Shopping

Last two weeks I’ve been browsing online trying to make a decision on air compressor and tool kit. It’s a hard decision since these are some of the most expensive items other than the airplane kit itself. So I definitely don’t want to regret my choice later.

Air Compressor

For air compressor, from I have learned reading other builders’ blog I know the compressor should have large volume and oil lubricated(less noise). Many people on vansairforce forum really went for the largest volume putting 80 Gal stationary air compressor in their garage. A few people on the forum said they had finished their plane(sometimes more than one airplane) with some smaller size compressor. Van’s Aircraft recommends 20 Gal or above in their plan. Another complicating factor is that smaller size compressor (30 Gal or less) usually run on 120V while larger size compressor only run on 220V. Normal household garage does not have 220V outlet, nor does many of the airport hangars. To keep things simple, I decided that I want something like a 30 Gal portable compressor. It’s essentially the biggest volume that can still be run on the normal 110-125V outlet. Choosing brand and model also took me quite sometime. It’s not like buying a electronic with only 5 star reviews on Amazon. For whatever reason when it comes to air compressors there are mixed reviews about pretty much every brand and every model. I eventually decided on Husky 30 Gal. 155 psi Ultra-Quiet Portable Electric Air Compressor based on the reviews that it’s one of the quietest compressor out there. It’s does not break the bank like an Industrial Air compressor, but it’s probably better than the cheapest Harbor Freight compressors. It’s delivered this Saturday but I don’t have air hose nor any tool to test run the compressor and checkout its quality yet. For now I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Tool Kit

Preparing all those tools required building an airplane is quite daunting for a first time builder. Van’s page lists most of the required tools. The very first time I saw this page, I didn’t recognize at least half of the tool names and I didn’t own a single piece of the required tools. The tool recognition situation got better after reading a few books and attending Synergy Air’s builder class to actually use some of them. But still, I don’t own any airplane tool so buying a kit seems like a good idea then collecting them individually from different sources one by one.

Choosing a toolkit is actually a lot easier than choosing a compressor. There are only a few well known and reputable sources selling toolkit for Van’s RVs. I started with looking at Aircraft Spruce’s tool kit simply because its name, but I soon discovered a company called Isham, Inc that is offering a much better deal on the tool kit. Isham toolkit is more expensive, but it includes some very desirable tools such as the pneumatic squeezer and DRDT-2 dimpler(I learned how useful they are during the Synergy Air class). Overall I feel like higher quality is more important than saving a few hundred bucks, considering that I’m going to spend 2000 hours using them. I searched those tool kits on VansAirforce forum and I haven’t seen a single bad review about Isham toolkit. So I went ahead and order the Isham toolkit, with most of their upgrade options, too.

Tool Cart

Considering the amount of tools I’m going to have, I decided to buy a tool cart to organize the tools. A quick search online shows that Harbor Freight has a U.S. General 30 in. 5 Drawer Mechanic’s Cart that sells for $199(shipping cost additional $99), but Home Depot has Husky 33 in. 4-Drawer Mechanics Tool Cart for only $179(shipping cost $55). When Home Depot is cheaper than Harbor Freight, it’s almost no brainer to go with Home Depot. So I bought the tool cart from Home Depot. I received the tool cart before this weekend and spent less than 2 hours putting it together. It looks like a very nice and sturdy cart!

Personal Preparation

On my personal preparation, in terms of knowledge and skills, I did the following things in the past two weeks.

• Finished reading Sheet Metal Building Basics by Jack Dueck
• Started reading Standard Aircraft Handbook by Larry Reithmaier and Ron Sterkenburg
• Started reading Vans RV-7 Preview Plan Chapter 5
• Ordered  BK Bingelis Sportplane 4 book bundle
• Ordered Van’s practice kit and practice box, and additional aluminum sheet and strip and rivets for riveting practice once I get my Isham Tool Kit. Planning to practice on about 1000 rivets before bucking one into the tail kit.