David's RV-10 Build

Just another RV-10 builders log

Category: Uncategorized

Organization & Review

18) Fuel Tanks, 20) Bottom Wing Skins, Uncategorized
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I wasn’t really sure where I was going to start today. I ended up doing some organization and tried to put some inserts into my binders to help me easily find where I could find the different sections in the plans, but those inserts were too small so that idea got scratched pretty quick.

After that I decided that I was going to start looking over the fuel tanks to see what needed to be done and find all the parts. I ended up pulling the plastic off of one of the tanks and discovered that there were some massive gouges and some dents in the tank that I wasn’t too thrilled about. I ended up trying to figure out how much it would cost to get some new skins and just saw that Vans is now selling a pre-built tank option. While it’s pricey, I might as well just do it because I would be able to get past this step and really just move it forward with this project.

After I did that I started to clean off my left wing and ended up blowing a whole bunch of dust out. It actually made a dust cloud in my warehouse. I then started looking to see what I needed to do to start getting the skins on. I ended up riveting one of the mounting brackets for the pitot static mount, did some more research, got that done, hung the skins back onto the wing, and decided to call it a day.

During my research I discovered that there were some service letters that talk about replacing parts so now I go see if there are additional kits that I missed when I was ordering service bulletin parts the other day and get those ordered. While doing that I also looked into purchasing the engine and the prop since there’s apparently some lead time on that. That sounds like a problem for tomorrow to figure out.

Project Update

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It’s been a while. If you look back at my last post on this site, the last real update is old enough that I’d rather not put a number on it. So let’s just say life happened, a lot of it and leave the gap to your imagination.

Here’s the headline though: I still have the project. The RV-10 never went anywhere. It’s been sitting patiently, waiting, while the rest of my life turned into one long series of plot twists. And I’m finally getting back into it.

So let me catch you up on the detour.

Somewhere in there, I bought a house and walked straight into a remodel I can only describe as a nightmare. The kind where every wall you open up hands you three new problems. It ate time, money, and most of the energy I’d otherwise have spent out in the shop.

In 2018, I bought a Piper Arrow (PA-28R-201). Owning a flying airplane while you’re building one is either the smartest or the dumbest thing you can do, depending on the day but it kept me in the air and kept the dream honest while the RV-10 waited.

In 2020, I bought another house. And, because apparently I don’t learn, I remodeled that one too. About six months after I finally finished it, a hurricane rolled through and flooded the place. All that work, underwater. That one stung.

In 2021, I started another business which is its own full-time adventure and a big part of why the build went quiet.

In 2023, that business had grown enough that I bought a commercial building, twice the size of the one I’d been renting. Good problem to have, but not exactly the kind of thing that frees up your evenings.

And now finally the dust has settled enough that the RV-10 is back at the top of the list. The shop’s sorted (relatively), the business is on solid ground, and I’ve got no more excuses. Time to make some chips and rivets again.

One thing I’m doing differently this time: I’m going to keep the updates regular, and most of them are moving to video. You can follow the build on YouTube at rv10daviid shop sessions, problem-solving, the wins and the inevitable head-scratchers, all of it including other adventures. I’ll keep posting here too, but if you want to ride along in real time, that’s where to find me.

Thanks to everyone who’s stuck around through the radio silence.

David's RV-10 Build © 2015