Drilling holes in the wall for wires

OK, so here is a shot of me "in action" with drill in hand, and wood chips all over me, holding onto the beloved electrical wire. I sure hope that building the airplane is going to be cleaner than this! Not shown is the filth and dust all over my clothes from over 30 years of accumulation since the house was built!

After workshop transformation

And after......

Before and after pics

OK - here are the pics showing the grand transformation. Before .......

Workshop objectives completed

Just to be certain that have actually accomplished some things over the past several weeks, here is a list of the jobs that I set out to complete in the garage before I would be allowed (by my lovely wife) to order my RV 8 tail kit from Van's:

• Add a new 20 amp electrical circuit to isolate the air compressor from the rest of the lights and outlets in the garage - no more dimming lights when the compressor kicks on!
• Added 3 new outlets on the new electrical circuit, and extended 3 more outlets from an existing circuit, all paced strategically above the workbenches.
• Rewired an incorrectly wired three way switch to make it work like a true three way switch ( was actually a 2-way,three-way switch.....too hard to explain!)
• Built 2 seven-foot long work benches
• Added a large utility storage shelf unit - 2ft x 4ft x 6ft tall.
• Put up peg board sections above work benches
• Hung 2 new shop lights above each work bench
• Removed all traces of old aluminum wiring from the garage. There were 2 very long runs of very large aluminum wiring very high in the rafters that had to be removed and replaced with copper wiring.
• Rewired and reposition a phone line.

It may not seem like much, but I am absolutely exhausted right now!

Progress on the Garage, er aeroplane workshop!

Fantom tells me that my blog site has gone stale. He is right! I have been busy working on the workshop for the past 4 weeks. Photos and other comments to follow. Although this is not as exciting as looking at "airplane-in-progress" pics, perhaps some of you can appreciate the fact that having a proper environment with the proper tools and proper organization can make the difference between the completion of a successful project and something that you come to dread as time goes on.

My first ride in an RV 8 - Kick Ass Fun Complements of John Loretz

And here are some pics of a local RV 8 that I actually flew in. It is based at Centennial Airport here in Denver, and it was one of the funnest, shortest flights I have ever had in my life. Did I forget to mention that this airplane is fully aerobatic. 20 minutes on 4-2-2009 is all it took to convince me that this was the plane for me. Many thanks to John for putting the RV grin on my face!

The instrument panel is just as beautiful as the exterior of the aircraft. This one lives out in Georgia and is known as "Miss Sue."

OK, so instead of a bunch of boring pictures of my garage, I decided to include a couple of pics of an actual flying model of the aircraft that I am about to start building, the VANS RV-8. I found this airplane while searching the archives from the Vans Air Force website. The paint scheme and panel layout are very similar to what I hope to build and fly.

5-11-09 Still working on the workshop

Trying out posting some pics of the airplane buiilding work shop in progress....

Here are some of the "before" pics. The primary workshop prep involves the building of two 7 foot long by 30 inch wide work benches with double 3/4" plywood over the frames, and add a new dedicated electrical circuit that will provide outlets for the compressor and all other high power draw tools. The shelf and the old work bench seen here had to be removed to make room for the new work benches and shelving units.

Starting off

So far the only pics I have to share are of the special tools I have ordered, and the makeover that my garage is currently receiving in preparation for all this madness. (Not the most exciting stuff, I know - but when you plan to live a good portion of the next 2-3 years of your life (2000 hours of actual building time) in this environment, you need to make it as comfy and user-friendly as possible.

The changes I am making to the garage include a host of new shelves, two new handmade workbenches, and adding at least one new electrical circuit with sufficient outlets to handle the load of the air compressor and all other tools requiring high electric power draw, such as the electric grinder and sander, etc. I will also be adding additional lighting and some other improvements as I move into building mode.

The airplane I am building is an all metal kit, comprised mostly of aircraft grade aluminum and steel parts. Air tools are used to rivet the parts together. Air drills, rivet guns, and dimpling tools make up the core of tools that are required,but there are many more tools, such as clamps, files, etc. that are also very important to have. As soon as I dig up the pics from another PC I will post them for your viewing pleasure.