So, the RV is exactly what you’ve been looking for since
you were drawing on your third grade workbook cover. But now
you have a family of your own, and a job with
responsibility. There are soccer games, household duties and
vacations….time is precious. Spending 1800-2000 hours in
the shop is going to be difficult.
How would you like to hire a team of experienced experts,
with over a thousand completed RV airframes on their resume,
for twenty-five weeks, eight hours a day?
Click on
the photo to view a larger version.
They will build the first half of your kit, jigging and
riveting about 75% of your metal airframe. They will do all
the messy jobs, like sealing the fuel tanks and priming to
protect against corrosion. They never leave a mess, make no
noise, don’t need insurance and never want to use your
bathroom. When they leave, you will have only 800-1200 hours
of work to finish the airplane.
And they work for about eight dollars an hour!
We don’t know anybody like that either, but we can tell
you how to get the result: Order a QuickBuild Kit.
Van’s QuickBuild Kits will cut building time for the
RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A, or
RV-9A by 35-40%. The complete QuickBuild Kit consists of a
Standard Empennage and Finish kit, but the big difference is
that the Wings and Fuselage arrive largely complete! You can
pry open the crate, set the QB fuselage on the floor, toss
in a cushion off the couch, climb in and be making airplane
noises the very first day.
Even though QuickBuild Kits look like complete airframes
when they come out of the box, the FAA has recognized them
as meeting the "51% rule." Almost 1600 QuickBuilds
have been delivered, and hundreds have been completed and
flown in several different countries, including Canada,
Australia and the UK.
Let’s look at a QB kit in more detail.
All RVs are built from the same parts, and all those
parts are manufactured at Van’s factory in Aurora.
QuickBuild Kits are assembled by Bonanza Metalcrafters in
the Philippines, from parts supplied by Van’s. There,
skilled craftsmen bring many years of experience, much of it
repairing and rebuilding complicated military airplanes, to
the job of assembling QB kits. It shows in the quality of
the aircraft delivered to Oregon.
Click
on the photo to view a larger version. 
Each kit is inspected before it leaves
the overseas facility. Several kits at a time are placed in
specially designed shipping cradles, loaded into container,
and put on a ship to Oregon. When a container of QB kits
arrives, each is carefully unloaded and inspected again. The
wings are immediately crated and the fuselage placed on
pallets and stored in a large rack. When it is time to fill
an order, the fuselage is taken down, filled with the parts
and materials to complete the kit and placed in a large
crate. When the truck arrives, both crates are gently loaded
and within a few days a small crew of excited RV builders is
prying the crates apart…carefully!
Opening the smaller crate reveals a set of wings,
completely riveted except for one outboard main skin. The
fuel tanks are complete and pressure tested, the leading
edge is attached and three of the four main skins are flush
riveted. The builder must drill and rivet the one remaining
skin, install the control pushrods and blind rivet the
composite wingtips to the outboard end. The ailerons and
flaps are assembled and attach to the wing with a few bolts
and a hingepin. We estimate that a builder working two hours
an evening and a long Saturday can complete a wing to flight
status in a week.
In the large crate is the fuselage, and it is even more
impressive than the wings. The basic structure is complete,
resulting in something that looks like a rigid, streamlined
aluminum canoe. All the mounting points for the wings, tail
and landing gear are finished, the tailcone skins are
installed, the firewall is complete. The exact details
differ with the aircraft model, but in general, the builder
finishes the inside of the cabin and baggage compartment(s)
and installs the skins just forward and aft of the canopy.
On the side-by-side airplanes, the QuickBuild Kit can be
finished as either a tri-gear or a tailwheel airplane, with
either the tip-up or the sliding canopy. On the RV-8/8A, the
landing gear decision must be made before the kit is
ordered.
After the wings are finished, and the fuselage is nearing
completion, it is time to order the Finish Kit – which is
exactly the same for either the Standard or QuickBuild kits.
How big are the crates?
The QB kits come in BIG crates (see Crate Sizes and
Weights below) so be prepared with lots of help when the
truck arrives.
Do I need more work space for a QB?
You will eventually need the same space as you would with
a Standard Kit, but you need more space sooner. Better get
the garage completely cleaned out before the kit arrives.
Can I have the QB shipped directly to me and save on
shipping charges?
No. International shipping and bonding regulations
require that the assembled QB kits be delivered to Van’s
before delivery to the customer. It may seem silly if the
kit is eventually destined for Australia, for example, but
trying to step outside these regulation results in great
complication and a huge increase in costs. Returning all the
kits to Van’s also allows Van’s to inspect each kit for
shipping damage and assembly quality.
What tools do I need for a QB?
The same tools are used on both the Standard and
QuickBuild kits…they just aren’t used as much on the QB.
Will I need to build jigs for a QB?
No jigs are necessary for the QB wings and fuselage, but
a couple of simple fixtures will be necessary to build the
empennage. Most of these are included in the empennage kit.
Can I use the empennage I started years ago on a QB?
Generally yes, but remember that empennages are specific
to the aircraft …you can’t install an RV-6 empennage on
an RV-7 or RV-8, for instance.
Can I order the QB wings and fuselage separately?
Yes. By definition, the QuickBuild kit
includes a QB wing and fuselage. They are manufactured,
ordered and shipped as a set. However, it is possible to
order either a QuickBuild wing or QuickBuild fuselage kit
and build the other from a Standard kit. This is considered
an option on the Standard Kit.
Can I build my own wings and order a QB fuselage only?
Yes. If you already have a wing kit, the fuselage center
section must be returned to Van’s so your fuselage may be
built around it. If you are intending to order a Fuselage QB
when you order your wing kit, be sure to tell us when you
order the wing kit, so we can keep the center section and
send it along to the QB factory.
After the wings are finished, and the fuselage is nearing
completion, it is time to order the Finish Kit – which is
exactly the same for either the Standard or QuickBuild kits.
