Yes, he built and flew as well as building for other people. His name was George Nuber, he past away a couple years ago. He lived in Columbia Tennessee and was a good friend, we miss him.
Iter, I'm in the process of rebuilding a 1500 and I like you wonder if I'll ever see It done. 90% done and 90% to go as they say! I always try to get something done every weekend (the only time I get to work on it) no matter how small, it puts me 1 step closer. So keep them ribs a comeing . BTW, On the tool front, I think you'll find a bandsaw a most valuble item to have. I don't think I could build a thing without it and I belive you'll find the same thing out when you have one. And one other thing, Your a lucky man to have a gal like Irene---better hang on to her! Anyway, good luck and keep us posted. Happy Landings, Rich
I don’t know what you mean be this decade, year 2010 or 10 years from now but observing your building so far unless you have a major attitude change how you go about it if you keep going like this it will take over 10 years to finish it.
I don't like posting negative comments and I may get banned from this forum all together but here goes!!! George, you don't have Stas to push around any more because he ignoes you but now your on the prowl for a new victim. I know your gonna have a good come back so give it to me bud, im gonna ignore you too.
Built 9 more ribs today, I have a total of 12 now. Still takes about 45 minutes per rib, but it's easier to see progress. I got Irene to mix my epoxy today, and things went quicker. She brought her laptop into the garage and watched DVDs of Sex and the City between mixing batches of glue. I can live with that if that's what it takes :=)
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And one other thing, Your a lucky man to have a gal like Irene---better hang on to her!
Keep up the good work Ari! It is obvious you are a perfectionist...as time goes by you will get over that! This in turn will speed up your building. There is a state called "good enuf" and you will soon recognize it! Probably everybody feels in the beginning that they have to be ever so careful in following to the nth degree every instruction given in the building plans! We all felt in the beginning that if every little piece of work wasn't absolutely perfect that the plane might break! I'm not saying throw caution to the winds but you'll get a lot more comfortable cutting material, mixing glue and forming up as time goes by. These are extraordinarily strong and durable little Airplanes! Have no fears, get it "good enuf" and you'll soon have a reliable and excellent aircraft! This will speed up your building. Best of Luck... Will leonard
Ari, You've got my support and help! When you run into problems, we'll all help you out! You might want to plan your progress like a "project plan". Write it down if you haven't already. Don't get too specific. Be general, because if you don't meet your goals by a certain date, it won't be as dissapointing. I did meet my completion date on my Max, but just barely. You can't believe the self-satisfaction when you go one step-at-a-time and meet your goals as planned! Your progress will get faster and "smarter" (search the bbs for past topics).
As for your fiance Irene, don't let her go!! She's one of them we pilots call "keepers". I re-married last year to a woman just like her. She'll mix my T-88, clean my windsheild and BBQ pork ribs where the meat falls off the bone at the same time! This is about as close to heaven I can get (while flying on earth)! Yahoo!!! Harold
Thanks Will and Harold! I knew I could turn to the board for encouragement and support. This "good enuf" is hard to figure out. I'm taking comfort in your suggestion that as time goes by I'll find it easier to find the "good enuf" state.
Irene is the best thing that happened to me in my life. bar none. I never knew a relationship could be this good.
I must be a little slower. I just pulled my 9th rib from the jig and I have 85 hours. The only other things I have done are nose ribs (main and aileron) and a wing table. I must be to perfectionistic.
I haven't started on either of these yet. I think I'm going to laser-cut the nose ribs and the 1/4" supports for aileron hinges. I'll let you guys know how these come out, and how many hours I'll have spent by then :=)
Speaking of tables, how big does it need to be? Does it need to be bigger than the wing's planform, or does it only need to support the spars?
