Comments for Ethan's RV-7

Comment on Aft Canopy Decks Drilled and Trimmed (1/29/12) by Gary Barnett

Gary Barnett — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:12:41 +0000

Ethan, My name is Gary Barnett. I work as Director of Marketing for a company here in San Antonio. I have been following your efforts and I enjoy reading your RV7 construction log. I too am a private pilot, although I have not flown PIC for several years. I sold my 7ECA Citabria a number of years ago, in order to raise two boys. My wife and I have now accomplished that goal, so I intend to get current with flying again this spring.
I intend to build a Van’s kit as well. I am torn between the RV8 and the RV7. I must confess, I love flying most, when I am on the center line, however I will probably build the 7 because my wife does not like tandem seating. It is interesting that you did your tail wheel training in Burnet. I grew up in Burnet, still live there, and commute to San Antonio every day. I will use Ken and his SuperCub to get recurrent. Speaking of wives, Congratulations on your recent marriage.
At some point I would like to meet you and take a look at your RV7 project. It seems networking is crucial when taking on a project of this scope and scale.

Comment on Firewall Dimpling/Countersinking Started (12/20/11) by Ethan Jacoby

Ethan Jacoby — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:26:56 +0000

Ah, man! I hate it when I make dumb spelling mistakes that the spell checker can’t catch. Thanks for catching it for me…it’s been corrected.

Comment on Firewall Dimpling/Countersinking Started (12/20/11) by Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:15:47 +0000

Mmmm… Firewall dumplings… Sound delicious!!!

Comment on Left Landing Light Finished (11/3/11) by Ethan Jacoby

Ethan Jacoby — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:17:58 +0000

Rich,
I didn’t use a plug in for this. I just took a jpeg of the RV-7 three view drawing from Van’s and then used photoshop to color it and add the labels. I keep a full size version on my computer, update it as needed, save it as a smaller picture and upload it to the blog. In the blog itself, I use a picture widget in the sidebar. Pretty simple as long as you don’t need to update it very often.
Ethan

Comment on Left Landing Light Finished (11/3/11) by Rich Bernard

Rich Bernard — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:09:34 +0000

Ethan:

Can you tell me what plug-in you used that shows the outline of the plane and what components have been finished or are in progress?

Thanks

Comment on Right Flap Drilled (4/6/11) by Ethan Jacoby

Ethan Jacoby — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:36:52 +0000

Overall, I’m happy with the Brown kit. All of the kits seemed, more or less, the same to me, and Brown came in the cheapest. All of the vendors have great took kits, and no matter which you buy, you’ll end up having to add tools to it during your build. A DRDT-2 and a pneumatic squeezer are great additions right from the start if you want to spend a little extra. I started without a pneumatic squeezer, but now I wouldn’t consider building without one!

I’ve now bought tools from Brown, Avery, The Yard, Steinair, Aircraft Spruce, etc., and I’ve been happy with the quality and service from all of them. If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask.

Good luck with your build.

Comment on Right Flap Drilled (4/6/11) by David

David — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:24:18 +0000

How happy are you with the Brown toolkit? I’m considering starting with their kit and just wondered if you had any advice.

Comment on Left Flap Work…Again (3/30/11) by Ethan Jacoby

Ethan Jacoby — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:15:04 +0000

I don’t know…your rates are rather high Probably won’t work on the plane too much this weekend since the yard needs some attention. If I haven’t figured it out by next weekend, I’ll see if the HR department will let me bring in some extra staffing!

Comment on Left Flap Work…Again (3/30/11) by Martin H Jacoby

Martin H Jacoby — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:19:22 +0000

If necessary, your father’s skinny arms and small hands are available. Of course, usual rates will apply.

Comment on Air Compressor Purchased (8/22/09) by Ethan Jacoby

Ethan Jacoby — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:15:42 +0000

Hi John,

I’m still very happy with the compressor. A bigger tank and more CFM would be nice, but almost anything bigger requires a 210 outlet and I didn’t have one available when I started the project. No matter what, make sure you get a belt-driven compressor that is oiled. Anything else is really loud.

I’m still using rattle can primer. It’s just too easy! The NAPA 7220 is easy to spray, quick drying, and very durable. Everything else I’ve tried is just OK. I occassionally think about getting an HVLP gun and spraying primer that way, but I’ve been using less primer as the project moves forward. However, I may try to paint a bit myself. At that time, I’ll have to set the compressor up in a way to get dry air, but, for now, I’m just going to stick to spray cans.

Ethan