It's been a long time since my last post. I've gone through some interesting times and more than once I thought I'd have to postpone or completely give up my dream of building an airplane. Things have settled down now and the future looks a lot better than it did a few months ago. So what to do next? Easy! Go to the biggest airshow in the world!
Airventure is a wonderful place for an aviation geek. Not only do you get to watch some of the best airshow pilots do their thing, but you get to network with other homebuilders, pick up building tips, attend forums and most importantly, have a ton of fun!
I ended up ordering a complete tool kit for RV-14 builders from Cleaveland Tools. They have a standard 8% discount for buying the complete kit, and I also got an additional $100 off. I'm not sure if that's an Airventure special or you can get it anytime.
My experience with the EAA sheet metal class taught me that good tools are very important and ergonomics even more so. I decided that spending a bit more to get better tools would be worth it. For example, I got a pneumatic clecko gun so I can avoid the repeated install/deinstall of thousands of the little buggers. My hands and forearms got pretty sore after a few dozen of them.
Of course I also replaced the manual squeezer with a pneumatic one for an additional $200. Maybe I'll find that there are some things I need the manual squeezer for, but for now I'll go pneumatic.
I also swapped out the Sioux 6000 RPM palm drill for a Nova 4000 RPM model. I tried both of them at the show and the Nova just felt better in my hand and seemed to operate smoother. It was $100 cheaper than the Sioux to boot!
Instead of the standard C-frame impact dimpling tool, I upgraded to the DRDT-2 press dimpler. It's easier to use and I think a bit more controllable for single person operation.
Next my attention turns to the garage for some upgrade work and preparation for the empennage kit. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!
