Still here, still waiting......

Did I mention patience is not my long suit and waiting is not helping......

There is good news though - the kit should dock in Australia today. Of course nothing is simple, there are formalities to complete, money to be paid and collection to be arranged. nonetheless the starting line should soon be in sight.

It would be tempting to conclude by the long silence in this blog that nothing is happening. In fact I have been beavering away setting up the Aircraft Production Facility (APF). This project has provided a splendid opportunity to acquire all sorts of tools and equipment that every man needs but  in the normal course finds it hard to justify. Some photos of the newly enhanced APF follow.

I've also been cleaning out another space to accept the 5 crates of parts (hopefully) soon to arrive, did I mention I'm looking forward to this? The main item cleared out was the aforementioned small red car which has found a new home in Melbourne.

Oh yes, it would not be true to say all the parts are yet to come - Vans a while back sent me the brake pedals, apparently not available when the kits were shipped and more recently a bag of nutplates to replace some that may be incorrect in bag number whatever. This kind of reinforces a sense that they are organised and know what they are doing, which is quite reassuring in the circumstances.


















Oh yes, and I lashed out and purchased a DVD on RV-12 empennage/fuselage construction. I am sure this seemlingly excellent resource will go some way towards mitigating the 'stuff-up' or 'how on earth do I do this' factors. Not that there will be any of these I am sure!

My across the road neighbour called in yesterday to inquire about airplane construction progress. Needless to say it was a short visit, however he did take the opportunity to inspect our brand new very expensive Rooftop Solar Energy Generation Facility (RSEGF) and deliver the good news that it isn't generating nearly enough power. Given our expectation that the RSEGF would eliminate our power bills and possibly even return a small dividend, this was not good news. He is an electrician so we were inclined to give some credibility to his view. This was confirmed by a phone call today from the RSEGF supplier, "It certainly should be doing better than that" and a bit later "We'll send someone out to change the inverters to a different and much better type and check the whole system out" and "this won't cost you anything." This of course raises a question so obvious that I'm sure you will have it in mind already, particularly given the system was only installed a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, taking an optimistic view, all will be well that ends well. I do like it when things just work and this does not seem to be a particularly fine example.

I'm sure that won't be happening in the APF..........................

Until next time.

A Momentous Decision.......or Two

On Wednesday the postman brought me Van's order for confirmation with advice that they will be shipping the kit in the week commencing 14th March. Not wanting to hold up the process which is already testing my patience I sign on the dotted line that all is well with the order and commit into the safe hands of Australia Post, now (hopefully) winging its way to Oregon.

The waiting is killing me already, patience is certainly not my long suit. So how do you fill in waiting time? Of course by reading other people's construction stories, perusing Van's Airforce Forum and generally anything else a man can lay his hands on that is vaguely RV-12 related. One thing I have learned about is the to-be-dreaded fuel tank construction nightmare. Now there are plenty of brave souls who reckon this to be character building and "not that bad - really." This sends shivers up my spine. There seems to be a majority view  that the smart money is on the pre-constructed fuel tank courtesy of Van 's. I have been pondering this in my mind for a while - that is until the middle of a perfectly good sleep last night when I woke with one of those blinding glimpses of the obvious, this is for me! When the office next opens at Van's they'll be looking at an email from me forecasting an order modification. I have a feeling I'm not going to be regretting this.

Cleveland Tools have evidently been suffering snow inundation which has delayed the shipping of the recently ordered tool kit, however they have now advised that it is now on the way. That should pass a little time while I inventory that. I also have my eyes open for a suitable air compressor and bandsaw that should complete the major workshop acquisitions.

I'm also thinking about storing the myriad kit components that will arrive as a result of the decision to purchase the majority of the kit in one hit. Looks like the little red terror will have to find a new home in the interest of garage space. It was fun while it lasted.

The Journey Commenced

I am relatively new to recreational flying.The bug bit  years ago and gradually an idea has formed up helped along by brother-in-law John who over the years  took me on several flights in various airplanes. A trial instructional flight in late 2008 sealed the deal and training commenced, to be completed in January 2010 when, having negotiated a mild form of  aviation dyslexia, I obtained an RAAus Pilot Certificate. 

My initial training at Murray Bridge was in a Skyfox Gazelle,  a most forgiving sort of plane as indeed it needed to be. Since then I have been endorsed on  Jabiru 170 and quite recently Jabiru 230. I am about to embark on navigation training that will allow me to spread my wings wider.

 The idea of building a plan has been lurking in the deep recesses for quite some time. I have now developed this insatiable urge to create something useful that might just get off the ground....... it's like a disease. I watched with interest the final stages of construction of a Savannah XL by Ron Hoey and have had the pleasure of a short flight with him. The Savannah is indeed a fine aircraft whose STOL capabilities are remarkable. For a long while I contemplated building one, but after much research and deep thought have finally decided on a RV-12.



A Fine Example of an RV-12
(Courtesy Tony Tessitore)

Why you may ask - then again maybe not. Some reasons are high builder/owner satisfaction, exceptional quality construction plans, good payload, high performance and 'cos I just plain like 'em.

So the order was placed with Vans on the 18th January. They say it will be 8 weeks to dispatch, so allowing for time in transit, I would expect it in Australia around mid to late April. It will be interesting to see how that pans out. Patience is required - a commodity in short supply in my little corner of the world!

Clearly some tools are required for the build that don't currently live in Erik's workshop so of course some additional investment is required. I've ordered a RV-12 tool kit from Cleveland Tools plus a few sundry bits and pieces. I'm thinking like most builders I'll use the time between now and when the plane kit arrives to set up the workshop. I'll post progress with that as it goes forward..