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Moving to hanger

Jcy482

Member
So many of the build logs I have looked at reference time to move to the hanger for assembly. Is there any reason 100% of a 12 couldn't be completed at home since the wings are removable? I know my lifestyle and if it leaves the house, it will never get worked on.
 
So many of the build logs I have looked at reference time to move to the hanger for assembly. Is there any reason 100% of a 12 couldn't be completed at home since the wings are removable? I know my lifestyle and if it leaves the house, it will never get worked on.

No reason at all. You can do everything at home.
 
So many of the build logs I have looked at reference time to move to the hanger for assembly. Is there any reason 100% of a 12 couldn't be completed at home since the wings are removable? I know my lifestyle and if it leaves the house, it will never get worked on.

Doesn't really matter that the wings are removable. Many people build all models of RVs at home. Other benefits, your family will be much more tolerant of you working at home. You can do a 5 minute job, and not have to spend an hour on the road. Do at least one task a day, without fail. All possible at home.
 
Is there any reason 100% of a 12 couldn't be completed at home since the wings are removable?

No ... the 12 can be completely built at home ... in a perfect world. The key question you need to address is do you have the room? You will likely have at least one work bench (I recommend two) along with another power tool bench for a band saw, small drill press, vice and a polisher with a ScotchBrite wheel. You will likely also have a sizeable air compressor for air tools and spraying primer/paint along with wire rack storage shelves for parts. (Side note: All this support stuff takes up room and you likely will need to rearrange the shop a couple of times during the build ... so have everything on wheels).

I quickly ran out of room building in a 18' x18' two car garage ... if building in a three car garage, you will have a much easier time.

After the 12 empennage kit was completed, I was lucky in that the garage had a shed behind it where I could store the completed tail cone assembly. The stabilator was strapped onto the overhead garage rafters and the rudder and vertical stab were placed on deep overhead shelves I built. So far so good.

Once the wings are completed, they need to be placed in a storage rack ... they are long, very long and will completely fill up an entire side wall in the garage. The fuselage gets big quickly and you need access to both sides. At this point if working out of a two car garage you will find yourself constantly needing to walk sideways around the work benches and assemblies .... and you have not yet mated the fuselage to the tail cone. This is the point where a lot of builders (myself included) opt for the hangar at the airport so you have room to complete the build.
 
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A few years ago I was seriously contemplating building a new RV-12. I was going to build it in my 2500 ft^2 walkout basement. Airplane would have been 100% complete including vinyl wrapping and W&B before leaving the basement. Building at home has huge advantages - for one thing, you can wear your bunny slippers...
 
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