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Just faxed in my empacone order!

Auburntsts

Auburntsts

Well Known Member
Hi Folks,
Todd Stovall here. Been lurking forever it seems - back to the Yahoo RV-10 list days anyway. Have been interested in homebuilding since I was a kid and my dad ordered a Q-2 info kit. Well, I finally got spouse approval, my finances more or less in order, and made the "let's get started" decision. Faxed in my -10 empacone order this afternoon to Van's. Look forward to joining the family!

Todd
 
Welcome

Welcome to VansAirforce Todd.
It's nice to see another join the group. Can't wait untill I take the plunge.

What makes you want to build the -10?
 
Manny,
Well I guess it's a number of reasons. First being the need for 4-seats. We like to do things as a family so a 2-seater was a non-starter. Second was Van's reputation. Looked at Lancairs, Aerocomps, and Velocity's but none of these gave me a warm fuzzy for various reasons- some airframe or construction related, some company related. When Van first annouced the 10's development, I was pretty sure, barring a disaster, that this would be the plane for me. The only real question was when. Truth be told I've deceided to go forward even though the stars are not in perfect alignment. My main issue that's unresolved is finding time to build. I'm active duty Air Force stationed at the Pentagon so guaranteed I won't set any build-time speed records. However, I decided that the longer I put it off waiting for the "perfect time" the longer it was going to take to get to that first flight, if ever. So right time or not, I broke out the credit card and the rest is history. I'm going to start pounding rivets and she gets done when she gets done. Third was the RV community. After years of lurking here and over at Matronics, I'm convinced this is the group of folks I want to be associated with.

Hope I answered your question.

Todd
 
Thought, Pause...

You know it took me 8 years to complete my RV-6A and I never dreaded working on it nor did I ever regret making the decision; never! But... when I think about starting over from the first order ... well it's more than I want to dwell on. There is the fun at the end, the RV's are OUTSTANDING airplanes, the depth of education you will get is truly priceless but man it is not easy. Good luck - it is worth the pain.

Bob Axsom
 
Welcome Todd

I'm on the "it'll be done when it's done" building schedule also. I almost consider myself lucky I waited as long as I did before I started. Back when I first wanted to build an aircraft, 20+ years ago, Transport Canada only allowed 2 place homebuilts.

I finally took the plunge last month and "officially" started on Aug. 23/06. I also proceeded to really muck up VS-1003 and just got the replacement on Friday (cheap at twice the price). So don't be afraid of making mistakes, ego and pride is not allowed in the shop. Also, I've set a rule, NO POWER TOOLS AFTER 10:00PM (my muck ups all occured after that time).

Couple of things I'm adding real early in the build so far are: 1) Static Wicks on rudder and elevator, and 2) VOR/OMNI antenna on Vertical Stab (VS-1006). You can check out the Static Wick placement in the "building tips and options" page at http://www.myrv10.com and I'm posting pleanty of pics on my website of the antenna install. Anyone out their want to check out my website photos and comment on the routing of Van's 5/8" conduit through the Vertical Stab?
 
George,
Thanks for the advice and the tips, particularly on the static wicks.

ABF is supposed to deliver sometime this week-- I'm calling them first thing Monday morning to setup the date and time.

Thanks,
Todd
 
Todd, welcome to the group! Lots of resources here that are very helpful!


George,
markerthebarker said:
Anyone out their want to check out my website photos and comment on the routing of Van's 5/8" conduit through the Vertical Stab?
Click to expand...
Here's another idea for conduit in the vertical stabilizer:
I used the existing lightening holes in the VS-1005 & VS-1013 nose ribs so I could secure the conduit to the VS-1002 front spar.
 
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