This post covers the timeline between purchasing the kit in November of 2024 and start of the build.
First Landed Part!
The exhaust (from Custom Aircraft Parts) was the very first item to arrive.
My New Friend Keith
I made an introduction on the RV10 Facebook group and had started to socialize that I had started the project. I’m not sure which Facebook group he found me on, but my now-friend Keith reached out with an offer to meet up and check out his RV10. Even better, he needed a flight review. OK!!
I met up with Keith at his KOLM hangar. This would be my first time really getting to see an RV10 up close. Keith and I got to know eachother, and knocked out a flight review oral before launching to KTTD for the practical portion. The trip to TTD was multi purpose. We needed some flying to do the practical portion, of course, but we also were going to pick up a part. We meandered our way south doing the FR tasks on my hitlist. Keith showed himself to be a great pilot.
On our way out of TTD, I was in for a surprise. Keith offered to switch seats with me, so I could fly the return trip. WOW, YES PLEASE! Turns out Keith was not only a great pilot, but also had great instruction skills as he talked me through the transition notes for his airplane. Keith’s RV10 really flew nice. The takeoff performance was what I found to be most astounding. I really don’t like to speak ill of my PA28-180, but it is, quite frankly, a porky pig and I dread climbs and short field ops. The RV10 felt like a Mooney++.
Arriving back into OLM, Keith walked me through a landing. Easy! I’m always a little nervous about landing other people’s airplanes, especially exotic/high performance types, but there was no fear warranted for the RV10. A perfectly reasonable touchdown was had by easing off the power, and letting the airplane settle onto the runway while maintaining directional control.
Empennage
It didn’t take long after purchasing the kit for the empennage to be ready. I asked Vans for a ballpark shipping quote and they said $1000. Meh, I could probably do it a little cheaper, and I wanted to see the Vans factory and get a ride in the RV10 demonstrator. I asked Vans for “Will Call” and booked a UHaul.
I am used to driving my Subaru BRZ sports car. I am not used to driving a box truck with no rear visibility. The trip was a little nerve racking, but I did manage to get to Aurora and back, with both crates of parts unharmed and with really minimal trouble. I also got a factory tour and a ride in N410RV.
Pulling up to my hangar at S50, I was hoping I’d be able to extend the loading ramp and then push the crate down onto my hangar floor. That was absolutely not going to happen. I really underestimated how hard it is to move a several hundred lb crate. Luckily, I found some airplane mechanics working in a hangar next door to help me, and between the 3 of us we were able to unload the large crate.
Over the next few days, I completed the inventory with no issues.
Showplanes Composites
In March, the Showplanes cowl + composite tailcone arrived.
Finish Kit
Fast forward to June, the finish kit came ready. I repeated the routine from the empennage kit, though, this time with a UHaul pickup and without the tourist activities at Vans. Arriving back at my hangar, I opened the crate still on the truck and unloaded it part by part. When I was done, I just pushed the empty crate right off the tailgate. Done!
Inventory of the finish kit went much more quickly than the empennage kit. The finish kit has less very small parts, and less very large parts, which means nearly everything is marked with a PN and easily accessible.
RV10 Mods
I ordered a handful of RV10 mods, mostly inspired by community vibes and the fear of long lead times.
- Planearound 3rd latch kit
- Airward tunnel access kit
- Airward reenforced hinge kit
Oshkosh
I’ve known my friend Bill about as long as I’ve lived in Seattle (5 years and counting). As long as I’ve known Bill, we’ve talked about going to Oshkosh together but hadn’t actually ever really committed. With the RV10 build looming, and Bill wanting to also start a new project (something like a Bearhawk?), we had enough motivation to really, actually, finally go to Oshkosh this year.
Bill and I had originally planned to make the trip in his Carbon Cub, but over lunch we realized the trip in the Cub would probably be too long of a slog for either of us to remain enthusiastic, so we opted to switch up to taking Bill’s DA62. With long range, a quiet/comfortable cabin, oxygen, WX radar, TKS FIKI, and the performance to easily climb up high, the DA62 is about the best possible GA XC airplane until you get into the turboprop category.
Bill and I made the trip from BFI to OSH in about 8 hours, arriving just before the arrival window closed at 8:45. This was my first time flying the arrival in a long time, but with WX holding back traffic arriving from the south, we had the high/fast approach all to ourselves making for an especially easy arrivial.
At Oshkosh, I hit up the vendor booths and got to know the community by walking around the RV10 rows in the morning as folks were getting up and socializing. I met a lot of great people who were all very eager to get to know me and show me their airplanes.
