Bradys' Project

[Joe LaMantia]

Hey Brady!.

I really enjoyed the "I have a secret" piece in this month's Sport Av. It's a logical follow up on your learning to fly series and fits perfectly into the EAA culture! I have a son who is about your age and does spend a lot of time on "face book". He recently bought a motorcycle so he is getting "off-line" and actually enjoying the sunshine! While I have never built an aircraft I can see how addictive a project like that can become. You have the right attitude by understanding that it is a long term effort that is made up of many little tasks or sub-projects. I look forward to reading your progress reports and maybe you can do some videos as well. This is how EAA brings a new generation of "wing nuts" into the fold!

Good luck on the build!

Joe

http://eaaforums.org/images/icons/goggles.gif

[Brady Lane]

Thanks Joe for the encouraging words! We're not even through with the wings yet and it's already been very rewarding.

We'll be working on the wing ribs tonight and welcome you to come watch the live video stream. There's a chat room we monitor as we work so be sure to say hi. Chad Jensen, EAA's new Homebuilding Community Manager, will also be joining us tonight if you're able to stop in.

http://dreambuildfly.com/watch-live/

If you can't make it tonight, we stream live video every Tuesday :: 6:30-9pm (Central). As you said, we're definitely having fun becoming "wing nuts."

[Frank Giger]

Pretty cool to watch them work.

Everything is waaayyy too clean and waaaayyy to organized for me, though.

[edit]

Oh, I registered on the live video site as "Frank_Nieuport."

And did you want feedback about stuff we saw here?

[Chad Jensen]

Were you able to hear us saying hi to you Frank?

I enjoyed the build session!

[Eric Witherspoon]

One interesting idea I get from this is the establishment of a scheduled build time. My build time has been pretty random to this point, so it's too easy to "go out to dinner", "go take the kids to grandma's", or sign up for this or that evening activity... I'll have to think on this and see if there's a time I can specifically set aside... Some might think - well, then it's just another job, not a hobby - but it's not a hobby if you never get to it!

[Frank Giger]

Yep, heard y'all fine!

Eric, there are two things I found that have moved my own build along:

1) Schedule time for it, and treat it seriously. Heck, I fence of time for flying, for cutting the grass, for going to the shooting range...why not for building.
2) Do a little every day. Some days it may just be reviewing plans and thinking about how to procede or cleaning a tool, but try to do a little something!

Brady:

I sort of cringed when you fussed a bit about something not being perfect. I know a guy that started a project very similar to mine two months before I got started and I'm lightyears ahead of him because of perfectionitis. Safe and within tolerances ("Gooder Enough") is the standard, particularly on internal parts. Nobody will ever see if a rib flange is slightly unsymetrical, and so long as the right amount is put around the hole to ensure durability there is no reason not to use the part.

Tiny imperfections in a build are like the thumb smudges in an artist's painting; they're your personal signature, proof of your hand building an aircraft rather than some automated machine process.

Anyhow, I've got fuselage on gear, tail feathers, turtle deck done and I'm moving to wings while he's still working on gear legs and experimenting with tailwheel designs. I think by the time he's done he'll of built three airplane's worth of parts.

Once it's done he'll most likely get awards and accolades for the perfectionism, while my poor little plane will most likely get grins and probably a head shake or two.* But I'll be flying mine for several years before his is finished, and that's worth it to me.

* The builder's group I belong to look to my craftsmanship as the standard that allows for others to be judged excellent. Everything fits and is within tolerances - it's a safe build - but it's not always the prettiest. ;)

I also would have gotten a piece of dowel and broke it over my knee out of view while you were pressing that last flange. I would bet a new record in vertical jumping would have been set.

[C 172 Pilot]

Hi Brady,
Great to talk with you on Tues nights. Some times the keyboad chat isn't watched to closely. And that's OK too!

I've had a hard time getting online on Tuesday nights lately. Work and family... always something. Keep plugging away.

Parts do make airplanes fly!

Mike
C 172 Pilot

[Jim Hann]

I have to be at work at 2200 CT on Tuesday night but I have got to figure out how to watch you guys live!

Jim

[Joe LaMantia]

Hi Brady!,
I just got back from a 3-week road trip which included a week in Tucson, AZ having cleaned up about a 150 e-mails and a pile of junk mail I'm now back reviewing what I missed on Osh 365. I had a feeling you guys at HQ were going to do a video series, and I will check-in next Tuesday at 7:30 Eastern and say hello!

Joe
:cool:

[Jim Hann]

It's Tuesday again! I'll try to be there guys!

Jim
aka CavalierJim

[Joe LaMantia]

Hi Brady,
I signed on last night as "Prophead" and enjoyed the rib flattening along with all the jokes and laughs. This project may take longer then you'd like but who cares as long as your having fun. I went on the Bearhawk website and got some basic info on your project, which looks like a really useful aircraft to own and fly. I took the SportAir intro course at Oshkosh way back in the 90's with Ron Alexander and found the tube and fabric construction to be the most builder friendly method. You guys may motivate me to actually clean my basement and set-up a workshop!

Joe
:cool:

[Frank Giger]

Gonna try and drop in on Tuesday - always a good source of tips on building, and it really demonstrates that "making plane" is a labor of love and fun.