Pirep on EAA Vans RV Assembly Class

Interested in any feedback from people who have taken the Vans RV assembly class. Was it worth the cost? Is it better skip the class and just find someone local? What would you tell your best friend about the class?

I took the sheet metal course 2 years ago (RV not offered) before I had ordered anything to see if I thought it was something I wanted to do. Had never driven a rivet before. The tools and empennage kit were on order the following Monday!! It gave the the confidence to know it was something I would like and could feel comfortable doing.

Money well spent!!

Class

I recently took the EAA RV class. I found it a good way to get introduced to the basic skills needed and give a good idea if it's your cup of tea.
After the class, I heard people's statements ranging from "I don't have what it takes to build " to " I now know I can build a kit no problem".
You build the practice kit from vans. Basic sheet metal and riveting.
After the class, I orderd and built a vans tool box kit just for the fun of it.

I took the EAA Sheet Metal course before I built my tail and then once in the build I took the EAA Electrical Class as I was approaching my wiring of the RV.

Besides being great classes you get to meet people in the same stage as you.

I recently attended the Vans RV assembly workshop in Frederick MD. While I know my way around tools and basic metal working, my experience is centered on cars rather than airplanes.

I was genuinely impressed with the workshop and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in building an airplane.

We started off with a slide deck stepping us through descriptions of the materials, tools, assembly tips & tricks etc. Oh yeah, and rivets. It could be said that at it's core this a course about how to rivet a Vans airplane together. This may sound a bit dry (I found it pretty interesting, though I get excited flipping through tool catalogs), but it goes fairly quickly. Note that you receive a printed manual that covers the material as well -- great for future reference.

There were two projects that we spent the majority of both days working on. The first is a very basic project, attaching two bits of aluminum and a length of aluminum angle. The intent here is to get you warmed up with preparing the pieces (countersinking holes, deburring, etc) and the riveting them together. That's right, before lunch on the first day you have tools in hand and you're setting rivets! The next project is assembly of a control surface. It's a small enough project to complete during the workshop, but is also challenging enough that I believe it gives a valid example of what you would be getting into.

I was appreciative of and impressed by the EAA members running the workshop. They were constantly circulating and offering assistance when needed. Having access to their decades of cumulative experience was great. Even if you have related experience, the access to this resource makes a compelling case for attending this workshop.

Like John, I followed the Sheet Metal course with the Electrical course last year as I knew I would need to start the wiring process, and will attend the Composites course this year to prepare for all the fiberglass work.

So I am a believer!!

I also took the EAA RV Assembly course at Oshkosh with my hubby, Rich back in late 2002. I had no experience with riveting, other than pop rivets, and wanted to learn the various techniques. I also wanted Rich to learn some basics so he could help with bucking and maybe shooting some rivets. Ken Scott taught the course along with an EAA instructor. Besides the basic skills learned, there was much insight on building an RV presented. It was well worth the time and expense. I highly recommend it. It is a great husband and wife experience as it will give your partner skills that can help make it a family project.

Roberta

Similar story to everyone else - I didn't take the RV course, but I've done the sheetmetal and electrical courses now. Both of them were absolutely worth every penny, and I can't recommend them highly enough.

I took the RV Assembly class at KFDK a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was well worth the cost and time. My only gripe was that they had more people in the class than tool sets. I had been on a waiting list for a while, and was moved into the class the week before the date. I was one of about four or five "extra" people. Unfortunately, while I got to take the class, they were short on tool sets and some practice kit parts (they had enough for everyone to make an airfoil section, however).

Even though it took a bit longer to complete the project due to three of us sharing two tool sets, it wasn't too bad, as we tended to work together a bit more than otherwise, and probably got to learn from each other a bit.

Overall, I would say the class is worth it. I learned riveting techniques and the operation of the basic tools as well as gaining an understanding of how the Van's kits are put together. I expect to take the electrical systems class in the future. I definitely commend the instructor and the members of the local EAA chapter for taking the time to work with all of us.

Mentor

BenNabors said:

Interested in any feedback from people who have taken the Vans RV assembly class. Was it worth the cost? Is it better skip the class and just find someone local? What would you tell your best friend about the class?

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Ben
Classes are great but find a local mentor to cement the knowledge. You'll learn valuable skills they don't have time to teach in class.

I second wirejock. Took the class last year in Oshkosh, liked it, but strongly recommend following up with local friends as much as you can.

Yes

I took it from Mr. Checkoway back when he was still active in the RV community. It was great and he even managed a formation fly over of a bunch of RV's during lunch.

Highly recommended! You'll still want to get the practice kits so you can dial in and get used to YOUR tools in your shop.