Date:	12-7-2006
Number of Hours:	0.00
Brief Description:	Aircraft Construction Reference Books & Videos
This will sound strange but when I was beginning to seriously consider building an experimental aircraft, I chose two possible kit candidates and they were at opposite ends of the spectrum. The first kit was, of course, the RV-8 but the second was from a lesser known manufacturer specializing in WWI replica fighters. The company was Airdrome Aeroplanes located in Holden, Missouri. I was particularly interested in their full-size Nieuport 28 kit married to a Rotec R-3600 (cubic centimeters, not inches) radial engine produced by a company in Australia. The construction of this kit was primarily aluminum tube covered in fabric. The aluminum frame was fastened together using blind riveted aluminum gussets. As I said, the Nieuport was about as far removed form the RV-8 as possible. As part of my due diligence, I purchased a number of books and videos on different types of aircraft construction. Some of the topics I studied had little or no application to either the RV-8 or the Nieuport. However, being a restoration tour guide at the National Museum of the USAF, none of the information I gathered was wasted. I acquired books and/or videos on wood construction, welding, fabric, painting and composites. All the materials shown in the attached images were purchased from the EAA Bookstore. I found them all interesting and helpful in my decision process. In the final analysis, I decided a two-seat day/night VFR aircraft capable of limited aerobatics made more sense for my purposes.