The past two weeks I’ve been working on the last few details before I start building. I spent a couple of days making one more table that I should be finishing soon. I also built a small one to install my drill press and grinder.
Working on building one more table
Regarding tools the idea is to get a basic kit from Cleaveland Aircraft Tool and keep adding more as needed. I’ve been looking around to buy some of the more expensive tools used, and already have a list of what I may add in the near future.
Having the parts home and not being ready to work on them has been a little bit hard :). That’s why at least some preparation has been going on. I started to prepare the front and rear spars, duoblers and ribs. I also fabricated the HS-908L&R. Not a lot, but enough to keep me exited.
Last weekend my wife and I visited Van’s Aircraft and got a factory tour. I did not take pictures as I was enjoying the visit too much :). The tour basically reinforced my decision of building an RV. Everything we saw was perfectly arranged in shelves with immaculate clean floors and equipment, something really nice to see when you are about too put a lot of money into it.
Van’s Aircraft Factory – Aurora, OR
We got to check and sit on the RV-9A, and also on the 7A as she wanted to compare the differences between tilt-up and slider canopies. I read a lot of comments about how the RV-14 is a lot roomier that the 9/7s, but at least for us that is not important as we are fairly normal regarding our size.
Weather did not cooperate with the idea of a demo flight which had to be abandoned, but I still got to buy the preview plans and I have been going through them. I have to admit that they are pretty well done. They may be a little bit confusing at the beginning, but after a couple of times I was able to get the idea of how to read them.
We used the rest of the day to drive around the area before heading south to Eugene to attend the fundamentals class at Synergy Air. The landscape is beautiful there, and the drive up to Mount Hood was totally worth it.
Mount Hood, OR
The next day we arrived at the Airport right before 8am, and the class started promptly as scheduled. I have to admit that I had quite high expectations because I wanted to learn as much as possible. I haven’t bought my tools yet, but the information I got from the class allowed me to understand what each tool do, and how to use them making me feel more comfortable about the money I’m going to spend.
Some of the tools we used during the class
We went through the practice kit that Van’s offer. We drilled, deburred, dimpled, countersinked, riveted, removed rivets, made mistakes, fixed them, etc. We learned so much that at the end of the day the decision was made, let’s do it!.
Building the practice kit
I have to say thanks to our instructor Allen Nelson, and to Vaden Francisco, Synergy’s owner who came to bring us lunch, and check how we all were doing.
In conclusion, this was a really nice experience that I would recommend to anybody who may be interested in building an RV. It gives you the opportunity to see many things and get the confidence necessary to start a project this big.
