Hi everyone,
I?ve just started building an RV-9 and I simply cannot believe just how much this project has drawn me in. I?ve had ups and downs already, but I am finding that it?s such a wonderful way to expend lots of brainpower and physical effort. I received the EMP kit in late August, and have slowly progressed through to commencing assembly of the HS now.
There is so much to learn, and fortunately so many people to learn from, both here in the VAF forums and through other builders where I live. Van?s Tech support has been great, as I?ve already called upon them twice and received prompt and very useful responses.
To anybody starting out, here are some things I?ve learned (some the hard way, some by adapting my engineering brain to some different ideas, but most have been learned already by others).
1. Do your research. Read, plan, read some more, think, plan a little more, do some more research, double check the drawings, check the drawings against the plan instructions, read the plans further on in the build so you don?t paint yourself into a corner.
2. Buy good tools. They work, they?ll save you time and damage.
3. Tape up your bucking bars! This worked a treat for me after I read it in a post here.
4. Put tape on your AN470 rivet snaps & say goodbye to smilies. For flush sets, I?ve used a criss-cross of rivet tape over the snap.
5. Listen to others who?ve built before.
6. Buy some hand shears. Much better than snips, but obviously can?t do everything snips can do.
7. Be inventive with tools. I?ve already crafted an old ride-on mower blade into a thin bucking bar. Right shape - hard as nails.
8. If you?re tired, or making mistakes, leave the workshop. Have a shower, sit on the lounge, watch netflix, have dinner & get a good night?s rest. Miraculously the next day you won?t make the same mistake again.
9. Be proud of what you?re doing. Not only are you among those who can fly a plane - soon you?ll be amongst fewer still who?ve actually built one.
10. Sometimes things in the instructions just don?t seem right, particularly in the order of how to do things, so don?t be afraid to change the order you put things together in. Before you do though, go through step 1 again.
Lastly, and just for good measure, I have an entry in the primer wars. I?m going to Alodine all the small fiddly and generally unseen but really important structural stuff (ribs, brackets, HS/VS spars), then hit with a light coat of good spray primer. For the skins, I?ve decided to just clean in detergent with scotchbrite on the insides and exterior rivet lines, then dry and use a foam brush or spray to put on an etch primer (again the foam brush was an idea I read on here).
Thanks to all, this is just so much fun.
I?ve just started building an RV-9 and I simply cannot believe just how much this project has drawn me in. I?ve had ups and downs already, but I am finding that it?s such a wonderful way to expend lots of brainpower and physical effort. I received the EMP kit in late August, and have slowly progressed through to commencing assembly of the HS now.
There is so much to learn, and fortunately so many people to learn from, both here in the VAF forums and through other builders where I live. Van?s Tech support has been great, as I?ve already called upon them twice and received prompt and very useful responses.
To anybody starting out, here are some things I?ve learned (some the hard way, some by adapting my engineering brain to some different ideas, but most have been learned already by others).
1. Do your research. Read, plan, read some more, think, plan a little more, do some more research, double check the drawings, check the drawings against the plan instructions, read the plans further on in the build so you don?t paint yourself into a corner.
2. Buy good tools. They work, they?ll save you time and damage.
3. Tape up your bucking bars! This worked a treat for me after I read it in a post here.
4. Put tape on your AN470 rivet snaps & say goodbye to smilies. For flush sets, I?ve used a criss-cross of rivet tape over the snap.
5. Listen to others who?ve built before.
6. Buy some hand shears. Much better than snips, but obviously can?t do everything snips can do.
7. Be inventive with tools. I?ve already crafted an old ride-on mower blade into a thin bucking bar. Right shape - hard as nails.
8. If you?re tired, or making mistakes, leave the workshop. Have a shower, sit on the lounge, watch netflix, have dinner & get a good night?s rest. Miraculously the next day you won?t make the same mistake again.
9. Be proud of what you?re doing. Not only are you among those who can fly a plane - soon you?ll be amongst fewer still who?ve actually built one.
10. Sometimes things in the instructions just don?t seem right, particularly in the order of how to do things, so don?t be afraid to change the order you put things together in. Before you do though, go through step 1 again.
Lastly, and just for good measure, I have an entry in the primer wars. I?m going to Alodine all the small fiddly and generally unseen but really important structural stuff (ribs, brackets, HS/VS spars), then hit with a light coat of good spray primer. For the skins, I?ve decided to just clean in detergent with scotchbrite on the insides and exterior rivet lines, then dry and use a foam brush or spray to put on an etch primer (again the foam brush was an idea I read on here).
Thanks to all, this is just so much fun.