2/10/2014
How we got here.
In 1997 when I was working towards my Private Pilot License, I was bitten by the Experimental Aircraft Bug and decided that one day I was going to build an aircraft and fly it! The past 16+ years have taken many twists and turns.
OK I'm going to build a Zenith Zodiac or maybe not.
In 2005, I was registered for a rudder building workshop at the Zenith Aircraft factory and was going to begin building a
Zenith Zodiac. After some thought I decided that the timing was not right. My responsibilities were growing with a newborn (Mackenzie) at home and career opportunities at CIA. I decided to table the build before it started. Shortly after that I stopped flying for a number of years.
Man I want to start flying again.
Fast forward to early 2012. I was in NC spending some time at the cabin with Carice and Mackenzie. After making multiple 10 hour drives each way, I decided it was time to start flying again. I went down to the Murphy-Andrews airport (RHP) and found a flight instructor. Throughout the following summer I spent some time becoming proficient again and learning the nuances of flying in the mountains. I obtained my medical and started looking for a plane to purchase.
Man it would be cool to have your own plane.
In June I purchased a 1963 Cessna 172D, from a family in rural NJ, off eBay (yes I bought a plane off eBay). The transaction was handle sight unseen through an escrow agency recommended by AOPA. I hired a certified aircraft appraiser to make a complete appraisal, and report, prior to closing the transaction. About a month later, my friend Troy Townsend (a pilot for US Airways-now American Airlines) met me in Philly. We drove up to Jersey, picked up the plane and flew it to the cabin in NC that same day. We spent the next day waiting out a hurricane that was blocking our route home to MLB. After waiting for a hole in the clouds to depart through, the following day was a smooth flight home VFR over the top to MLB. That trip in itself was a life experience and a great memory forever.
OK I'm going to do it!
Once flying again and now the proud owner of a "well seasoned" but sturdy & dependable certified aircraft, I quickly started thinking about building. In mid 2013 I began my standard multi-month research phase again. This time there were two aircraft that caught my eye; the Zenith (later model of the same plane I was going to build before) and the Van's Aircraft RV-12. I decided to visit the annual Seabring Light Sport Aviation Expo in hopes of flying both the factory demo aircraft.
Let's go fly these bad boys.
On January 16, 2014, I arrived at MLB, at sunup, to fly the Cessna to Seabring. It was a very cold morning Following a few minor mechanical issues (leaking gas collator drain valve and a weak battery due to the cold weather), I departed and flew to Seabring for my first ever fly-in aviation event that I arrived by aircraft instead of by auto. There are special arrival procedures and the number of aircraft converging at the same time can make it a bit intimidating. I was one of 6 aircraft converging on the field simultaneously. You had to keep your head on a swivel. Once in the established pattern it was basically a game of follow the leader.
After getting the Cessna tied down, I made my way directly to the Zenith booth (they were still setting up) and spoke to the Owner of the company. I scheduled a test flight for about an hour later in the morning. I then made my way directly to the Van's booth and viewed an absolutely beautiful factory built version of the RV-12 that was being delivered to its new owner. I was given a demo flight time slot in the early afternoon. Now I can go check out all of the cool stuff at the show.
Flying the Zenith.
At 11:00 AM I showed up for my demo flight in the factory demo. After a briefing and waiting on the UL Power engine oil temps to warn up, the Demo pilot made a take off and remained in the "demo pattern". Before handing over the controls in level flight, he warned me that flying an LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) was a bit different than flying a Cessna 172. He said that it required much less control input. Once I took the controls I know why he did that. There is a world of difference between flying a C172 and a Zenith. The folks at Zenith would probably take exception to this, but I found the controls to be so sensitive they are almost twitchy. After making a few rectangles in the sky, at a demo pattern altitude, I began to get the feel and smoothed out the control inputs. The aircraft flew different than I had anticipated, but was not a disappointment by any means. I handed the controls back over to the demo pilot, he landed and I thanked him.
