Thursday, March 22, 2012

RV-12 Tail Feathers Arrive!!!

Today DOG Aviation world headquarters accepted the first shipment of aircraft materials necessary to build the RV-12’s tail feathers and rear fuselage cone section.  

                                              First shipment of RV-12 parts ... the tail feathers arrive!

                                         Great customer service …. The FedEx driver was willing to
                                                 back the big rig down a long narrow driveway right up to the
                                                 DOG Aviation receiving bay. Good company .. great driver!
                                             DOG Aviation founder John keeping a watchful eye on the prize!

                                                   RV-12 empennage parts being wheeled into the receiving
                                                   bay at DOG Aviation assembly plant #1.

                                        CEO John signing bill of lading and taking delivery of the
                                                RV-12 empennage. Take note of how the truck takes up the entire
                                               driveway … watching a skilled big rig driver is a sight to behold!

Today’s delivery, which came earlier than expected, has created a sense of urgency for completing the fabrication of workbenches and power tool stations already in the process of being assembled. It will take a few more days of playing with sawdust before DOG Aviation’s assembly facility #1 will have all the work surfaces, tooling and storage necessary to tackle the RV-12 project.
Major modifications to the standard EAA workbench are under way which, if proven successful, should make it a joy to use for all phases of the build. If the mods work out well, detailed photos will be posted here for those of you that may be interested.

                                              

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

You can never predict the weather with certainty!


Because of concerns with the typical weather patterns in northeast Ohio, back in February when the RV-12 order was placed, Van’s Aircraft was requested to delay shipment of the empennage kit until March 19 to assure a delivery in the midst of spring thaw…. This, as it turns out, was not necessary. The winter temperatures overall have been amazingly mild thus far and March temperatures have been at least ten to fifteen degrees above average. I can still vividly remember local TV weather meteorologists saying “the coming winter is shaping up to be a carbon copy of the previous winter … cold cold temperatures and lots of snow”  I think the batteries were running a little low in their crystal balls. Gee, the empennage could have been almost half done by now.

The last few weeks have not gone totally underutilized at DOG Aviation … there has been a flurry of activity in both the Research and Procurement departments. Research has been busily devising pre-assembly process guidelines along with creating a list of tooling and supplies that will be necessary for assembly of the RV-12.  Procurement has initiated contact with numerous aviation vendors in an effort to contain expenditures while quickly obtaining all the necessary items to begin construction on time.

Vendors which have provided flawless quick service thus far have been Aircraft Spruce, Aircraft Tool Supply, Avery Tools, Brown Aviation Tool Supply, Cleaveland Aircraft Tools, Isham Inc, SkyGeeks and The Yard.

Next on the agenda ... the building of a couple of work benches on wheels. For those of you that may be interested in shop hardware, will post some photos when that task gets under way in the near future.