Author: "johnh38" <Johnh38@...> Time: Sun Aug 24, 2003 9:36 am PDT Link
I'm looking for other peoples recommendations on web sites that they
have visited which greatly helped them in their conquest of building
a RV. I have found Dan Checkoway's site (http://www.rvproject.com/)
extremely helpful and am looking for similar info/building sites.
I just purchased the tail cone kit (for the RV-10) from Van's last
week and was told that it would be shipping out late September. I
would like to get somewhat ahead of the building curve (if thats at
all possible). I have already contacted Avery for the NEW RV10 tool
kit. So any other information that this group could provide would be
appreciated. I have posted in the RV10 forum, but believe it or not,
there isn't much activity there.
Thanks in advance
john
Author: "Don and Shirley" <cherokeepilots@...> Time: Sun Aug 24, 2003 12:18 pm PDT Link
John,
I've posted a list of sites that I find helpful (and that are kept
up to date with some regularity) on our web site (see below). I will
add based on my experience that websites are good for several things
but staying ahead of the building curve isn't one of the things that
I'd rate them high on. For that I'd recommend reading the
directions...repeatedly. I made 2 extra copies of the "real"
directions that come with the kits. One I take to work and read
during my lunch hour and the other sits by my bed and I read at
night. My objective is to know what I want to accomplish during my
next work session and to understand how it fits it with future
work. Reading the directions, especially after seeing the plans and
the parts, really forces you to mentally visualize what you're doing
next.
Now, what are web sites good for? Well, a bunch of things. Some
bits of instructions are perhaps best described as obscure. Seeing
a picture on the web can sure help with understanding the directions
but they don't usually work as a substitute. They're also good for
identifying potential problem areas and finding strategies to avoid
them and they're good for finding clever solutions to problems you
will encounter (and I didn't mean to say you *might* encounter).
They're great for looking at different options available to you as
you build. They also can give you some vague idea of the build time
of different sections and offer encouragement...keep pounding those
rivets!
Likewise there are some drawbacks. These are amature built aircraft
and amatures are inclined to have opinions on substantive topics
that may not be full supported factually. Amatures are also
inclined to have strongly held opinions on topics of personal choice
(slider vs tip up; tail dragger vs tricycle; primer methods;
aircraft engine vs auto engine conversion; etc.). I happen to think
it's real important that you build your RV as either a tail dragger
or a tricycle and either as a slider or a tip up (unless its an RV4)
but while I'm fascinated by the choices you may make, I really don't
care what they are as long as you're happy with them. Just don't
confuse opinions with substantive conclusions based on data.
As for staying ahead of the learning curve, which is what your
seeking, my *amature opinion* is read the directions repeatedly and
leave the web sites for filling in the blanks.
Don and Shirley
90702 Wings (still working on that right fuel tank)
www.propjock.com