Brand new to this Help/advise wanted

Hi all.

First post on here.

I have a few questions, most will probably be silly, but really interested in building a RV7A, and just want to do some future planning and avoid surprises down the line….

A bit about myself, live in St Johns, Newfoundland. Hold both a FW and Heli ATPL, fulltime Offshore heli pilot at the moment, and want to fly a bit when I want(the few days a year its VFR in Newfoundland lol) .
Just have a few question, especially for Canadians that has been through the process lately.

1. What will shipping be for 4 parts of the kit? Wont be able to buy all at once, so will come in 4 shipments, anyone maybe have recent prices to the east of Canada?
2. I obviously going to pay tax on the purchase, but will there be import duties to Canada?
3. Tools. What would you guys suggest to buy? All new or try bargain shopping second hand tools?
4. Accept for Avionics, what other parts are required to complete the kit to flying? Seals,rubbers, wiring, interior etc? What is a general rule of thumb what that will cost +-? Defiantly not going for an expensive build, will be as basic VFR machine with a 1 color finish. (Fly in the soup everyday with my job so not interested in IFR .
5. In Canada, will someone have to come and do periodic inspections on your build from Transport Canada?
6. After the build is complete, what taxes are to be expected with registration?
7. How does the initial flights work? Must they be done by n test pilot or how does that whole process work? Certain amount of hours to be flown etc?
8. In what order will you order the kit?


This is all I can think of for now, but will probably have a heap of other questions to follow.

Have a great week!

I’m not in Canada, so questions on shipping, taxes, etc, I’ll defer.
4. The vans kit is basically the airframe. No engine/prop, no electrical, no avionics, no paint. If you want a new Lycoming engine and/or new prop, Vans has a deal with Lycoming and probably the best price. You can see the price on the vans aircraft web site. If you hope to buy used, you’re on your own. Likewise, some builders do their own external and or internal paint, while others go to a pro paint shop with prices from $15K (US) on up. Some do their own wiring/avionics installations, others buy pre-fabricated and or pre-built panels with racks installed.
5 Canada does require at least one pre-closure inspection by someone from Transport Canada, I think.
7. You may do the initial test flying yourself, if you like. In the US it’s 25 or 40 hours, depending on engine/prop (certified/non-certified) used. Not sure about Canada.
8. For sure, start with the tail kit. It’s the least expensive (in case you change your mind), and designed as the ‘starter kit’ (it does a lot more hand-holding, and very complete directions than subsequent sub-kits).

Hi,
Welcome to the forum,
(I beat Mel to it, ;-))
Here's a few clues that could help you, and if decide to build, expect many, many more to come, it's normal.

1. What will shipping be for 4 parts of the kit? Wont be able to buy all at once, so will come in 4 shipments, anyone maybe have recent prices to the east of Canada?
My last major shipment from Van's (Finish and Firewall Forward kits) to Quebec was in 2017. One big crate, 80 cubic feet, 150 kgs, $1250.
Get recent quotes as the price is definitively way more 6 years later.
I've heard 2 to 4 times more expensive now...

2. I obviously going to pay tax on the purchase, but will there be import duties to Canada?
You will pay 5% GST, and I believe aircraft parts are duty free.
I used a Custom's Broker to organize the shipping and tax etc. $110 for their services, well spent money (remember 2017).

3. Tools. What would you guys suggest to buy? All new or try bargain shopping second hand tools?
If you are patient and spend time searching, you could find a second hand tool kit, often from someone that started a kit and decided to not pursue the build.
Otherwise, there's a couple of better known tool suppliers that propose RV oriented kits that contain the basics for starters.
In any case, tool buying/collecting is an on-going process through the build, you will be adding stuff along the way.

4. Accept for Avionics, what other parts are required to complete the kit to flying? Seals,rubbers, wiring, interior etc?
What Bob said, add engine/prop, instruments (steam or glass), avionics, antenas, wiring/battery(ies), seats/upholstery, etc.

What is a general rule of thumb what that will cost +-? Defiantly not going for an expensive build, will be as basic VFR machine with a 1 color finish. (Fly in the soup everyday with my job so not interested in IFR .
All depends on how you equip your plane. There's so many variables.

Engine type/size/new/used/rebuilt
Same for prop, fixed, constant speed, wood, metal, composite, 2 or 3 blade.
Steam instruments, EFIS, Autopilot, Radio(s), ADSB, day/night lighting...
The list goes on.

5. In Canada, will someone have to come and do periodic inspections on your build from Transport Canada?
You will have to deal with MD-RA.
They are an agency mandated from TC that deal with amateur built aircraft.
https://www.md-ra.com/
Their site contains a ton of usefull info, documents and forms. Not the easiest to navigate within but search around.

One thing to consider is that you have notify your intention of building before getting started. There will be at least 2 inspections, one before closing up elements like the empenage, control surfaces, wings, fuselage, and one when the aircraft is ready to fly.

6. After the build is complete, what taxes are to be expected with registration?
Registration (your ident letters) costs $145 (if my memory is correct) if you reserve a specefic ident. Then there's a yearly NAVCANADA fee of $100 or so.

