My dad just returned from flying the S7S dealer demo plane up in Palmer. Looks like we'll be putting an order in for a quick-build kit come Monday morning. Gonna be a 3 - way partnership with a local friend. Hopefully be ready to fly by Summer 2014, provided we get our pre-Oshkosh order in and they can get it out the door. Personally not extremely excited about building my own self but the other 2 are. Should be an experience none the less.

Way to go! Start cleaning out the garage now. I haven't moved an inch on my CH 701 yet but I'm close to getting enough room to build the assembly table.

EB

Best kind of partnership is to have two others willing to do the work.

Best kind of partnership is to have two others willing to do the work.

Tell them you'll do photos and videos to document the 51% rule...... (very important, right?)
That would be my kind of 1/3rd....

I guess I could be the test pilot.

You'll get into it. You won't be able to help yourself.

Excellent choice by the way.

Thanks.

I was pumping lavs today on 2 GII's that come in every year from Nevada and I noticed AVGAS is now $8.90 at our airport. $8.88 for JetA. Glad that Rotax likes car gas.

It is quickly becoming more like a village here every day.

Cash on the barrel-head day. Apparently Randy has a set of wings mostly ready to go so we are 8 weeks from shipment.

I don't plan to bore with the nuts and bolts of build details, but I will be putting up some progress reports, opinions, etc. as things unfold. Rans has an excellent reputation for quality and assistance, I am sure we dummies putting the thing together will put it to the test.

The S7 is an extremely fun plane, and flies like a dream. You're gonna be happy.

Be sure to join the Rans S7 Yahoo group and RANSCLAN.COM. Lots of good info there..
Pete
http://ransclan.com/

Here's the deal on kit built aircraft: even the most well thought out, mature design, with the best factory backup and a professionally configured construction manual, and even with taking full advantage of factory pre-build options, IS STILL A HUGE PROJECT! So....when you are deep into the build, and realize that you must undo steps XYZ, because you misinterpreted steps UVW, and have to order new parts or extra hardware because of your screwup, and because a 4 day national holiday is coming up so even UPS next day won't help, DON'T WHINE ABOUT IT!

Just be damn happy you didn't try and build a design that is not well supported by the factory, has a build manual put together by excellent aircraft builders and designers but high school English dropouts with a little dyslexia thrown in, and when you finally get the latest manual updates it's too late as you already built it, wrong. In other words, it's a big project, suck it up and get it done, just be ready for some frustration, and I guarantee you, you will look at the guys who scratch build from plans with new found awe!

past projects
Rans S-7S
Rans S-7
Titan Tornado
T-Craft rebuild (new wings) restoration
Avid Magnum
Kitfox1
Numerous ultralights

Littlecub wrote:

Best kind of partnership is to have two others willing to do the work.

Tell them you'll do photos and videos to document the 51% rule...... (very important, right?)
That would be my kind of 1/3rd....

If you want to do a good job, you can easily spend hundreds of hours on documentation - POH, AMM inc. approved maint. procedure, Test Flight Plan, not to mention the logs, photos, and records of pre-closure inspections. I reckon we've spent about 250hrs of those between two pilots, I've done 92% of the building with exactly 1600hrs logged, ticked over this weekend, that's in the last 14 months.
So if the best kind of partnership is the one where the other guy does all the building - I guess that makes me the "other guy"

My 2c? Focus on the finished product for inspiration and motivation, focus on just one task at a time for building or you'll come unstuck when the enormity of the project hits home. If you want to fast-track it, you need to plan a few steps ahead to get the parts you need, as some odds and ends will be back ordered.

My best advice: find a way to get into the shop every single day to do even the most trivial detail, like push a broom. Once production momentum is established, don't let it wane, keep it going; tough to regain after protracted absence.

The above two posts sum up nicely how to get through the building process. That's how I got through the RV-4 project and the S6. I didn't try to build an airplane, I would build a rudder pedal attach bracket or a floor panel. Pretty soon you run out of parts and you have sn airplane sitting in your garage.

Luckily, we have an empty hangar with good heat and lights and lots of time come winter.

Should have a serial # tomorrow and plan on ordering the engine also. What prop?

dayooper wrote:My best advice: find a way to get into the shop every single day to do even the most trivial detail, like push a broom. Once production momentum is established, don't let it wane, keep it going; tough to regain after protracted absence.

This is really true - once you "take a night off" as people will encourage you to, it's 10x harder to get started again the next night - especially towards the end.

gbflyer wrote:Luckily, we have an empty hangar with good heat and lights and lots of time come winter.

Should have a serial # tomorrow and plan on ordering the engine also. What prop?

I'd go with a Kiev prop if it were me. Give them a holler and ask what they suggest. Emmet sold me his old Warp Drive prop because he loved his Kiev so much.

Thanks. Is Whirlwind any good?

It's in the truck about 3 hours from Seattle now. Kit production was right on schedule. We waited a couple extra weeks for the new landing gear.

Should be here in a week and a half or so. Better sweep the shop.

I know this is a late response to your question on props but I just noticed this thread so I will give my 2 cents. I was this close " to buying a Kiev but after reading about the wait of getting replacement blades, if needed, I changed directions. I had read an article in KitPlanes magazine about the WHirlwind and figured I would try one since it is made in the good 'ol USA. I definitely pleased with it. Much lighter and smoother running that the Warp Drive. Nothing really wrong witht he Warp though if you plan on being out in the bush a lot. The Warp is one tough bugger!