Australian Flying - July 2018

here were the usual

reasons to go for it,

but what I remember most

was the many reasons not

to. Money, skills, time,

commitment and the

questionable financial

return on investment.

I thought I could just buy a fun

aeroplane and get on with the

business of f lying. There were so

(so!) many reasons to say "nah"

and move on to something else. It

was a very big decision to build.

But after a few months of

stalling there was a recurring

thought. I didn’t want to turn

around in five years and realise

I was still alive, healthy and

f lying and that I’d missed the

opportunity to built an aeroplane.

When colleagues and friends

asked the usual questions about

why I wanted to do it, I told them

I wanted to at least give it a go.

The hardest part was making

the decision to do it, but

eventually I pushed the Buy

Button and the tail kit arrived,

along with a bunch of tools.

There was plenty of room in

the shed on our small holding 40

km north-east of Melbourne and

progress was steady. The usual

skills were learnt and a pleasant

surprise was the awesome sense of

accomplishment that quickly grew.

Many others have been down

this path and there have been

many articles written about

utilising RVs but for a person

thinking of building an RV I’d

like to highlight these facts.

After that first big decision

came many more. There was

an unexpected need to make

so many big decisions! You can

build a stock-standard RV7 but

what is that? It turns out there

were numerous big decisions

to be made over the next five

years. Firstly, prep and primer

(so many opinions). Which RV?

Nose gear? That was easy: no

way! Engine choice? Which one?

Made by whom? Carburettor

or FI? Vertical induction or

horizontal? What brand of

propeller? Constant speed?

Electrical system? Avionics

panel design? Paint?

The realisation grew that this

would be my aircraft; basically

an RV7 but absolutely unique

to itself. It didn’t matter what

other people thought about the

choices, except when it was safety

related then those thoughts

were carefully listened to. New

builders be prepared for many

decisions ahead!

I had been building for about

three years. Tail feathers and

wings were done. All fuselage

components completed. Canopy

all done with a fibreglass targa

strip fabricated and glued on.

All sanded down and just a few

low spots left. The engine mount

was match-drilled to firewall, the

gear was fitted as were brakes,

wheels and fairings. Firewall-

forward kit parts and plans

were studied and a battery box

and solenoids appeared on the

firewall. Cabin vent hole was cut

as were two wire pass throughs.

A Vettermans exhaust ordered.

Engine (IO360) had just been

built and test run by Aerosport

Engines in Canada and ready to

be shipped. It was exciting! I was

looking forward to a builders visit

from fellow SAAA members.

All was going so well, until one

day I was alone in the shop re-

doing my NACA vents as I was

not happy with my first effort. I

was fabricating a backing plate out

of aluminium sheet to fit around

the plastic part. It was looking

good. I trimmed and polished the

outside using the scotch bright

wheel fitted on my bench grinder

just like I had many times before.

I had my glasses on and the

garden whipper- snipper helmet

earmuff wire facemask thingy on.

Then for some reason I tried to

trim a little inside bit of the plate

thinking "be careful, go easy, but

plenty of room here."

Then came the whack in the

mouth that resulted in some real

damage to my teeth and face.

The harsh lesson I learnt was

to get the best and longest face

protection you can and use it

always. The garden thing was not

long enough and the f lying metal

must have passed just under it.

It could have cut my throat or

taken out my eye. Remember, I

was alone. There have been times

when I have not had a mask on at

all ... just my glasses. Who hasn't?

So my enduring advice to

builders is to not trim inside bits

using the spinning wheel, no

matter how careful you think you

are being.

Be careful with those tools in

case it happens to you. Think risk

assessment.

The RV was successfully

completed and f lew in September

2017. The only decision now is
      where to f ly to next!

SPORT AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA australianflying.com.au

Good Sports

Safety

in the

Workshop

Seven years ago,

Rob Rickard decided

to build an RV7.

There weren’t enough

reasons for him not to.

AUSTRALIAN FLYING July – August 2018

be careful, go easy, but

plenty of room here.

76

KATHY MEXTED

The nished product: Rob’s RV7.