I am getting ready to make an order for the -9 tail kit. (I hate the word empennage) I have a few questions before I order.
3. When I am ready for the rest of the kit, I would like to get the QB for both the wings and fuselage. Reading online time logs I had it wrong - it looked like the fuselage took more time than the wing. If I can't afford both, which one would save me the most time and aggravation?
Any other tips on ordering, parts and options choices, and tool selections are welcome here or by pm. Thanks!
As a first time builder, I went with QB wings and fuselage. Had my airplane built on my own 100%, except painting. I made an IFR panel and the whole project took me 2.000 labour hours, not including study and internet surfing.
If I had to do it again, and in the next future I will start an RV7, I will buy QB wings and SB fuselage.
Slow build fuselage because:
- I guess it is the funny part of the project;
- I save on shipping and on initial cost (QB difference is $5480 for approx. 300 hours of work saved = $18/hour);
- I don't want another whole QB, but want to tell friends...hey I started from aluminium sheet (not really true for a kit airplane, but...);
- I can shoot paint and epoxy primer quickly and without getting intoxicated (spent a few hours inside the tail to make the job on the finished fuse) and I can make my mods BEFORE assembling parts (routing conduit under the seats; priming stiffeners on the firewall - cabin side).
All of this for approx. 300 hours added work (see Mike Schipper excellent site for a step by step working progress: be careful that he was a quick slow-builder and got its fuselage to a QB stadium in less than 270 hours).
On the other side, having a slow build wing is good is price saving is a must. But I can easily argue that they include a lot of repetitive work. And they take at least 300 hours work to go. This is for me a good trade-off: I will go with QB wings again.
Take note that the main part of the job is not the frame of the airplane (i.e.: tail, wings and fuselage) but the remaining part, unless you decide to go with essential equipments (i.e.: altimeter, airspeed indicator, VSI, compass, one radio and one XNDR or an EFIS/EMS like the SkyView, no lights, no backup instruments, no bells, etc...).
Now, I spent on the project approx. the following hours: 240 tail; 140 QB wings; 350 QB fuselage, 760 finishing and the remaining 500 hours were for firewall forward, extra instruments, electrics and some mods.
I believe I can cut those hours by half and maybe less if I go again with a QB and make an essential RV. My next airplane will be:
- taildragger (stronger on grass);
- minimal instruments and avionics (SkyView and its XNDR, SL40, maybe panel mounted Garmin 296, ELT);
- minimal electrical system (battery, alternator, starter, strobe lights, flaps motor, fuel pump, electric trim and an aux. 12V socket; no internal or external other lights, no backup instruments, no heated pitot, etc...) custom made (no Van's harness; already have drawings, which are quite useful) and maybe all fused ("tiltable" under the panel fuse holder);
- no brakes on passenger side;
- no external steps (OK for a non-A);
- Bonaco brake lines (no aluminium on gear legs);
- ultralight seats and backs, front and baggage carpets, side covers;
- floating senders (stock in QB wings);
- manual aileron trim;
I plan to build my fuselage in my living room firewall back as far as I can (included canopy, to disassemble before removing the fuselage from the house) and then mount the engine and the gear legs and have it painted.
To be extremely concise: keep it is simple is the main time saving advice; build it IN your house is the second one. Other choices do affect building time, but in a minor way.
Try to order all harwdare in advance: you will save a lot of hours researching parts later.
Buy a band saw or at least an electric metal saw: it will save a lot of time when fabricating all the parts from aluminium angles.
Another big time saving would be NOT priming. But I didn't go with that choice and have not the courage to do in the future. But definitely this will save a lot of time. Or at least find a good mono-component prime or spray prime.
Only my 2 cents. I made one airplane and have not any tecnical background (working on the law branch).