Last I posted, I was evaluating building a Vans RV-12 Light Sport Aviation kit airplane. Since then, some things have changed. The house I am living in has sold (a post divorce situation) and I have to pack up and find a new place to live, so priorities are changing, with funds available for the kit more limited than before. In light of this I will place the RV-12 build planning on hold.
In the coming weeks I will move. Not sure where yet. One option is to a small family home in sunny Florida. No garage or workshop, but space to build one. Another option is renting or buying a place up here in the Northeast, but costs are high.
As I ponder this issue, I am reminded that I already have an airplane project in my garage, a Cozy Mark IV composite canard, with the fuselage under construction. Two years ago I bought supplies and tools for composite construction, built a workbench and epoxy warming oven, and learned this tricky construction technique. I completed the rough fuselage stage and stopped when my wife chose to express her dissatisfaction with my project (and me).
One of the nice things about composite construction of a Cozy from plans and raw materials is that expenditures are easily spread out over a long time. Maybe too long, as the process goes pretty slow. Large expenses for engine, avionics and certain hardware are comparable to RV construction spending.
I cannot ignore the fact that I have the Cozy project in the garage and jump into the RV project without considering the investment made to date. So, I may just move ahead with the Cozy project when I get a new place to work. I'll keep you posted!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
My Situation
So, where do I stand in all this decision making:
- I currently have a place to build, in the house I am occupying, but I will have to move, as it is up for sale (in a very slow market).
- I have lots of time as I am retired on a small pension
- I have the money in the bank to start building
- I have a pretty good set of tools and I am pretty handy with them
- I need a project
- Where will I finish and keep the plane, as hangars are really expensive where I live?
- Could I sell the completed project to recover my investment or fund the next project?
- I need to clean up leftover projects to concentrate on this
- This project will consume most of my discretionary income or savings
So, what does one of these homebuilts look like?
Here's the current state of the art in Light Sport Avaition, Kit Plane construction, the Vans Aircraft RV-12 in flight. This plane, built primarily of riveted aluminum, carries two average people at 130+mph for five hundred miles burning 5 gallons of auto gas an hour. You can even take the wings off and trailer it home, and it weighs less than 800 lbs. All the parts needed to build and finish the plane, including the engine and instruments will cost a minimum of US$62K (2011 kit price, but builders are reporting actual total cost of about $75K, and construction time is estimated at 800 or so hours. Vans has sold about 500 of these kits, and many are already flying. For more information on Vans Aircraft and the RV-12
I have been reading about these planes for several years, and this week I ordered a set of plans and manuals to study. The plane is available as a series of kits; Empennage (the tail), the Fuselage (body), Wings, Finishing, Avionics and Instruments, so you can pay as you go and the factory will ship the kits to you as needed. In order to get the plane approved for flight you have to build the plane exactly as specified by Vans Aircraft.
Another order of business is where to build, and preparing a workshop, which includes getting the tools needed to work with aluminum aircraft construction. A two car garage is probably enough space, and the tools are available as a set for about $1,200. It would also be helpful to have a bandsaw and drill press for some operations. A nearby builders group would be nice too.
How Can You Build an Airplane?
Once upon a time, a person could put together an airplane in their barn, roll it out to a field and fly it. This worked pretty well for a few years, considering that our country was a lot of open space and small towns, and there weren't that many planes flying overhead. Cars were rare, airplanes were cause for considerable excitement. Occasionally one of these air-ships would fall out of the sky, maybe injure a pilot - rarely do some damage on the ground. Human society being what it is, eventually the government stepped in to regulate this new activity.
Today, the construction and operation of airplanes is regulated by the FAA. Fortunately for me, in the US and elsewhere in the world, there are provisions for building our own planes. These planes are called Experimental, and the rules for building them are based on the idea that the construction must be an educational process, separate from the commercial builders. In order to fly this plane, you need at minimum a Private Pilots License (PPL). Many of these planes have been built, and some have capabilities that exceed commercially available planes, hence the PPL requirement.
In recent years another class of planes has been created, Light Sport Aviation (LSA), with limitations on weight and speed. In addition, pilots require only a Sport Plane Certification (easier to get than a Private Pilot License) and either a 3rd class medical or a valid drivers license (unless you have recently been refused a FAA medical). To address the high costs of buying one of these LSA planes (Often costing in excess of $100K, kits (like the Vans RV-12) are now available that allow you to constructs the plane yourself, from a collection of parts and instructions. A community of builders has grown up, and many of these planes are now flying. This is how I'd like to build and fly an airplane. This is my destiny!
Today, the construction and operation of airplanes is regulated by the FAA. Fortunately for me, in the US and elsewhere in the world, there are provisions for building our own planes. These planes are called Experimental, and the rules for building them are based on the idea that the construction must be an educational process, separate from the commercial builders. In order to fly this plane, you need at minimum a Private Pilots License (PPL). Many of these planes have been built, and some have capabilities that exceed commercially available planes, hence the PPL requirement.
In recent years another class of planes has been created, Light Sport Aviation (LSA), with limitations on weight and speed. In addition, pilots require only a Sport Plane Certification (easier to get than a Private Pilot License) and either a 3rd class medical or a valid drivers license (unless you have recently been refused a FAA medical). To address the high costs of buying one of these LSA planes (Often costing in excess of $100K, kits (like the Vans RV-12) are now available that allow you to constructs the plane yourself, from a collection of parts and instructions. A community of builders has grown up, and many of these planes are now flying. This is how I'd like to build and fly an airplane. This is my destiny!
Ready for Takeoff !!
I have always wanted to build and fly an airplane. My dream is to build my own plane and fly it around the world. As a child, I would create designs for aircraft that might never fly beyond my imagination. As an adult, finally making some money, I took flying lessons and attained a Private Pilots License. I flew in rented airplanes at my local airport, occasionally getting up as far as Nantucket Island and Bar Harbor, Maine.
My interest is as much in the workings of these complex machines as in actually flying. I enjoy learning how all the controls work, especially the electronics of modern day navigation devices. Planes with this type of equipment cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, out of my reach when I was an IT executive, and even more so in my current situation.
For these reasons, and owing to the need for a complex, all consuming project in my life I am considering the construction of an airplane. I have also accumulated a serious collection of computer and media hardware and software, so it seems natural for me to document my project on the web, and so a blog is born.....
My plan with this blog is to take you along as I complete the decision making process, and then document the actual process of preparing for and actually making an airplane. The good news is I am not the first to build his own plane, Wilber and Orville don't even have that honor - it's been going on for a long time. Nevertheless, most folks are unaware that one can build and fly your own plane, and very few actually know how it's done.
So, my first order of business will be to outline just how one can indeed do this and how I am going to start.
My interest is as much in the workings of these complex machines as in actually flying. I enjoy learning how all the controls work, especially the electronics of modern day navigation devices. Planes with this type of equipment cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, out of my reach when I was an IT executive, and even more so in my current situation.
For these reasons, and owing to the need for a complex, all consuming project in my life I am considering the construction of an airplane. I have also accumulated a serious collection of computer and media hardware and software, so it seems natural for me to document my project on the web, and so a blog is born.....
My plan with this blog is to take you along as I complete the decision making process, and then document the actual process of preparing for and actually making an airplane. The good news is I am not the first to build his own plane, Wilber and Orville don't even have that honor - it's been going on for a long time. Nevertheless, most folks are unaware that one can build and fly your own plane, and very few actually know how it's done.
So, my first order of business will be to outline just how one can indeed do this and how I am going to start.
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