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Builders assistance in my home?

R

rookie1255

Member
I am at the FWF kit in my build and need to also do wing attachment, finish up the windscreen fairing, cowling, and probably a lot of little things before the 10 is ready to fly. Unfortunately, all of my office employees have quit and I have been forced to run myself ragged to keep the office running.

Does anyone know of any builder's assistance who would be willing to shack up in a room in my house and finish my plane for me? Also, any idea what such a service would cost? I estimate 130 man hours left in the build but there is the potential to be waaay off. Panel is being built by Stein air. Would also need help with the electrical system since I make no claim to knowing anything about that. I've read AC 43-13, have a couple of wiring books, but still have no real experience of putting an electrical system in a plane. Maybe I could at least pay someone to get me REALLY close to flying. I'm in Watertown, NY.

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
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Not to pop your bubble, but what you list sounds more like 1000 hours, not 130. This of course is very dependent on the level of finish you are looking to achieve.

If you can find someone local, great. I suspect however most options will require you to ship your unfinished kit to them, and you work in their shop. If you go this route you might want to see if there is option for paint as well.

Good luck,
Carl
 
Forget the quality of finish. We're shooting for airworthy and passing inspection. Skipping fairings, wheel pants, and for the interior we're going to wrap the foam in saran wrap for the first flight. I was trying to avoid the whole shipping and transportation cost.
 
If there's a college nearby, see if you can find an engineering student who wants a job. This might even be accepted for some independent credit. He'll get flexible hours, you'll be around some of the time for feedback, and you'll get some good work done.

That's how I worked my way through college, building an airplane kit for someone. I was able to work around 100 hours a month while maintaining a full course load in aerospace engineering. I'd previously had some experience building another airplane so it was clear to the inspector that even though I was getting paid for it, this was an educational project with recreational overtones for me - that was a long time ago and the legalities might have changed. Yes, I did get some academic credit, not much, but some.

Career-wise, it helped me land my first professional job. After that it didn't matter too much, although it gave me a leg up on my second job, too.

Dave
 
...of course, you'll still have to document your own labor to meet the 51% builder rule.
 
Your hours are way off. You'll have 130 hrs just scratching your head on how to do even the littlest of things. Windshield done right and time it takes for the fairing will eat up about 20 hrs, but when you look at it you think awe couple hours no problem. It's a lot and you still have wirring and if your cowl isn't done yet then the 1000 hours that the post above mentioned is more in line with what you have left. Don't know of anyone in your neck of the woods but good luck.
 
Hmmm?

Forget the quality of finish. We're shooting for airworthy and passing inspection.
Click to expand...

I would recommend you hire some new office employees to get back on track.
Life happens and your RV-10 will get finished.

If you find someone to finish your plane, I am happy for you.;)
 
I think he is not saying that the quality of work doesn't matter, but rather the finish details (pinholes, body work, paint, interior, etc) don't matter. It sounds like he wants it finished with quality, but not a high level of detailed finish work.
 
Jesse's got it on the nose. I'm not looking to sacrifice safety. Everything should still be torqued appropriately, etc. It saddens me to hear about the 1000 hour estimate and it doesn't seem like the help I'm looking for is available. I guess I'll just keep plugging away as time allows then. The finish line just seemed so close though...
 
This is why people say, tongue in cheek, "90% finished, 90% to go". There is a lot of work in all the little final things. And remember the 51% rule.
 
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