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Dan, no problem on the individual response. However, I figured others may
want to know as well, so I'm also posting this back to the list.
BY ALL MEANS, BRING A (only one) HELPER! There is no way you can stay on
schedule with only one of you, plus, you can actually get ahead with two of
you! Seriously, more than 2 of you will get in the way. 2 and you each can
be doing a separate task.
Plan your work day accordingly.
- If you check ahead, there is usually someone at the Lancair facilities at
7am, so make sure you show up early and work from 7a to 5p instead of the
published 8 to 5. You'll be working by yourself, but there are a million
things you can do, prep, ready, etc, before regular hours.
- The crew will come in at 8, work till, 10, take a 10 min break, work till
noon, take lunch for an hour, work till 3, take a 10 min break, and work
till 5. The place evaporates at 5p, no more work after 5. Bring your
camera and take pictures at each break, during lunch and after 5. I just
couldn't seem to get many in while working, you'll be very busy then.
Work the weekends.
- If you check ahead each week, you can usually work each Saturday as well.
I was there for 4 weeks and with the exception of the week that I went to
the Reno air races, I worked every Saturday and all day on those days. You
won't have a lancair crew (actually, you may, mine worked with me one Sat
morning), but you can do lots of little catch-up, or get ahead jobs
Be frugal, but plan ahead.
- Remember, you are using "the shops" glass, epoxy, sand paper, etc. This
means you need to be frugal, but also means, that you should use it to get
all those things done that you don't want to do or can't do easily when back
at home.
- Lancair has lots of "molds" and templates that you'll want to make or use
while there (ask your foreman, if you don't learn quickly where they are)
Example. - AHRS shelf, if you are going with an AHRS, you'll need to get the
template, make the shelf and then do a 6 or 8 bid lay-up on a 2x4 for the L
brackets that hold it. There is also a specific place where it goes in the
fuz. Also there is a mold for the seatback cross arm that people use to put
in their headset jacks, oxy controllers, etc. Use the MOLDS and materials
while there. Think ahead to anything that you'll be doing that you can
lay-up or mold while there. Other examples - bracket for ELT antenna (most
are putting behind the copilot seat on a simple L bracket), bracket for the
rain seal pump... Etc.
Use catch-up time.
- We went to the store and bought sandwich stuff to make lunches with and
brought our lunch everyday, that way, we could eat in 20 mins and go back
and do some more catch-up work.
If this is your first kit, do some web research of the process of working
with epoxy and fiberglass, learning or understanding the basics will speed
up the initial learning process.
While there make sure you do the following.
- once you start building, set down with your "foreman" and make sure he
understands that you've not done this before, that you'd like to learn
quickly and that you expect that he and his team will show you how it's done
by explanation as well as demonstration. Make sure they slow down for the
first half a day, and provide you with good explanations. You'll cover most
of the building processes in that first day.
- each day, go over the weeks "check off list" with your "foreman" to verify
that you are on schedule, behind, or ahead and workout the options to
remedy. If ahead, work to pickoff a few other items that are easily
accomplished.
Lastly, hope like heck that there is another Legacy doing thru the process
in front of you. In other words, that's actively being worked on, but is
ahead of you.... Examples of work, saved us sooooo much time...
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any further questions.
Alan
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Subject: lancair build assist
Hope you don't mind an individual response. Saw your post and since I am
planning on going out for 3 wks to start on a legacy RG in March, wanted to
ask a few questions.
Did you go alone or bring a helper? Do you think a helper is needed or
desirable. Any tips or of doing things etc. ANy thing else you think is
worth passing on would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Dan Ballin
34 Wyman St.
Medford, MA 02155
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781-866-1455
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