Date: Tue, 28 Nov 1995 13:50:54 -0500 From: Jeff Rosson Subject: How best to get started? Hi, all, Well, I think the wife is just about to let me go ahead and start building! (She doesn't know this yet, so no one tell her lest it all be ruined :-) ). I hope to start building over the Christmas break which, here in sunny Florida, should be no problem. So, how do I best get started? Yep, I know I have to order the plans. Nat said he keeps copies lying around so he can get them sent the same day he gets my check. Did this seem to be the case with all of you? Do I need to send a certified check/money order or is my personal check good enough? I understand that the first thing the plans have you do is make a thingamajit to teach the basics of composites, with the real work starting in Chapter 4. Marc Z.'s home page is of great help here, as are the archived files. But, for my first order for materials, what should I get? Wicks (and I suppose Aircraft Spruce and Alexander) have the chapter kits, so is this the best way to get started quickly? Just order the Chapter 4 kit? Of course, I will need some tools, but the archives pretty much explain that, I think. Later on, I suppose, I could do some more comparison shopping and perhaps order material more economically than by complete chapter kits. For now, I just want to get started! The Christmas period offers some great time to get started. So, any advice on the best way to proceed would be appreciated. And now for my obligatory statement about my continued double postings: Well, I called up my Internet provider again today to see how the investigation was going as to why this is occurring. Yep, they hadn't done a thing! But, they promised to check into it. Either Marc Z. and/or the group should be getting a test message from them. Again, sorry for the inconvenience. ______________________________________________________ Jeffrey K. Rosson, P.E., KE4KZ Ph. 407-254-1500 Director of Engineering Fax: 407-259-4122 "Logically, it could work. Also, logically, there are a hundred variables, any one of which could put us in a worse position that we are now in.'" Mr. Spock in "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" From: Marc Zeitlin Date: Tue, 28 Nov 95 17:37:36 EST Subject: How best to get started? (fwd) Jeffrey K. Rosson, P.E., KE4KZ writes: >.......... So, how do I best get started? Yep, I know >I have to order the plans. Nat said he keeps copies lying around so he can >get them sent the same day he gets my check. Did this seem to be the case >with all of you? Do I need to send a certified check/money order or is my >personal check good enough? Personal check was fine, probably took ~2 weeks to get the plans. >........ But, for my first order for materials, what should I get? >Wicks (and I suppose Aircraft Spruce and Alexander) have the chapter kits, >so is this the best way to get started quickly? I buy the chapter kits from Wicks, judiciously checking their material lists against mine, and getting them right about 95% of the time :-). I do this for monetary reasons. I believe that Michael Antares told me at one point that Wicks and Alexanders (and maybe AS) will dicker with you on discounts on large orders, but I've never tried. Depending upon how much money and storage space you have, you could buy the whole thing, just a part of it, or just one chapter at a time. I generally try to purchase the next chapter about 2 weeks before I think I'll need it. I give Brock and the other fringe suppliers a bit more time - apparently Featherlite can take a while. I'm rambling. Get the practice kit from Wicks or AS. Get your tools and epoxy pump. Build a table. Buy the Chapter 4 kit from Wicks. Buy the Chapter 5 kit when the chapter 4 kit arrives. You'll start to get a feel for it, and then you can decide how to spend your money. My $0.02. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Tue, 28 Nov 1995 17:09:24 -0600 From: campbell@ee.umn.edu (faculty S. A. Campbell) Fellow builders, Well I finally did it. I finished Chapter 5. It took almost four months. Why, you ask? It took that long because between the time that I cut the 1/8" masonite forms and the time I mounted them on the jigs, I managed to reverse for and aft ends in my mind. Yes, I put both longerons on backwards, glassed them over, and made all of the buildups on the wrong ends. I discovered it when preparing to make the cuts for the main spar. (Much foul language deleted here, ala Rosemary Woods.) I called Nat, confessed my screwup, and he was very helpful in letting me know what to salvage (almost all of it) and how to rectify the problem. No condesending language, no berating, just helpful suggestions. I only point this out to suggest that other builders do as I now do. Label things: top, bottom, right, left, front, back, etc. A little masking tape and a marking pen can save considerable grief later on. A slightly more careful builder now, Steve Campbell Date: Wed, 29 Nov 1995 09:34:00 -0500 From: Dick.Finn@FNB.sprint.com Subject: Re: Steve Campell writes: ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Author: campbell@ee.umn.edu at INTERNET Date: 11/28/95 6:29 PM I cut the 1/8" masonite forms and the time I mounted them on the jigs, I managed to reverse for and aft ends in my mind. Yes, I put both longerons on backwards, glassed them over, and made all of the buildups on the wrong ends. _________________________________________________ I sent off a suggestion to Marc yesterday that after several mistakes relating to mirror images I started using pencil and paper to draw things out. The plans often show only half the part with the statement that the other half is a mirror image. For example, only one wing is described. Set up seems straight forward but there is significant room for goofing up. Drawing things out in detail has saved me many rebuilds. Dick Finn