I routered both my aileron ribs and nose ribs. It worked really well. I could do two each of the 1/4 inch ones and three each of the 1/16 ones at a time. The only one I had to make by hand was a template. Check out my notes and pictures here: http://websites.expercraft.com/peted/
Do you count time spent shopping towards build time? It would be too depressing if I did. Never knew I could spend so much time at a hardware store. Anyway, bought the plywood and 2x4s today. Looks like the table is going to be a pretty tight fit in the garage. I'm planning to use the black metal selves (you can see them in the first picture) as legs for the table. Hope that will work.
Oh my, that is a tight space to build an airplane, but it has been done before and will be again. I built my Evans VP-1, back in the late 1960's, in a space no bigger than this. Good luck with your project and keep us posted....!
For the maximum utility the bench needs to be built as double decker with a full size shelf half way up that’s where you store all your stock and parts. For the top most people use particle board because its more stable and doesn’t twist with humidity. I suggest another trip to lumber get particle board for the top, 2x6 for the top frame , use the 2x4 and plywood for the lower shelf and build it with regular legs.
Your suggestions are excellent and generally overlooked....! That wide open area under the bench is valuable storage space that is critically needed, especially in a small shop. I always use 3/4" particle board on the top for the reason you have outlined.
Thanks for the comments guys. Is plywood really this bad? I thought particle board couldn't take the hammering that was required for jigging wings and fuselage.
I do intend to make use of the mid-height shelves on the metal frames---there is no such thing as too much storage space. The reason I didn't want to build the table with traditional all-wood construction is that if I do, I'l have to throw it out when I'm done with my Max--there is nowhere to store a table this size, and I can't keep it where it sits now, the space is needed for other things. If I just build a table-top and reuse shelves for legs, I can disassemble the thing when I'm done, put the table-top against the wall behind the shelves, and put the shelves back to their original use.
My workbench has 2x4 legs on it which are screwed in place using deck screws. The workbench has been taken apart and reassembled so many times I have lost count of them. Actually, the legs, framing and lower shelf go back to my first attempt at building when I lived in Quebec back in the late 1960's.
They then went from Quebec to Wisconsin and later out to the West Coast (Vancouver, WA) and then back to Northern Wisconsin and now are in their final resting place here in Southern Wisconsin.
If you do decide to use wood (and I suggest that you do) make sure that you mark each joint with a permanent marker so you can take it apart and put it back together again easily....!
I had said that I always use particle board for my workbench tops and this always has been true up until a few year ago when I lucked out and came across a couple of "fire-proof" flush doors that are so heavy one can't hardly lift them alone. They are really stable and I love them....!
Built 1 4x8 table. One more to go. I used the 3/4 plywood I bought yesterday. I'll see how bad it is, and if I find have to replace it with particle board, I will.
You can see how it will be very easy to put a shelf under this table, or several.
MiniMax, Hawk, GA (Tipacer), another Max to finish Ace
Posts: 375
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Something is missing... The mess I would normally make! Great looking shop. Table looks good too. I went with 2 x 6 boards. I've seen others with engineered floor beams. As long as it is straight and solid, good.
Ari, Would one consider table building, airplane building? I'm interested to see just how long it will take an accomplished guy like yourself to build one of the birds.
That is a tight space, but I'm sure shear drive as well as your keen organizational skills will make it work.
Ari, Would one consider table building, airplane building? I'm interested to see just how long it will take an accomplished guy like yourself to build one of the birds.
This is an interesting legal point. I decided to exclude time I spend shopping for parts, tools and materials, either online or offline. I decided to exclude time spent making room for the project--tearing out drywall and 2x4s in the garage. I definitively exclude time I spend reading this forum :=) But things like rib jigs and tables somehow seem in my mind to be more tightly tied to the airplane. In any case, it shouldn't take too many hours to finish, so I don't think it will skew the total time too much :=)
Oh, and calling me an accomplished guy... I'm just starting out.
I was just thinking that someone might just have a 16'+ level workbench already. I am interested in just how accurate the build times are for planing purposes. I would like to build one from scratch after I get the two I'm currently working on together.
