Hey Sam
If you don't mind me asking, where do you work? I sure miss working on
planes everyday! I worked for McDonnell-Douglas , Gulfstream , and several
contract companies. ( The latter being the way to go! ) I am going to build
one just so I can work on them again! I have thought about maybe a part time
job or something as well. Might get to be around more planes and make
alittle extra money too! HAHA Forced Retirement SUX I tell you! HAHA

Patrick
"Iceman" wrote in message
...
Hello again,

These examples are what I wanted when I posted to this group. I want a
sense of accomplishment. An awakening of adventure. A safe and
affordable aircraft to build. That is why I went with Vans.

There are three of us that work on aircraft all day in our work lives.
Inside the three of us, one is a sheet metal mechanic, one is frame
mechanic, and I am QA on this line in the flight test department.

Between the three of us is over 40 years of experience in building and
assembling a product we believe in and is a safe aircraft. The
question came to mind a few months ago, if we can do this in a
factory, why can't we do it ourselves. That was the start of this
"quest" as it is.

Two of us have over 200 hrs each of flying Sundowners, Bonanzas,
Cessna 150, 172. The third is wanting to learn to fly. I see a "no
loose" situation with this.

The entire idea is to learn, build, enjoy, and most importantly have a
sense of ownership and pride. We show that daily for our "company". We
can do it for ourselves and feel that much better about it. The reward
is it is for "us" and not a multi-billion dollar company. It is as
safe as a normal production ship but better. It is safe for us. We
will learn from the building of it.

We discussed several kit build projects. Several engine and prop
combinations and through out it all, Vans with their RV's really were
2nd to none. Complete blueprints, parts lists, build procedures are
definately a plus.

Safety was another large concern. Both of us that have tickets know
we could bite that bullet, but if is built correctly with proper
processes and safety in mind first, then chance is up to the weather,
or pilot error. We can live with that.

Thus the topic, Vans- RV Builders. We have spent a weekend looking and
disecting the preview binder and reduced prints. We want to hear of
others that have built or are in the mode of building their RV's.
Good, bad or otherwise, we, the three of us, have decided to build the
RV-9. It is still highly manuverable, a docile X-country machine, and
economical.

We are never too old to learn from the experiences of others. That is
why we are here in the group. With 500 hours build time or 2000 hours
of build time, that is not a concern to us. Pride in what we do and
build and flying the same item that we started with is our goal. That
would be a reward itself.

Thanks for the responses sofar. I hope to hear more of your
experiences.

Thanks much,

Sam