Let the BUILD begin!

March 15, 2018 – Yesterday after much research and deliberation, I ordered an airplane. An airplane kit to be more exact. A Van’s RV-9A. It shouldn’t take more than let’s say, 5 Years to complete! A completely arbitrary deadline to be sure. I’m not sure what sort of timeframe most builders give themselves but I pick 5 years. I base that on my availability to work on it. You see I’m semi-retired, which means I work a couple a days a week and the rest of the time I basically do nothing. So I work on the weekends as a airport attendant/lineman at KGDJ in Texas. Fly in some time (on the weekends) and I’ll top you off with 100LL or Jet-A! Back to the build – the KIT comes in sections, the empennage is a kit, the wings is a kit, the fuselage is a kit and so on. All purchased separately and ordered when you’ve completed the kit you are currently working on (minus the lead time which is usually 8 weeks). Most builders work regular jobs which means they work on their airplane evenings and weekends. I’ll be working just the opposite, work on the airplane weekdays (8-5) like a regular job. Spend evenings with the wife and work weekends at the airport. So it takes roughly 2000 to 2500 hours to complete the airplane, if I work 40 hours a week that’s in the ballpark of 50 weeks to finish this thing. Sounds overly optimistic doesn’t it? However I do hope to beat the 5 year deadline! Anyway, two crates are headed my way from Oregon and should arrive Wednesday March 21st. Wondering if I should order the wings now, hmm? Pictures to follow when the shipment gets here …..