As for the accomplished, I was more refering to your expertise in models. After all the JDT website says if you know how to build a model ... I have never built a model airplane before but have apprenticed for years as an a&p wannabe on certified production aircraft. In my book that makes you miles ahead of me at the task at hand.
Built the second table today. Went much quicker second time around! First photo shows tabletop during assembly, after I drilled and deburred the holes and set screws in them, but before I drove them in. Looks kinda like cleco'ed aluminum sheet, doesn't it?
Dennis, thanks for your kind words. For your estimate, just deduct 9.5 hours I took to build my tables from the final total I'll end up with :=) My model building taught me to try to build light, but so far, nothing in my R/C experience prepared me for anything I've had to do on this project. 1/4" square spruce is /very/ heavy wood in my R/C world, and 2x4s? Never once touched those until I started making space in the garage. I'm sure your A&P training will help you immensely, especially closer to the end of the project. What airplanes are you working on?
BTW, on the JDT website, under "Builders' gallery," there is a guy who spent over a thousand hours building his 1100. He says it was so easy because of all his R/C experience... A thousand hours!
Ari, I'm working on a 1400Z and a 1600R. I guess mostly the 1400Z is on hold. I bought the Z @ "100%". after the second trip to get the plane (on the first trip I determined the plane was not in fact airworthy and went to get a trailer) I got it home and now it's disassembled down to about the last stick. Needs too much work to do quickly and I'm ready to go flying. So I bought the 1600R @ 90%. It's really a work of art inside and after spending weeks inspecting and massaging, it was truly over 90%. Some wiring and hardware tweaking and cover the ailerons then paint on ailerons and I will schedule the DAR.
As for the a&p training, it seems to have only added an anal dimension to these projects. For instance to remount the instruments instead of just placing the instruments on plywood marking the holes and cutting them out, I am laying them out as solid models then I will make a program and run the material on the CNC router. I keep wanting to see production type appearances on these machines and it mostly doesn't fit.
In the mean time I have added a tailwheel endorsement to my private ticket to help satisfy my "must fly now" urges.
Your progress looks great. Nothing like a stack of uniform ribs to help keep you fired up. Have you thought about where you will keep the assembled parts while you finish the other large assemblies? I have a similar space restriction and I have resorted to tying up the big parts to the ceiling.
Ari, so far, everything about you and your endevors is very impressive, my hats off to you. If you were to video the process of constructing and assembling the M/M I feel sure you could make a few bucks selling them. You know, an instructional video series. I would be happy to purchase one because I do much better with visual instruction than written instruction. I'm sure there are a lot of potential builders out there that feel the same way. If I had the time and talent, I would do it. Keep up the good work and thanks for all the post, you are an inspriation. Bob
Have you thought about where you will keep the assembled parts while you finish the other large assemblies? I have a similar space restriction and I have resorted to tying up the big parts to the ceiling.
Storage is a problem. In fact, the reason the ribs are sitting on my new shiny worktable is because they have nowhere else to go at the moment. They used to live on the shelf that became legs for the table and are still looking for a home. The ceiling would have been easy, had it not been for all the R/C airplanes that hang from there. There is some unused ceiling space above the desk and washer, so that's probably where the big parts will go. I might be able to fit the fuse under my worktable. It sends shivers through my spine to think about storing /two/ airplanes in this space.
Hey watch it now, I said you inspire me not you complete me!
Space is tight for the two, keep in mind one is mostly back to stock and I won't get back on it until the "R" flies the coup. I hope I'm close on the "R" and I will post pics soon, It seems much more exciting to look at pics of someone building as apposed to someone buying one thats almost complete. I guess you could say I am currently in it for the flying. I think I will find it easier to stay motivated after I already have one flying. I find flying very stress relieving, It's my happy place.
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. BTW, On the tool front, I think you'll find a bandsaw a most valuble item to have. I don't think I could build a thing without it and I belive you'll find the same thing out when you have one. And one other thing, Your a lucky man to have a gal like Irene---better hang on to her! Anyway, good luck and keep us posted.
