What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Fuselage SB Kit Size?

Mistfarer

Member
WHi everyone

I am considering ordering the fuselage slow build kit ahead of the price increase in a few days. Before I do, I would like to make sure I have enough room to store the parts...

Could anyone tell me the size of the biggest and longest parts of the fuselage kit?

Edit: also. Is it OK to buy and complete the fuselage SB before buying the wings QB?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
The longest components for the fuselage kit will be the main longerons; these are a pair of 16' aluminum angle pieces. However, the longerons are not normally shipped with the fuselage kit; instead, they come with the wing kit, packaged in a box with the spars. That's for a slow-build kit though, I'm not 100% sure what they do for a QB wing/SB fuselage combination.

That said, this packaging concern is something for you to think about as you consider building the fuselage ahead of the wings. As you might imagine, shipping a 16' long package is not cheap, as builders who've ruined longerons will attest.

Now, back to parts storage - while the longerons are the longest items, they're also pretty easy to store. The more difficult parts to consider are from the aft fuselage - you'll have two aft side skins, which are roughly 8' x 1.5, but they're flat sheet and still not too bad to store. The fun parts are the upper and lower aft skins, both of which are curved three-dimensional pieces. The lower skin is roughly 8' x 2', and the upper maybe 6.5' x 2'. And they're not bent the same so they don't really nest at all for storage.
 
The crate sizes are listed on the vans website. The fuselage kit is about 8' x 3' if I recall correctly. I just opened it to inventory, threw away all the packing paper and then put everything back and pulled parts out as needed.

IT was a really cool milestone when that box was empty and I was able to cut it up.

But yeah, the longerons that come in the wing kit are about 17' long. The other biggest parts are some of the skins that are about 8' but you could roll them up if need be.
 
Back
Top