N462AK Reserved!

1-30-2010 - Reserved my "N" number last night, N462AK. This will be my aircraft registration number when I finally get everything put together and it becomes an airplane. This is just one of the many fun things that you get to do when you decide to build your own airplane in the USA. This also becomes the call sign that I will use when contacting air traffic control when broadcasting my intentions to other aircraft over the radio, and I can't wait to start using it over the airwaves! Using the aviation phonetic alphabet, which all pilots must learn and understand, the call sign becomes "November 462 Alpha Kilo." The abbreviated version, which can be used after initial contact has been established, will be "2 Alpha Kilo"

The fun part about all this is that the FAA allows you to reserve an N number for as long as you like, if you keep renewing it for $10.00 each year. As long as it is reserved, nobody else can register an aircraft of any type in the USA with this same N number. They also allow you to personalize it somewhat, keeping within certain requirements of course.

So why did I choose this combination of numbers and letters. First off, the FAA allows up to 5 characters for every N number. The "N" is the ICAO registration designation for all U.S. registered aircraft, large or small, and regardless of type or purpose, so that is already decided for you. The remaining 5 characters can be a combination of letters and numbers, but only the last two can be alpha characters. The first three must be numbers. So, just as most other pilots do when they build their own airplanes, some sort of personal meaning is almost always associated with the numbers and letters chosen for the call sign, and my case is no different.

462 is the month and year I was born (April 1962), but this number also breaks down into some other interesting personalized tidbits. 462 is also a combination of the following: the number of members in my family(4), my favorite number, and the number of family members I grew up with (6), and the number of children I have (2), followed by the initial of each of their first names - "A" for Adam and "K" for Kyle. Many pilots tack on their first and last initials to the end of the N number, but in my case, the use of letters that contain 3 syllables in the phonetic equivalent just did not sound very good to me. "Bravo Romeo" for my initials BR just does not roll off the tongue very well in my opinion, so I gave up on that idea.

Most airplane builders pay homage to their families in one way or another, either in appreciation of the sacrifices they all make while you slave away at this rather monstrous and expensive project, or because of their assistance in helping to build it. I am happy to say that I have the pleasure of experiencing both of these wonderful things, so it is only fitting that they be recognized.

So what about the wife, you may ask? She is definitely a contributor to the project, and she will most certainly be recognized. She gets the honor of the aircraft name and the nose art when the time comes, which is much more prestigious than anything that the N number has to offer. Since my airplane's paint scheme will be a mock up of a P-51D WWII fighter, it is only fitting that it contains the same type of character and personalization that so many American aviators gave to their aircraft by personalizing it with the names of their wives or the "girl back home" during WWII. I certainly intend to keep with this tradition, but, as I said in an earlier post, the name and the nose art will remain a secret until "she" is ready to take to the skies.

Another reason for reserving the N number is so that you can obtain an insurance quote for something called Builders Risk Insurance. This provides coverage to the airplane or airplane parts while they are under construction in the home or garage, which is typically excluded from a normal home owner's insurance policy. While I hate spending time thinking about all the bad things that might happen during the build, with the wing kit on order and the empennage well under way, it is time for me to think about protecting my interests in the project. I will write more about insurance later on.

So, in summary, I had struggled with what N number to choose for my airplane for quite some time, not quite knowing exactly how to personalize it, or if the number I chose would even be available or not. I was amazed at how everything just kind of fell into place when I opend the FAA website to reserve the N number, and how I was able to personalize it in several different ways, using the same numbers and letters. Well........ none of this matters until " she" is built, so back to the build!

This is experimental 462 alpha kilo - - OUT! (HOW COOL IS THAT!!)

HS skins both dimpled, and Wing kit ordered

Finally got the HS skins dimpled. Now all I need to do is a little edge deburring and double checking of all flanges to ensure they are 90 degrees to the web, and then I get to watch the thermometer to see when it might reach 55 degrees or more so I can prime everything and finally start slamming some serious rivets.

On another note, I decided to try to save a little cash by spending a whole bunch more. :) Van's announced that they will be raising their prices effective February 1, 2010, so I decided to go ahead and order my Wing kit for the RV 8 as of 1-22-2010. With an 8 week shipping delay that gives me until mid March to get the rest of my empennage done, which I most definitely plan to do. I am trying to keep my building times to 6 months for each major construction phase.

Gee, I also need to build the Wing jigs, build the wing cradles, make some more room in the garage, etc. etc. Guess I better get busy, huh! Spring is just around the corner after all.

It has been a while..... HS skins dimpled - a few dings also fixed

Wow. No posts since Thanksgiving. Can that be right? I think that was the time that Denver went into a deep freeze (again), and I crawled inside and waited for it to warm up again. Even the little heater I bought for the garage can't compete with -9 degrees. Well, I am happy to say that the project is still alive, and I have been back at it again, dimpling the skins on my new C frame table.

In fact, I already made two boo boos and had to correct both of them. I learned that moving large sheets of aluminum in a confined space and trying to keep the hole inserted over the male dimple die in the C frame can sometimes be a difficult thing to do by yourself. The end result was the creation of or attempted creation of a dimple where there was no hole, because the skin slipped out right as I was about to smack the ram with the hammer. An extra set of hands is very helpful during this dimpling process.

A back rivet set and metal back plate worked really well, and I was able to smash the unwanted protrusion back into place. A bit of smoothing with scotch brite pad or some sand paper and all is well. Then I had to apply the same fix to a small crease that appeared after the mallet missed the ram and landed on its edge and caused a small crease in the skin. The same fix pounded the crease right out, and now you can hardly tell it was there.

These ocassional mess-ups are all part of the learning process, and they happen to just about everyone involved in building an airplane. You just have to keep moving forward and be prepared to resolve the problems along the way.

So the quick status is that the left HS skin is almost completely dimpled, and this weekend I hope to have the right side skin dimpled, and all edges smoothed and deburred, and the parts cleaned with acetone, so that I can prime them (when the weather gets warm enough), and finally start driving rivets to create the horizontal stabilizer. I find myself dreaming about Oshkosh 2010 during all this cold weather. Still have lots of great memories of my first experience there last year. More pics will follow.