Here We Go Again!

It was only a matter of time. Not long after I moved the RV-9A to the airport I started missing it. I really enjoyed having a significant project in the garage that I could sneak away to work on in the evenings. By the time I had finished flying off the test hours on N63MS I was suffering withdrawls. Sure, I could fiddle with the interior or tweak the engine or something, but there's something magical about building.

So, on April 20, 2006 I placed an order for the RV-10 empennage kit. Actually I had briefly contemplated building the RV-10 when I started the -9A. Back then, in the summer of 2003, the RV-10 kit was just being announced. My wife really thought a four-seater would be a better plane for our needs, but I really thought I needed to "get my feet wet" with the smaller RV-9A. Now it's three years later and I'm ready to tackle the bigger and more powerful -10.

An RV-10 is bigger, faster version of the RV-9A. It is non-aerobatic, it has a larger engine, and it can carry four people and a bunch of baggage.

Okay, so let me explain my reasons for building yet another airplane. First, I totally enjoyed the construction of N63MS. It was one of the most rewarding projects I've ever been a part of. The results of my effort is a wonderful airplane that is an absolute joy to fly. What could be better than repeating the process? I enjoyed having the project in the garage and I liked having "something to do" in the evening when everyone else in the family is doing homework or whatever.

If this was the only consideration then I would probably just build another -9A, or maybe go crazy and build a -7. However, my wife is encouraging me to build an airplane big enough to be able to use for family trips. The RV-10 fits that mission just perfectly because not only does it have four seats, it's also quite fast. Faster than the -9A by about 20mph. Fast is good. But from what I understand, the -10 flies much like the smaller RV's.

So, while the first plane was about building a plane that I could fly economically, this plane is all about going places with my wife and kids.

We actually have four kids. Two are in high school and two are eleven. The younger ones are going to be around for a while yet and there will be many family trips that the four of us will be able to make in the RV-10 that we'd never be able to do in the -9A. So, now is the time to get busy on the -10 while I still have excuses.

The kids were also very helpful with the last project and I look forward to the fun we will have building an even bigger airplane than the first.

I'd like to think that the experience I've gained in building the RV-9A will help me with the -10, but I'm sure I'll make just as many mistakes as before. Hopefully they'll be new mistakes and not the same ones as last time.

On the RV-9A there were many critical decisions to make early on in the project. Would it be a taildragger or nosedragger? Would it be a tipup or a slider canopy? Would I install steps? Manual or electric trim? Should I install lights? Are capacitive fuel senders better, or should I go with the floats? Small engine or big? Will I be installing a fixed-pitch or a constant-speed prop? All of these issues that us two-place builders have wrestled with are off the table with the -10.

The RV-10 kit comes in one flavor: Tricycle gear, two doors, IO-540, with a constant-speed prop. There's really no interesting decisions left to make until you get to the interior and instrument panel. Oh, I guess I get to decide if it will be a QuickBuild or slow build, but since I've already said how much I enjoyed building, do you really think I'd do a QuickBuild?