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| Wings | |
  Here's where you'll find me every spare moment... out in the garage chasing the dream of getting this thing flying. |
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  Dreading the encounter with Black Death (ProSeal), I chose to have Evan Johnson build my tanks. Evan took over the tank building business from Don London who built RV tanks for many years. Evan can be contacted at evmeg@snowcrest.com. Steely eyed builders will note that I am using the new capacitance senders. |
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| Fuselage | |
   LEFT: One year anniversary!! At the one year point in the project my completed wings pose before being relegated to months of being ignored. Meanwhile the fuselage starts to take shape.CENTER: Just out of the jig, builder's refer to this stage as the "canoe". Well, I figure I'll get in and paddle the darn thing. RIGHT: Finally, up on the gear. |
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In case you are interested in these blocks I have done drawings of them. You can take these to any machine shop and have them made (will probably cost $150). You can download these drawings by right clicking on the links and selecting "Save Target As..." |
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  Here's a version of DJ Lauritson's (Cleaveland Aircraft Tool seatmaker extrordinaire) rear seat riser. It is made from .032 instead of .025 as in the Cleaveland drawing. I built mine with a rib on each end and two stiffeners going across rather than using all four ribs... worked great. |
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 A milestone, the empennage is now mounted! |
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  When it came time to paint the interior we decided to transport the fuselage up to Randy Lervold's house since he had a quasi paint booth already set up to paint his plane. How to get it there? Simple, fabricate a trailer hitch adapter to bolt through the tailwheel holes! I slotted it a bit to allow some longitudinal rocking. Note the flashing bicycle light strapped to the engine mount. This technique worked like a charm and it's how I intend to get my plane to the hangar. Credit for the idea goes to RV builder Larry Depute from Alaska. |
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   The fuselage is nearing completion. Note the special switch console built for the right side of the cockpit. I picked a deep gray color for the interior. It's PPG Concept with the 685 flattening agent added. For now you'll have to guess what goes in all the holes. As we all do, I agonized over his panel layout and finally arrived at a design I'm happy with. |
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| Finish kit | |
   I suspected these parts would represent quite a bit of work based on the tales from other RV builders. Now that I'm in "fiberglass purgatory" I found out what they mean. |
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   The empennage fairing did not fit the HS at all, consequently I cut off both sides and re-glassed it to fit. Now it fits, but what a LOT of work. Not done yet, but looking much better. The windscreen fairing almost done. Pictures belie how much work this is. |
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   Those plastic parts begin to take shape, amazingly all by themselves! I tried ignoring them for a while, but they didn't get built that way. Daughter Julianna says "hey Dad, how come it doesn't look like this yet?". So Dad puts daughter to work |
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  Work on the cowling progresses. |
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| Engine | |
About half way through my investigation process it became apparent to me that the Superior Air Parts engine had some truly desirable characteristics, among them were larger decks for the cylinders to bolt to, an improved lubrication system (the addition of thrust bearing lubrication), optimized cam profile, and improved induction geometry to name a few. Now did I want a fully assembled XP-360, or would the substantial savings and flexibility a SL-360 kit engine better meet my needs? I desperately wanted the savings, and flexibility but had to be honest and admit that I was not a knowledgeable engine builder. Then I came upon the plan of having an SL-360 kit delivered to a custom engine builder. Enter Eagle Engines of Redding California. In this scenario I could have the kit delivered to them, customize it with B&C starter and alternator, LASAR ignition, have them do their “Golden Eagle Series” assembly, and come away with exactly what I desired in an engine package. Their Golden Eagle Series involves things such as Parker Luberizing of gears, cylinder flow matching, balancing that exceeds industry standards, and an exceptionally attractive paint scheme, to name a few. |
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| What is not so easy to explain is the incredible craftsmanship, and attention to detail that their extremely talented assembly staff bring to the game. I now have one of these metal sculptures in my possession, and to say that I am pleased with the results would be an understatement. As a former A&P my dad even liked it... | |
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| Firewall forward | |
  LEFT: Engine installation partially done. RIGHT: Vetterman exhaust system installed. |
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| Panel | |
  LEFT: I'm a firm believer in single point ground. Here's my grounding block on the aft side of the firewall for all airframe and panel grounds.RIGHT: Rear seat electrical details including a PTT for the pax and 12v outlet for various electrical accessories. |
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| Here's my panel, my interpretation of functional (and affordable) simplicity... | |
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| Paint | |
| Not really too interested in painting my plane myself, and not wanting to spend the big bucks to have a good shop do it, I managed to talk good friend and fellow RV builder Randy Lervold into painting my plane. He painted his own RV-8 several years ago with good results and coincidentally was about to paint his RV-3B at the same time I was ready with my plane. We therefore worked together to paint both planes at once. Batching parts and working together built some efficiencies into the process. I used the same PPG materials he has had good results with, info on this can be found on his RV-3 web site here. Obviously I liked his paint scheme as well, mine will be a close derivative. Below are a few pics of the process... | |
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| Completion, finally! | |
Yes, I finally completed it, click here to check it out.
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| Deviant behavior (or my alternatives to building according to plans) | |
| We all build airplanes because we're creative souls, and at times we must deviate from the plans to express our individuality. I've done my fair share of that, pics of some of these ideas follow. Other builders should feel free to use any of these ideas... after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. | |
  Being a lifelong flyfisherman, I plan on using his RV-8 to commute to the Idaho backcountry and flyfishing extroardinaire. How to transport those handmade flyrods? Here's the solution. These standard flyrod tubes can be simply slid into these custom made Delrin grommets. A bungee cord wrapped between them will keep them from moving. |
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   LEFT: I was having trouble getting friends to help me with my project, that is until I got my new creeper. Whaddathink? CENTER: Some builders have criticized my choice of colors for my battery hold down bracket. Personally, I think it's the world's sexiest battery hold down bracket! RIGHT: Tyson, manager of airport security. |
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 Caught at an inopportune moment, my pals have now started calling me "Crack". Sheesh, tough crowd! |
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I have now gotten to the expensive end of my project, and it’s time for the engine. All through my project (I’m at the four year point now) I have been actively thinking about what to do for a power plant, and weighing as many of the options as I could come up with. 
