RivetBangers.com

So,

Here's the deal. After weeks of not building, I finally got back in the hangar today. Between vacation and catching up on work, I haven't been able to build in a while.

Well it took me like a half an hour just to re orient myself to where exactly I had left off. Once I did that I was able to press. Well, as I was dimpling the HS skin, I wasn't aligned on one of the holes and, needless to say, it went through like a hot knife through butter. I know this won't be a big deal but, between that and the mis-aligned hole on my HS front spar, I really feel like I will have a lot of imperfections on my plane. It just really gets me down and kind of pisses me off a little. I guess I better get used to it.

Anyway, it did feel good to be back in the saddle and making forward progress, even if it wasn't perfect forward progress. I can tell that I'm gonna learn a lot form the tail. Like PAY ATTENTION!!!!!!

Hope you are all doing well on your projects,

-A

Andy, don't let it get you down. We all learn as we go. I know I have made my share of errors but try to learn something from each one. I was told by my tech counselor when I pointed an error out that if I didn't have an extra hole or two by the time I was done then something was wrong.

Look on the bright side, when things go well you will aprreciate it that much more. Keep at it, you'll do fine.

Andy,

Everybody, and I mean EVERBODY makes mistakes on our projects.
So don't let it get ya down.

Everyone also runs into that thing called "life" that sometimes slows us down on how often we get to build.

Keep at it, and just learn from the mistakes. Get in the habit of double checking your self before doing something. Also, never rush anything your not comfy with. Take a step back, mull over it a bit, and never build when your tired or frustrated.

You might find you can often get more done by only spending 1.5 hours during the weekdays, than 4 to 6 hours on a weekend. (of course I usually pick one day of the weekend to get in 4 hours if I can)

A good motivator to building is to take a day off, find someone with a flying RV, and go for a ride. Once you taste the performance and feel of the RV in the air, you rush home to do more on yours

Chin up Chap, and press on !

Hey Andy the time you spend re-orienting your self if still good progress on your RV! Enjoy the time you build regardless of the task...reading the plans, running the rivet gun or deburring edges. You learn from everything you do which is how we all eventually get done!

- Peter

Andy I just went through a two month period like that on my project. I never had time to get out there. When I did have time I was either dead tired or in a rush. Neither option made for the best building sessions.

I ended up miscutting three center ribs and all of the aileron ribs. None of them are off by much. Maybe .15-.2 here or there. But it was enough not to pass muster.

It will pass.

I'm starting to find my pace again. Getting back in the grove so to speak.

build on!

Don't sweat it dude. Use me as the poster child. It took me about 2 years to get the tail done. Thats right, the tail. The other thing to remember is that Vans estimates that builders on average spend $500 replacing parts they screwed up. No big deal dude.

- John

Character! It adds character! At least, that's what I tell myself everytime I screw up something. Just don't make so many mistakes that you end up with a straight flying airplane with no adjustments in the end because they all cancelled themselves out!!

No worries, bud! This is why the tail is built first!

Don't let it get you down, been there, done that. I've already ordered several replacement parts. It bugs me at first that I would do such dumb things, I even lose most of a nights sleep over it, but in the end I just do better on the next parts. I haven't really done much on my tail in over a month now as I am trying to get my garage into a condition I can work in there all winter long. Each time I got out I want to at least do something on the kit, but I force myself to work on the insulation task so I can get it done before the snow comes. I'm sure everyone here has gone through what you are feeling, it doesn't make it going away knowing that, but it helps to know it happens to all of us and makes us better builders in the end.

Thanks for all the support, I appreciate it. This leads me to a question. When do you need to make the call on replacing a part or pressing on w/ it? I have one hole right next to another on my HS 702 front spar. The rv builders at my airport (including an A&P) told me to build on. Now one hole right next to another in my HS skin. Looks are one thing but, safety of flight is another thing entirely. I would imagine that I wouldn't lose that much strength in the skin due to the volume of rivets. Maybe fill and paint and you won't see it in the end.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

My suggestion, build on... in a few weeks or months if you find that these issues are still causing you loss of sleep, replace them then. My guess is that in a few weeks, this will be a distant memory.

Fill and paint and only YOU will ever know it is there.

Fill and paint Andy. You're right on the number of rivets used being a factor. The flanges of the spars are not the stressed part. They just attach the spar to the skin. The webbing is the critical area, and any major damage that couldn't be rounded and smoothed could cause a problem (if you were to have an issue in the webbing area-for future reference, if needed). You're fine, move on...

cjensen wrote:Just don't make so many mistakes that you end up with a straight flying airplane with no adjustments in the end because they all cancelled themselves out!!

Sounds like you've seen my RV-4.

Keep building Andy. If you want to build an Oshkosh award winner, go ahead and finish this plane as is. Then build two or three more. THEN build your award winner. You'll have enough practice by then. Just build a good, honest airplane and enjoy it. You can't go wrong that way.

Oh Andy, how is it going? We haven't heard from you for a while. Whats up bud?