"It's Art!"

I have a friend that I have known for years, a theater carpenter who has a realistic and somewhat skeptical view of the more "creative" people in his world. One of his favorite sayings is "It's not supposed to mean anything, it's ART!"

I tried to remember that phrase when building my RV, not so much for it's direct connotation that some things don't have to make sense, but rather that it is important to remember what parts of the airplane are "engineering", and what parts are simply "art". I think that one of the things that stalls people in their build is not being able to identify between the two, and getting bound up on a task that, in actuality, doesn't make any difference. Oftentimes, you will never be "ready" to start an art project - you simply have to dive in and learn what you don't know along the way.

An example:

1) Drilling the aft spar attachment holes is "engineering". Do it right, get the right edge distance, measure 20 times and drill once...or the consequences could be SEVERE!

2) The exact shape of the fiberglass windhsield fairing is "art". If you sweat making it exactly "right", you'll never get it done. Shape it until it is pleasing to the eye, and press on. (On an RV-8, I have seen people stalled for months on how to overlap the fairing to the Canopy skirt. Just look at someone's picture, copy it, and go!).

If you are dealing with Primary Structure, loaded parts, fuel plumbing, or BIG electrical loads, you are in the realm of engineering. Anything that, if it fails, could have serious results falls into this category. Build it to plans, use proper aviation techniques and parts, and don't get creative unless you have done the engineering to PROVE that your modification is adequate.

If it's adding an inch to the instrument panel, building a sub-panel, sculpting the shape of the empennage fairing, shaping (reshaping, repairing, etc...) the wheel pants - well, that's more in the "art" category. As is interior design, glare-shield shape, and a hundred other thigns that can slow you down.

Of course, I am not advocating sloppy building by any means. But identifying what is critical, and where you can use your creativity should allow you to liberate yourself from a self-imposed dead end.

I'm sure that we can build a list of the RV "art" projects that might help those still buidling....

Paul

RE:Great Info....

Paul

Thanks for the interesting prospective on building.

I have been building a standard built RV7A since 9/04/04.......By my estimation engineering has been one year and "ART" as been three plus.

I started the paint project / FG finishing first of August this year......and I am still at it. I know I am procrastinating because I just know this new skill will not allow me to produce a Chip Foose quality job so I just keep putting off that all important paint shoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!By the way isn't it very important to the flying quality of the plane to have zero paint runs/ no orange peel / and a slick mirror like finish!

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... paint procrastination under way!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????

Frank don't sweat the paint job..... you don't have to be really good at painting. all you need to be good at is: Wet Sanding and Buffing!!!!!!! HA! HA!

A Body Man that worked for me in my Body Shop told me, you don't have to be good with the welder as long a you can run the Grinder

Engineering or Art

Boy that is a tough one in my day job as an aircraft configuration designer for a major aerospace company. I struggle at work on that question as I believe that my job as a designer is 75% art (nobody wants to fly an ugly airplane; unless they are really bad like the A-10 or AV-8B) and 25% engineering. After all there are scores of engineers on the program to work the numbers and only me (and program management) worried about the artistic impression.

In building my RV I had heard that you should double the time to build if you are an engineer. I took 8 years to build my RV-6A (and it was a quick build). Looking back though I think I spent a lot of time on the "art" as I had the entire plane done and then I took it total apart (including removing most of the wiring) and painted inside and out. That added about 18 months to the project (including building all the fiberglass fairings).

Paul, I do like your saying to keep in mind "It's not supposed to mean anything, it's ART!". I use a similair one at work in design aircraft "Just draw, You can always erase!"

Wingtips

I like to look at wingtips on airplanes. Van's wingtip designs have changed over the years, and I think they are a combination of art (it pleases the eye) as well as function (they control wingtip vortices as well as increase effective aspect ratio of the wing). [For you spell-checkers, "vortex" is a Latin word, and "vortices" is the preferred plural form, although I just now found out "vortexes" is an allowable plural form. However, there is no such word as "vortice." I hear people say "Vor-ta-see" and I CRINGE!!! "Vortex" is singular and the word "Vortices" is plural. Latin soapbox OFF!]

Anyway, I like to observe and even photograph wingtips. Many are pleasing to the eye, and I like to imagine the airflow over, around and from them. So does "form follow function" or does "function follow form?"

An interesting question, and thank you Professor Paul, for bringing this up.

Don

plehrke said:

In building my RV I had heard that you should double the time to build if you are an engineer.

Click to expand...

Oh no. I am a Electrical Engineer

BrentHumphreys said:

Oh no. I am a Electrical Engineer

Click to expand...

Maybe that will only double your wiring time.

I think that quote maybe attributed to Bob Nuckolls of AeroElectric Connections. I know I heard it at the Red Wing MN RV fly-in in ~1998. Bob gave a presentation there.

This is tough for the novice builder

Excellent observations, Paul.

As an EAA Tech Counselor, this is a dilemma that prompts considerable discussion with new builders, and one where I have yet to find a simple, concise solution. How can I tell a builder that the area currently the object of his obsession just doesn't mean anything substantial in the overall scheme of the build? To minimize his attention and time devoted to detail is not productive, but I wish there was someway I could help the new builder differentiate between art and engineering.

The approach I usually take is to be supportive of the areas where the builder is creating art and not criticize time spent on that endeavor, but to be emphatic that we are going to get certain areas correct. Those areas are fairly few in number, and as stated previously, are related to the fuel, electrical, and control systems.

I think we confuse art with cosmetic.

Consider these lines from a dictionary:

1: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation

3: an occupation requiring knowledge or skill

4 a: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects

Now consider these synonyms:

Main Entry: art
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: skill, creativity
Synonyms: adroitness, aptitude, artistry, craft, craftsmanship, dexterity, expertise, facility, imagination, ingenuity, inventiveness, knack, know-how, knowledge, mastery, method, profession, trade, virtuosity
Antonyms: lack, unskill

Gentlemen, the proper construction of an airplane is, by definition, an art.

Certain things must be correct; the laws of physics vary for no man. But let's not discount or discourage effort toward attaining the very best result in every area.

"Art vs. "Commerce"

Hello Folks!
As a commercial photographer (not yet a pilot), one of the things you learn early on is the difference between "art" and "commerce". It is not unlike the dilemma faced by folks who build things. Some are built to be purely functional, and some are built for aesthetics. So it is with images.

The real beauty, in my mind, is to skillfully combine the two, so that both sides of the equation are satisfied. It works as intended, and it looks great too!

That's when you know you have a "winner".
For your perusal on this sunny, but cool, Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta.

John Slemp
www.aerographs.com

rv7boy said:

Anyway, I like to observe and even photograph wingtips. Many are pleasing to the eye, and I like to imagine the airflow over, around and from them. So does "form follow function" or does "function follow form?"

Click to expand...

CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is a very powerful engineering tool, and is often used to visualize things like that in colorfull and artistic ways (pics and moovies). We call these visualizations for porn since they often have little engineering importance, but are important if you want to sell something or convince someone.