What do I know about building planes anyway? November 1st, 2005
Not a whole lot, actually. I am an electrical engineer, and design analog circuits for a living. Not exactly related to building sheet metal airplanes, eh? That’s why after deciding to build an RV, I figured I’d better get some schoolin’ from the best!
So I signed us up for a builders workshop with George and Becki Orndorff in Forth Worth, TX. You see, they really know how this plane building business works. That’s why they offer their weekend class for $250, but for only an extra $50, you can bring your spouse! This way she can not only get pumped up about building the plane, but will actually learn the same skills as you, so she will make the ideal RV-building partner!
I don’t know about the rest of ya’ll, but I couldn’t have asked for a better partner! My wife is just as excited about this kit plane as I am, and I’ve discovered she is not only great at deburring, but she also makes a great riveter!!
Anyway, back to the Orndorff’s class. We showed up at their airport home/hangar/classroom on a Saturday morning, and were greeted on the driveway by George. He told us this would be a special class, because there were a bunch of guys from a school in Monterrey, Mexico, who were driving up for the weekend. They are going to build an RV-10 as a school project (!). George wasn’t sure about their English abilities, so he had hired a local college student to act as a translator.
Well, it turns out I graduated from the same school in Monterrey! I figured this ought to make for an interesting weekend!
The rest of the group showed up a few minutes later, and we got on with the class. They all spoke and understood English, so that was not an issue. We briefly went over aircraft construction methods, riveting, deburring, etc. We then started working on a simple project: attaching two aluminum plates with rivets. After that, we went on to the main project, which turns out to be the same ‘training project’ for sale at www.vansaircraft.com .
The training project is small piece of a control surface with a little spar, ribs, skins, etc. Enough to get a taste of what RV construction is like. We learned all about dimpling, rivet squeezing, back-riveting, countersinking, etc.
By the end of the class we not only had a cute little airfoil to take home, but more importantly, the confidence that indeed, my wife and I can build this sucker!
Sure, I could have ordered the training kit myself. I could have struggled through the instructions, trying to figure out if I was doing things right or if my rivets were acceptable. Again, it’s not like I’ve seen how things should be done before. Now at least I’ve handled a rivet gun and a pneumatic squeezer, and I think I can tell if a rivet is good or if it needs to be drilled out.
So, if you are thinking about building and RV, I would highly recommend you go visit George and Becki, and take your wife along!