I’ve been trying to approach building an aircraft through a logical, step by step progression. First, decide which airplane I want to build. Second, find as much info as I can and start making decisions about engine, avionics, etc (this is an on-going, never ending process). Next, I buy a set of preview plans from Van’s and start reading through them. Finally, decide whether or not to dive in!
Well, I’m diving in. Prior to this last weekend, I still had some doubts. Mainly, do I actually have the skills to build something that will take to the sky and will I be willing to trust that my construction will keep me safe (not to mention keep someone else safe). Fortunately, Sportair offered a RV Assembly course in Waco, TX. By paying $319 and driving a short 3.5 hours from San Antonio, I would be able to get my feet wet without making a huge investment.
The two day course consisted of a few short lectures on experimental aircraft regulations and a lot of time in EAA Chapter 59′s hangar working on two practice projects provided by Van’s. Participants included pilots, non-pilots, inexperienced builders, people already working on RVs, people who are working on or have completed other types of aircraft, A&Ps, and spouse’s wanting to see what their husbands were going to be spending the vast amount of their time on for the next few years.
The first practice project looked simple. It consisted of two small pieces of aluminum sheet and a length of aluminum angle. The instructions simply showed that we were to rivet one sheet to the angle and then attache the other sheet with a riveted lap joint. Unlike the Van’s aircraft kits, there were no pre-punched, computer aligned holes. For this one, we would have to measure, drill, dimple, deburr, and finally rivet using four different types of rivets.
After carefully measuring where my first and last rivet of the rows would end up, I used a 10-place rivet fan to space and mark the remaining rivet locations. Once all the locations were marked, I proceded to use a center punch to create starting points for my drill. As soon as I drilled the first row of holes, I realized my mistake. The plan called for 12 rivets spaced 15/16ths of an inch apart and I only had 10 holes. Looking around the class, about half the participants made the same mistake. However, it was too late and the project would continue with 10 holes per row.
After match drilling all the holes, I dimpled the skins, machine countersunk the angle, and deburred all holes and edges. Finally, I would do what I came to learn and shoot my first rivet. After driving the rivet, I inspected the shop head with the proper guage and took a second to admire my work. Just then, the instructor came over, grabbed the aluminum out of my hand and scrutinized my work. He carefully measure the shop head and inspected the factory head for “smileys” or other signs of a poorly driven rivet. After a few seconds of this, he looked at me and asked how many rivets I have driven in my life. To answer, I simply lifted my index finger in the air and then used the same finger to point at the single rivet in my project. He just laughed and told me that it took a lot of his A&P students weeks to drive a rivet this well! Maybe it was beginners luck, maybe there’s nothing to this riveting thing…I had two days and about 150 more rivets to find out.
A couple of hours later, my first project was done. Despite having the wrong number of rivets, it looked good. I had driven 18 rivets and installed two pop rivets. I had to drill out and replace one rivet and I left a smiley on another. All the pieces were aligned and the final measurements matched those in the plans. The hangar was getting hot and I was ready to call it day…one project down, one to go.
Project 1 - Inside
Project 1 - Top
Learning my lesson from the first project, I scrutinized the plans before each step. Slowly, but surely, my project started to look like an airfoil and was completed by 3:30pm. Once finished, the instructor scrutinized the assembly. We both agreed on which parts could use more work (mainly the leading edge bend), but he told me that if he saw it on an airplane he would fly it. Then, he asked me if I was being honest about never driving rivets before. When I said that these were my first, he shook my hand and said that my airplane is going to turn out just fine!
- Project 2 – Spar/Stiffener/Leading Edge
- Project 2 – TopProject 2 – Side
Project 2 - Side
Overall, this course was a valuable experience, and I recommend it, or a similar course, to any prospective builders. If nothing else, it will make you see that you can learn the skills you are going to need during aircraft construction. It will also teach you that there is a huge network of builders out there that are willing to help you at the drop of a hat. However, be careful. If you are like me, you’ll leave this course wanting to call Van’s and have them overnight your empennage kit.
