videos, and generally absorbing what I call ?academic? knowledge for years but I?ve taken a huge leap into the real and tangible world of building something ? a first for someone who has so far been only an academic hobbyist. Of course, that something I built is just a couple simple projects, but now I?m getting ahead of myself.
Saturday morning at 0730 we, yes my wife joined me (Best wife ever! ? love you sweetie), reported to the Sport Air Workshop check-in table and received our name tags. We were directed to wait by the coffee and we generally milled about making casual introductions while we waited for the official start at 0800.
After an official welcome and instructor introduction that took about fifteen minutes, we split up into our respective classes. There were four classes being held during the weekend. Sheet metal, composite construction, fabric covering, and gas welding; but, I already mentioned that we were signed up for sheet metal construction. I think I would have preferred the Van?s RV Assembly class if given the choice, but after waiting years the sheet metal class was a close second, available, and attendance was ultimately overdue.
We sat down in a respective classroom with nine students and our instructor, Mr. Ed McGowin. A quick round of ice-breaker introductions and our little class started into the lecture portion of the workshop. Mr. McGowin took us through about 60 slides of course material which served as a basic introduction to the knowledge behind sheet metal aircraft construction including: types of aluminum and rivets as well as their respective purposes, common and specialty sheet metal tools, construction techniques such as layout, drilling, deburring, dimpling, countersinking and various methods for riveting. He even briefly brought up the dreaded priming once we all agreed not to fight.
We were provided with a manual that included those slides, had the instructions for the projects, and included a collection of EAA?s Homebuilt Aircraft Council Reports written primarily by a Mr. Jack Dueck. The reports were especially nice because they included a couple of referenced discussions on follow-on topics pertaining to sheet metal construction such as riveting methods, stress and fatigue. Of course, a basic list of required and nice-to-have tools was also included. Mr. McGowin also brought along some preferred books from his personal library so that we could have a look.
After about two hours of classroom discussion, we left the classroom and moved out to the main workshop floor. We each took our place, with a respective vice and air compressor line, at a work station at one of the four person shop tables. Mr. McGowin had already positioned a tool bag for each of us. Here we each went through the bag to make sure we had all of the required tools. He passed out the respective project components, and we opened up the manual to the construction chapters.
The first project was a simple assembly of four pieces - three of which were flat aluminum strips, one of which was a 90 degree aluminum angle ? all of which were six inches long. All told the project required 24 rivets. We set eight AN470 (round head) rivets, another eight AN426 (flush head) rivets into dimples, and a final eight AN426 rivets into countersunk holes. The primary purpose was to familiarize everyone with the basics in preparation for the second project.
The second project was started on the first day but completed on the second, and it consisted of building a simple wing (two ribs, two spars) complete with piano hinged flap/aileron, stiffener, and round inspection/access cover. For those that might be concerned, the class has continued to undergo refinement and each participant built their own winglet! We continued to drill holes, debur, dimple, countersink, shape/bend and fit parts. The project incorporated a doubler plate and nutplates for the access cover. We also practiced back riveting and blind riveting. Throughout the projects we used a manual rivet squeezer as well as rivet gun and bucking bar ? there was even a mini c-frame for dimpling.
Now if I?m being honest, the class wasn?t perfect. There were a couple of typos in the manual, some gotchas and various hick-ups along the way, but it all made for an unforgettable experience. When Mr. McGowin walked over, at one point, and asked me what I was doing I knew that I had made a mistake. Sure enough, he reminded me (and he warned about his very mistake during the first morning?s lecture) riveting is supposed to be a way to connect two pieces of metal and that only works when you don?t forget the second piece of metal. I think we each learned during the course that no project is perfect - Drill ?em out and keep going.
The knowledge and confidence I gained will serve me well moving forward in this very real, very rewarding experimental aviation passion. So again, for those who aren?t quite sure yet, I would recommend signing up. I don?t think you?ll regret it. I know I left with what can only be described as an RV grin.
Thank you to EAA and the Sport Air team who have kept alive this invaluable course!