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This web site was
created to document the construction of an RV-7
experimental airplane. The project was
started on April 23, 2002. At that time I
placed an order at Van's Aircraft in Aurora,
Oregon for one of their kit airplanes.
This vehicle comes with "Some
assembly required." I suspect that it will
take several years to complete however, as the Federal Aviation Regulations
(FAR's) say, this project will be for "Recreation
and Education."
Before I go
further with the narration I need to write a
disclaimer.
This
project and this web site were started solely
for my personal enjoyment and to document the
construction of an airplane from a kit, designed and
manufactured by Van's Aircraft in Aurora,
Oregon. If you or anyone you know use any ideas
that were developed at this site, please do so
at your own risk! Improper use of tools,
especially power tools, can
injure you, blind you or cripple you. Materials used to
make paint and primer are hazardous, poisonous
and volatile. Sheet metal has sharp edges and
can severely cut you. I am not
trying to teach you or anyone else how to build
an airplane. I am merely building one of my own and showing
you how I did it.
I originally started
the following narration in Microsoft Word as a
formal printed log with pictures. I wanted
to make it as easy as I could for the DAR who
would ultimately be asked to issue an
"Experimental Airworthiness Certificate" should
I be lucky enough to finish this project.
I converted the log to HTML in early 2005 so that I
could publish it on the Internet.
I had other
motivations for publishing the construction
process. So many
others have published their logs in this fashion
and I have
sucked information from them. I thought that
it was time to give something back. I also
wanted to learn about publishing on the "Web."
That is a part of my "Education" during this
journey.
When the airplane
is finished, it will have the following
description;
-
Aircraft
Manufacturer: Damian H. Weber Sr.
-
Aircraft
Model: Vans RV-7
-
Aircraft
Serial Number: 70827
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FAA
Registration Number: N354MD
In preparation for
this task, I had to
buy a lot of new tools. I had to turn my
garage into a workshop. I had to build a
paint booth so that I had a place to prime
parts.
Speaking of
primer, one of the decisions I had to make very
early in the game was whether or not to prime
all or some of the parts. Knowing that I
have fed my family for the last several years by
making repairs to airplanes with serious
corrosion problems and that the environment of
Southeast Florida is very hard on aluminum in
general and airplanes in particular, the decision was
easy, prime all of the parts. That
reasoning sounds profound, doesn't it? In
reality, I primed the inside of the aircraft for
the same reason that I intend to paint the
exterior, I like the way yellow epoxy polyamide
primer looks. I used
a commercially available primer that has Boeing
Spec "BAC 377" made by DeSoto division
of PRC Sealants, Inc. I also used Sherwin
Williams CMO724400 primer to test it out.
It is available to anyone at one of their
automotive retail outlets. These are
both high quality primers. The DeSoto
primer dries faster so you can use the part
sooner. Both of these primers are two
part epoxy and when they are dry they have the same
qualities as top coat and are corrosion
resistant and fluid resistant. Strong
solvents will not phase them when dry and moisture will not
penetrate them. There are other brands of
good quality primer available. These are
just the ones that I used.
As you are reading
this narrative, you will obviously see some
references to the state of Tennessee. My
wife and I own a small aviation company called
Jet Harbor, Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In
August of 2002, we acquired an FBO (Fixed Base
Operation) in Gallatin Tennessee which is 20 KM
Northeast of Nashville. We took this
entire project up there in August, 2002.
In May, 2003, we brought the Fuselage and Finish
kits back to Florida. I work on the wings
in my spare time in Tennessee and I work on the
fuselage in my spare time in Florida.
Push the links at the
left to get to the other areas of this site.
Note: I did not build the airplane in
chronological order. I did, however, lay
this web site out in the same basic order as the
plans. There are some variations.
When I started the
project, I went step by step exactly as the
plans were laid out. After several months of
progress, I started constructing per the
drawings while using the plans for a reference.
If you are reading this and are contemplating
building one of these, I suggest that you follow
the plans exactly. They are well written
and fairly easy to follow although the deeper
you get into the construction the more they have
a tendency to leave you on your own. By
that time however, you probably will be getting
pretty good at reading drawings.
You will notice that
I have deviated from the plans in a few areas.
Any modifications I make aren't accomplished in
the vein of criticism of the overall design of
this aircraft. They will be done to
personalize this airplane to suit my own taste.
Please enjoy the site
and thanks for dropping by.
Sincerely
Damian H. Weber Sr.
email:
dhweber1@theairplanegarage.com
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