Dave’s RV-7A Building Log

I’m still in the prep phase of building. In the last few weeks, I’ve insulated and drywalled the garage. I also installed 4 flourescent shop lights. That was a huge improvement.

I’m currently building a work bench and shelves. The goal is to get everything up off of the floor and make as much useful work space as possible. I’m also planning on cleaning and painting the floor. That will make it much more pleasant in the garage. I can’t believe how much the drywall has improved the space–much lighter and clean-looking.

A few weeks ago I ordered the intro packet from Van’s. The video is a bit unpolished, but it’s great to see the RVs flying. I also attended the EAA SportAir workshop on basic sheet metal working last weekend (Aug 23-24). Our instructor, Jack, was great. I now have a huge amount of confidence that I can do this. Not because I think it’s easy. Quite the opposite. We made a few mistakes on our relatively simple project, and we learned how to correct them. Screw up a rivet? Carefully drill it out and do it again. I doubt anybody could find the fixed rivet. It looked perfect the second time. I’ve never done much metal working, but the workshop was great fun. I’m looking forward to starting this project more than ever now.

The other thing I’ve been doing is reading all of the information available on the internet. The project web sites that people have set up are terrific resources, especially Dan Checkoway’s. I also signed up for the Yahoo and Matronics email lists.

This week I ordered the preview plans for the RV-7. They should arrive today. I can’t wait to pour through them.

As a side note, I’m currently learning how to fly through Galvin Flying. It’s not the cheapest school in the area, but they have a great reputation. I know when I get through there, that I’ll have the experience and knowledge to stay out of danger in the sky.