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QB Wings or QB Fuselage?

B

blincaviation

Member
Hello everybody, hope you are all well!

I may have the funds available to buy either a QB Wing kit or a QB fuselage kit, just curious to get an idea on what people think would be the better route to go? QB wings would negate the need to build tanks, but a QB fuselage may help with rigging? Well that would be my first impression but having never built before i could also be way off base!

Or......do I save my money, bite the bullet and put the money towards a better power or avionics plant for example...

As stated, this will be my first build so i guess there is also a certain amount of trepidation there too..

thanks in advance for your help.....

Dave
 
If choosing only one, I’d go QB with the wings. The work is somewhat repetitious, the tanks messy. The fuselage work is more entertaining, IMHO. PS For budget planning remember it always costs more, never less, than you plan for.
 
+1 to what Bob said. It's true that the fuselage is much more fun to build than the wings, but the wings go relatively quickly and are not hard or as annoying as some make them out to be.

Unless you don't have much time to dedicate to building, I think going standard build for both is better. You'll save a lot of money by skipping the QB and the time you save going with QB will likely be offset by the extra year or so you'll wait for the QB assembly to arrive.
 
I wouldn’t QB anything or do anything else that adds delay of delivery given the current climate of the business. (Yes it’s a risk no matter what) Gone are the days of buying little bits over decades (always was a risk) but now if you have anything less then all kits through finish kit you run the risk of having a very expensive pile of parts that almost make an airplane.

I fortunately have all the kits and the LCP has been repurchased. This debacle made me realize how foolish I was thinking I could buy as I go and that Vans or any other company would be their like Sears 🙄(now defunct)

Looks like 11.5k for a QB upcharge and 12.5k for a finish kit. I’d put that QB money towards a finish kit instead and ensure I had all the parts to make an airplane. Also the lead times on SB are very short compared to QB. You’ll have wings built and starting the fuse way before the truck shows up with any QB part.

Not bad mouthing but I know that if I ever build again from ANY manufacturer that I won’t buy unless I can get the entire kit. FWF engine/prop can be sourced sans defunct manufacturer. If they go under a complete kit has more value because it can become an airplane, as opposed to hundreds of tail, wing kits with no support needing a fuse.

Just one opinion but I’d go for the sure thing and order it all at the shortest lead time.
 
Given how many people have reported eventual leaks in quick build tanks plus the lead time for anything QB, I’d go slow build on everything.

Now if the quick build fuselage included a completed canopy already installed, it would be worth it at any cost :)
 
An interesting poll on QB quality

Quickbuild Quality

Hi all, I'm trying to help a friend who is interested in building an RV and he asked a question that I didn't have an answer for. I built my RV-6 back in the dark ages before things were pre-punched (and we had to walk in the snow uphill both ways to get to the hangar). So I'm curious as to...
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net

Another on QB fuel tank leaks:

Poll: QB Tanks Leak or Not

There are many posted conversations regarding QB fuel tanks leaking. There is very little about how many QB tanks did not leak. What is your experience with QB tanks? Leaking....or Not?
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net

Another on fuel tank leaks in general:

Fuel tank leak poll

How many people have had a leak after finishing the fuel tanks and leak testing? If you have, describe the leak (where it was, how you found it, how you fixed it, etc.). Mine are "curing" and I'm going to test them in the next few weeks ... proseal is curing slower now that the weather is...
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net
 
georgemohr said:
We did a QB fuse and SB wings. The QB fuse quality in our case was excellent.
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Same here, I was pay as you go so would have had to wait 6+ months to order the fuselage after the one week it takes to finish the QB wings so I bought slow build wings and vans stored the matched center section and added it to the QB fuselage when I ordered it. Ended up working out well as the wings took a while and the fuselage arrived not long after I finished the wings. May not be as simple with todays lead times.
 
I did my RV-10 QB wings and SB fuselage. The fuselage was a necessity because I was running A/C and also wanted to insulate the cabin. I enjoyed building the fuselage. It is interesting and rewarding.
The wings I just stumbled into an attractive deal on a virgin 2nd hand kit but it was nice because most of the wing is pretty boring actually and countersinking is one of my least favorite tasks.
 
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the feedback.

Is there a reason why the wings generally get built before the fuselage or is that just a matter of preference? I'm leaning towards doing the fuselage first so that I can do wiring etc. if I don't feel like riveting, just thought it might be more time efficient. Obviously that might just be wishful thinking on my part.
 
I did fuselage first. You just have to order the spar box sub kit and delete it from the wing kit. (Hopefully still possible.) RV-10's do not need the spar to be matched drilled like older kits.
 
blincaviation said:
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the feedback.

Is there a reason why the wings generally get built before the fuselage or is that just a matter of preference? I'm leaning towards doing the fuselage first so that I can do wiring etc. if I don't feel like riveting, just thought it might be more time efficient. Obviously that might just be wishful thinking on my part.
Click to expand...
The kit has no bias on which you do first, so do whatever works for you.
 
woxofswa said:
I did fuselage first. You just have to order the spar box sub kit and delete it from the wing kit. (Hopefully still possible.) RV-10's do not need the spar to be matched drilled like older kits.
Click to expand...
In the case of the OP's '8 the spar box is part of the fuselage kit now. A consideration (at least when I bought mine) is that the SB fuselage longerons normally ship with the wing kit as they are very long, so if getting a fuselage kit before the wings, figure a bit of an additional shipping premium due to a longer crate.
 
Tall_Order said:
In the case of the OP's '8 the spar box is part of the fuselage kit now. A consideration (at least when I bought mine) is that the SB fuselage longerons normally ship with the wing kit as they are very long, so if getting a fuselage kit before the wings, figure a bit of an additional shipping premium due to a longer crate.
Click to expand...
That's good to know! given the fact you are building a SB fuselage, did I see somewhere that you no longer need to build the jig for the construction? I have the USB plans and noticed the sheet showing how to build the Jig/ stand for the fuselage was part of it. I could also be out to lunch, which has been known....lol
 
blincaviation said:
did I see somewhere that you no longer need to build the jig for the construction?
Click to expand...
Correct, that's the beauty of pre-punched, however care for alignment must still be made when match drilling some of the structural parts and the stabilizer, etc. Also parts like the spar box have a specified dimension you will prob need to make shims to get the dimensions right. So jig lite? :ROFLMAO:

Tall_Order said:
In the case of the OP's '8 the spar box is part of the fuselage kit now.
Click to expand...
I don't see where to edit posts on this new forum, but to clarify this, looking at my receipts I don't see a (center section) deletion or addition on my fuselage kit receipt, however my wing kit that I bought later does have (w/o center section) on the line item. So possibly a deletion is still required and they just did it automatically for me?
 
I ordered my RV-8 fuselage and wing kits a little over a year ago. I told Van's I would be building my fuselage first. The fuselage invoice shows the longerons added, but doesn't show anything about the center section being added, so I believe it's included as part of the fuselage kit.
 
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