7. How does the initial flights work? Must they be done by n test pilot or how does that whole process work? Certain amount of hours to be flown etc?
You can do the first flight or have that done by someone of experience.
There's a 25 hour "test" period where the aircraft is restricted to 25 nm from base only, day/VFR and no passengers. In that period, a climb performance report must be made, and corrections done if any.

8. In what order will you order the kit?
Start by getting the USB key with the kit plans.
Usually, one starts with the tail, it gets you going with better detailled instructions. Then the wings, the fuselage, firewall forward and finish kits.
I would also strongly recommend to get the practice kits if you never worked aluminum sheats/rivets etc.


Other thing to consider, work space/hangar.
You can start in a garage or basement, some even started in a bedroom...
As the aircraft parts accumulate you will need more room. Either to store them while you continue building parts, and certainly when parts get together. I built the tail, wings, fuselage in a small one car garage, moving parts out to a storage warehouse for needed space before getting a hangar for final assembly.


Time: while individual work speed and quality varies, builders report +/- 2500 hours on average (for a 7). Less for a simple build or if you're a repeat offender, more if you go for a more complex one.

3. Tools. Buy a GOOD 3X rivet gun. Mine is an Atlas Copco, but any of the reputable tool suppliers guns would probably do. Do a search here on this website. Mine came with a flat rivet set (for countersunk AN426 rivets) and I bought a number of universal head (AN470) -4 rivet sets of different lengths. Buy only tungsten bucking bars. The most common is this one 4x1x5/8 with one end angled. Others may come in handy for restricted areas. Yep, they are expensive!
https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/topages/buckingbar12-04865.php
Buy a GOOD pneumatic rivet squeezer with several yokes, especially a longeron yoke. Some builders prefer a manual squeezer, I don't have one and prefer the pneumatic squeezer. Probably my favorite tool.
I can recommend Cleaveland tool and Brown tool.
When you get to the fuel tanks, look for a used pneumatic proseal gun. I used plastic hypos (no money at the time) but it would have been much easier with a pneumatic gun.
I'm still buying tools pretty regularly even with the structure complete. Some say building an airplane is merely an excuse to buy tools, and I would agree.
5. MDRA. Mixed feelings about this organization, especially with RV airplanes. I had good luck with the inspector they assigned me, no complaints there. But when I was getting my pre-cover inspections done, headquarters couldn't /wouldn't commit to what stage my fuel tanks needed to be for inspection. Did the rear baffle need to be off so they could look inside or not, etc. etc. They deferred this to the individual inspector. I told headquarters that so many RVs are being built that there should be specific guidelines on their website. Not sure if they ever did that. If you're confident in your riveting, you can build everything, empennage, wings, control surfaces, fuselage; and just get one "pre-cover" inspection done. If not, or if you have doubts, you may end up having to do 3 or more "pre-cover" inspections. This adds up $$$$. But everything you build must be left "open" so the inspector can look inside.
8. Typically: empennage, wings, fuselage, finish, firewall forward. Keep in mind the lead times so you don't end up waiting for the next kit to arrive.

General. The urge to customize can add years to the build. And the various aftermarket suppliers have got dozens of cool things for RVs. If you build to the plans for a VFR airplane I'm sure you will be very satisfied.

Definitely welcome to VAF!
Did a cursory search of Transport Canada's databases & I see that you will be a trail blazer in Newfoundland, in that there is only one (registered) RV in the whole province! Looks like low & slow type homebuilts are popular there, stands to reason with all the lakes & snow you folks have.

I'd suggest you get friendly with a local airframe structures tech to get a sense for building the 7A, get familiar with it's solid rivet build methods.

You might try contacting some folks in NB, PEI, or NS for further familiarization of the build process. You might have some leads of used tools availability. Although their few, less than 30 RVs flying, there is probably near as many projects on the go there as well.

Good Luck with your planning.

Welcome Newfie, We're glad you're here.

You're Canadian! Of course you're going to pay import duties, brokerage fees, import duties and a horrible USD to CAD exchange rate. My total brokerage/import/GST cost was about $3k on my orders from Vans only. My other big expenses were $56k for a new experimental engine and $88K to Aircraft Spruce mainly for Garmin IFR avionics. For a very rough estimate, I've currently spent in CAD about 5 times the current list price of the kit in USD. Ouch!. There will be no taxes when you register your aircraft, because you're going to keep all your receipts to show that you paid the taxes as you built the airplane.

Used tools are fine, if you can find them. I recommend the tool kit packages for new builders from Cleaveland Aircraft Tool.

Our regulations are very different in Canada and lots of the advice you read here doesn't apply. You're going to be working in isolation, which will be tough. I was very fortunate to have several other builders who helped me with advice and the loan of tools. I recommend you buy an EAA membership for the weekly webinar, attend all the homebuilders workshops at Air Venture, and plan a vacation at an EAA Sport Air Workshop.

I would reconsider building from scratch. Buy a Vans or Zenair that's currently flying. Buy the design documentation. Modify the airplane (a "builder's certificate" isn't required in Canada). Learn lots, hone your building skills, fly lots. Then, if the builder's lifestyle suits you, invest in building your own aircraft from scratch.