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Kit or ??

Tailpilot

Registered User
Ft. Worth Texas/Anchorage Alaska
I have been lurking for awhile now....and I have gone back and forth between buying a factory cub or building. I am definitely leaning more toward the building because I like the fact of having an experimental and when finish it will be what I want and off the showroom floor.

So.....now for the big question........

After all the research, I would be going with the Javron Kit, that was the plan until the BOSS decided that we need a pool and a boat dock.....there went the money!!! Now my kit will be a more buy as I build, which brings me to my question.......I really want to get started and hate to sit idle for the next year or so waiting for the money tree to start dropping bills. Is it possible or even slightly recommended to start with a fuselage and buy the parts as needed from multiple sources? I defiantly want to stick with the Javron wings so I would need a fuselage that would work with their parts. So basically I would not be buying a kit and instead compiling my own kit and buying as needed.

The plane will be built at home here in Ft. Worth Texas and then eventually moved up to Alaska for the summers. Most of my flying will be up there and wheels with the possibility of future straight floats.

Almost forgot to mention....I have ZERO welding skills so the scratch build is out.
 
you can learn to weld easy... just get a set of bottles and practice... spruce sells practice tubes..... then if you want to get fancy you could buy a tig, but it's not needed

that will keep you busy for a while at low cost
 
The fuselage build and fitting of all the interior components will take the most time so that would be a good component to start with if you're buying one piece at a time. Fitting the panel, boot cowl, firewall, interior; all of that will keep you busy for a good long time. Wings are pretty much assemble and cover so those can come towards the end of the build. This is all given that you're building with off the shelf PA-18 parts that you know will fit together in the end. If you're doing something weird you should definitely have the wings to test fit to the fuse before you get too far.

Mike's right though. If you are on a real budget and have more time than money go buy a gas welder or one of the new excellent chinese TIG welders and start practicing. You'll be amazed at what you can build on the cheap after you learn to weld.
 
A lot depends on your skill level. What's your background? If all your tools fit into a plastic tackle box, you're going to need to hook up with someone that is currently building a project and learn/practice. Also, as you have no welding experience, you'll need to learn that. Even kit built aircraft have welding that needs to be done during construction and for mods that are made.

If you can read plans, can work well with common hand and shop tools, have patience enough to remake 'iffy' parts, and can ask for help, you should be able to build a project. But it ALWAYS takes longer than expected to complete a project.

Web
 
thanks for the quick replies so far....
I have built .....well....started building an rv8 and was completing the wings....I ended up selling the project because we moved onto an airpark and I wanted to buy a plane to start flying.
As far as money goes...my budget isn't too tight, its the initial 50-60gs that I don't have right now.
 
I would defiantly pick up a set of bottles and a torch set and practice welding, you can rent bottles so the torch , hose and regulators would be the only investment and its pretty cheap considering the cost of anything aviation. if you like it you will save a ton of money vs buying a fuselage, if you don't like it at least you can say you tried and your only out a few hundred bucks and you could resell the equipment if you wanted.

one other thing I can think of and this might not apply in the US but in Canada the feds don't really like it when you build a plane by assembling off the shelf parts without building anything unless you buy a kit thats on the list of approved kits, otherwise you have to prove you built 51% of the plane from raw materials. it seems like transport Canada gets most or all of its info for this list from the FAA so I'm guessing you guys have a similar rule but I might be completely wrong so hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.
 
From what I read here,
If I were in your shoes. Buy the fuselage. Plenty to keep you entertained for quite some time. Tail and rigging eat up time.
The fuselage can be just the frame or a fairly complete kit. This being determined by the bank account. Do spend enough time to understand as many variables and options since it is easier if they are done by who you buy it from. Basically get as much welding done by who you buy from.

Then the wings, many times I see builders start with the wings, then they sit. Some time the project gets abandoned when one realizes how much more needs to be done, it can be daunting. There are some variations but none of which make the project grow, to much at least.

You can hold off covering the fuselage till the wings are ready as well. This allows for last minute additions or changes that you had not envisioned earlier.

Engine can come along when just what you want appears be this early or late in the project.
 
If I were in your shoes, I'd buy Larry's project that he listed a day or two ago in a heartbeat. That's a heck of a price for what you're getting. I had to talk myself out of buying it, even though I'm not even needing a project right now. Of course, you'd want to make sure that it wouldn't be a problem meeting the 51% rule.
 
Thank you for all the info and ideas!! I think I have a game plan, famous last words, Im going to look at a factory built 180 cub that has most of the mods done. Im very fascinated by the build and the thought of having a new plane when completed....the wife rather buy and fly. Im still not off the fence from building. I think if I build, I may order the fuselage from jay and then go with the pay as I build route.
 
Thank you for all the info and ideas!! I think I have a game plan, famous last words, Im going to look at a factory built 180 cub that has most of the mods done. Im very fascinated by the build and the thought of having a new plane when completed....the wife rather buy and fly. Im still not off the fence from building. I think if I build, I may order the fuselage from jay and then go with the pay as I build route.

you are not going to save money building one if you are new to this, buy a used one..... or two... for same price.....
 
You have two threads going. Consolidate?

I personally would skip the 180 Cub, unless it is a Carbon Cub. Get a good lightweight 160 Cub, and go easy on the heavy mods.
 
You have two threads going. Consolidate?

I personally would skip the 180 Cub, unless it is a Carbon Cub. Get a good lightweight 160 Cub, and go easy on the heavy mods.

Yes...I realized after posting this that it was not really a project.....yet:lol:
 
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