Flying the RV-12
At 1:30 pm, I showed up for my demo flight in the RV-12. This flight was quite a bit different. We did not utilize the "demo pattern". Instead, we took off and exited the airport vicinity in order to be able to really fly the aircraft through different phases of flight. The demo pilot lifted the plane off the ground. As soon as a positive rate of climb was established, he handed the controls over to me. I immediately felt the difference in this aircraft and the Zenith. While very responsive (much more so than the Cessna), the controls were smooth and balanced; not the least bit twitchy. We flew for about 20 minutes before heading back to the field. I put the aircraft through climbs, descents, shallow turns, steep turns. The demo pilot then demonstrated stalls for me. I was thoroughly impressed. The "RV Grin" was firmly planted on my face. My decision was made.
OK, I know which plane to build now what?
After heavily researching the RV-12 building process for a few days, I decided to order the kit. On January 21, 2014 I ordered the Empennage/Tailcone kit. Knowing that it would show up in 10 days or so, it was time to get to work. Many hours were spent clearing out the garage. My friend Rob Olivares helped me build a 4'x8' work table, on rolling castors, that would survive a WWII bombing raid. My awesome wife, Carice Cunningham, helped me with the dreaded yard sale. Roughly 30 man hours later, we had a legitimate (well not really) aircraft manufacturing facility (also known as part of a three car garage) that doubles as the garage for my wife's car.
Now I need some tools.
While most people have "basic hand tools", and all the kit manufactures say that their kit goes together with basic hand tools, DO NOT BE FOOLED. The term "basic hand tools" means something all together different to normal people than it does to crazy people like me that build airplanes. The "basic hand tools" kit I purchased in order to build the RV-12, was right around $1,700. This was about 2x what I was figuring on. Additionally there were a few items that were not included in the kit. While not 100% necessary, it sure would be a pain in the butt to build without them. They totaled right around $300 more. While I could likely have skinned this cat in a less expensive manner, with the little knowledge I had at this point I decided to rely on the experience of the professionals. If I ever take on another build project, I will surely know what I am looking for and locate used tools for a fraction of the cost. Nothing in aviation is cheap and it is all relative I suppose. The tools showed up a few days after placing the order. I spent about an hour or so unpacking, inventorying, and getting familiar with some of them. They are all nice and high quality.
The kit is being delivered.
On Wednesday February 5, 2014, at roughly 11:30 AM, the kit was delivered. Crating was excellent. The crate was roughly 3' wide x 9' long x 1' deep. Van's does an amazing job packaging the plethora of components into the crate. It is like a giant Tetris puzzle. My only complaint is some of the packaging tape they use to secure parts was so high tack that it is almost impossible to remove without removing the protective film on the metal skins. That evening, my friend Craig Boileau came over and helped unpack, and inventory, the components included in the kit. Everything was there. We were able to store most of it put away in a half-way rational manner.
The plans.
That same evening I spent about two hours reading all of the introductory information in the plans/assembly manual. There is a ton of information in there and the plans are extremely thorough. Although some of the diagrams look a bit like optical illusions. With all of the reading under my belt it was time to go to bed.
Let's build!
Thursday February 6, 2014, after work, was the first official day of the build. For some reason, when building an airplane, simply tasks like final drilling a series of pre-drilled holes become stressful. It really is silly when you think about it. I have no doubt these aircraft are over engineered and have safety factors built into the designs. The designers have to know that guys like me, putting these things together, may not necessarily be rocket scientists; although I'm sure some builders are. In another build blog I read a very good motto to sum it up...."you are building this thing to fly to Memphis, not to Mars". I have to remind myself of this. I also have to remind myself, from time to time, that I want it to make it to Memphis. Anyway, the first night's build consisted of putting together a few brackets that I believe will be used to attach the rudder to the vertical stabilizer.
Vertical Stabilizer.
Saturday afternoon I spent about 4 hours working on the rear spar. This consisted of match drilling a ton of holes in various parts, and de-burring the holes and edges of the parts. The de-burring and smoothing is a pain in the butt and it has to be completed on every part. By the time I finished this I had placed a few blind rivets as well as a hand full of solid rivets. I thought I was getting pretty proficient at this riveting thing. Wrong!
Monday (today), after work I spent a few hours continuing to work on the VS skeleton. I came to a step where I had to install some nut plates with solid rivets. Three of the first five rivets I totally messed up and had to drill out and replace to continue. Drilling out a blind rivet is a piece of cake; a solid rivet...not so much. I am going to continue to work on the VS assembly and will likely post another entry once the bigger pieces start getting assembled together (it starts to look like something).
