Well, with everything going on at the moment, I lost track of time a bit. I just realized it was over 3 years ago that I took delivery of my Empennage kit and started this journey. I now have all of my “kits” delivered and have enough things to keep me busy for quite a while.
Looking back, it’s crazy to think that I’ve only been flying and building for a few years. I am a bit sad to say that I haven’t been in the air since I flew out to OSH Airventure. With no Sun N Fun and no Airventure this year, I’m gonna need to get some type of a fix once we all are allowed out of the house.
From a schedule perspective, I’m not sure if I’m technically “on-schedule” or not. I may have to go back and re-read some of my earlier posts. My unofficial goal was to finish one kit per year, so I guess I’m a little behind, but I don’t feel like I really that behind. I think I’m about a month or so out for starting the cabin top, which will be a huge milestone for me.
I now have a nice list of items that will need to be purchased (avionics, engine, accessories, etc) and I may have to do some adjustments now that I’m looking at the price tag. I have had some initial conversations with lenders regarding a loan for the engine / avionics, however we’ll have to see how the economy is doing in a few months. I’m also hearing the insurance for RV-10’s specifically is going up a lot. Not really happy to hear that, but not much I can do about that at this point.
In three years, I have met and chatted with a bunch of great builders. I was extremely nervous when I started my project. This was by far the largest project I have ever undertaken and there were so many things I didn’t know or fully understand. I’m extremely glad that I did and thankful for all the encouragement I have received. For anyone that is reading this blog and thinking about building themselves, I would absolutely encourage you do do it too. Vans has done a great job in making this a very easy to learn project and you really don’t need any specific knowledge to follow the plans. Plenty of good information available online should you have questions and the best builder support network possible.
Personally, I’m really proud of all the work I have done and looking forward to what the next year will bring. I just need to spend time updating my log and post some photos / videos.