How long does it take you guys to build a plane?

Hi Bob, good to see you drop in.  Coincidentally, just today I used one of the bits you gave me way back when you were helping kick start my re-entry into the hobby. It was a Fox pressure tap for the tongue muffler on my new Oriental ARF. I got that plane last February and started seriously working on it after the October contest. I am finishing it as we speak. So make that six months for the "Build in an evening" ARF. I maidened it last Tuesday with no cosmetic embellishments like the canopy and decals, makeshift fuel plumbing, etc. but it grooves really well with minor trimming.

Most everyone here knows it takes me an almost ridiculous amount of time to build anything. Sometimes because I'm doing a lot of things I've never tried before, like my first 35 sized build, the Yak-9. The Sterling kit was nearly as old as me so I had to make all new parts. Next was a kit-bashed semi scratch Skyray 35, that I kit turned into my own Flite Streak type design, the Osprey. Aerodynamically it was still a Skyray. But I rushed trimming, never finished and destroyed it in November because I was momentarily stupid. That turned out to be tougher build than I expected, and it took from May til August. Wayne had to fly it for me, as I popped a tendon in my arm cranking it. It took so long because I wanted it to be aerodynamically perfect as my contest plane. But I think my learning curve is leveling off, so the next time I won't have to think so carefully about methods and materials. After all it's nothing different than a big 1/2A profile.

I have plans for a trio of Stuntman 23s, and today I started a list of parts and measurements for them. One is for CEF member Rat9000. I'm going to make two of them Beam mounts, and the other a radial mount for one of the Texas Timers screw-in backplates that mount a Tee Dee, Medallion or Norvel. I am expecting to get this done it a more reasonable time, since nothing is new to me on the Stuntmen. And one of them will mate with one of the MP Jet .061s you gave me. I feel bad that I've never put them to work, so I will remedy that very soon.

I hope you can get some hobby time this summer. Is your daughter interested at all in the toys you play with?

See ya in the funny papers,
Rusty

I have mentioned this before, but only start one project at a time, do something to it every day, even if it's just adding a piece of hardware or a dab of glue. Pretty soon it will be done!

That said I only have one project on the table at the moment.

I've had to learn what Ron said, one project at a time.  The only time I overlap is when I get to the finishing process. There is a lot of drying and curing time where I can start a new project. My problem is when I get about 1/4 of the way through a build I'm already dreaming/planning out the next one. I'm in the middle of a pretty ambitious 1/2a scale build and the corsair I'm going to build for .15 carrier keeps creeping into my mind.

Jim

My answer is, too darn long. Maybe not that long when the actual build time is measured but as "calendar time" from start to the possible finish... Too many things (most of them non-model-aviation-related) going on at the same time and no proper shop space means the "round-tuits" are hard to accumulate.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have a fuselage from the early eighties that I should finish and make a wing for...

I've found that I'm not nearly as attached to second hand planes or ARFs, as with scratch built planes. So you could always stop buying those almost finished things that might not be quite exciting enough for you to finish.

Procrastination/putoffitis is a disease that affects us hobbyist in many ways, albeit unintentionally.

“Well I don’t have the part necessary to complete this model, so I will just start on this new and much more interesting model” which turns out to need a paint that I don’t have on the shelf, so it gets postponed, and it snow balls from there.

I probably have about five unfinished models for the reasons stated. So unlike me, as I tend to be focused on the project at hand. But it’s easy to neglect a present build when another is only an arms length away.

Not so easy with my British sports cars. You just can’t hang them from the garage ceiling and move on to another one so easily.

I am 2 years into a pair of flite streaks. I finally have 1 ready to hang an engine on. I am 6 months into a rebuild of a crashed ARF flite streak. It is in the same state, ready to hang an engine on. The other of the pair has an error I need to fix. Happily not a huge error, but in a critical spot.

I find the basic build goes quickly, and finishing takes FOREVER...

I can also blame part of it on my kids since if a task takes 2 hours of uninterrupted time chances are that's not happening!

Phil

Happy Easter!! Rusty made a good point.. (all these replies are good ones!) An unfamiliar technique or method in building takes more thought/research.. and sometimes; sourcing materials you don't already have or you're not used to working with. Oh yea.. add to this; your availability, your mood (K.S. ) workspace.. Inspiration is a BIGGY for me. It helped me build my CEF Speed Model. There was a contest deadline.. which was the key for me.

Ron's advice I think is the best.. and can create the inspiration. Do "something" every day.. no matter how many builds you've got going. They'll all need engines.. so you can work on them too.. and bench-run, when possible.

I have a horrible problem with finishing models.. the procrastination that Bob speaks of. He makes another good point. Keep only one build "in view".. and stow the others out of sight. I have parts (hdwe., wood, wheels and fuel tanks) that I keep in paper bags; labelled with the names of the model's. The main airframes hang on hooks from the cellar ceiling. The problem is.. mine are mostly all in sight.. and my workspace/shop is too small. I'm organized.. but too much so.. and this translates to OCD... the silent killer.  What's most upsetting to me; is when I can't find something that I need.. when I know I have it.. and "thought" I knew where I put it..

So far 6 Days To O-6 yrs. is about the time frame I have and wasting time doing other stuff that you don't want to do but less thinking involved . The Wrap wing thing lately has really been my falling out ...  this what I am expecting but I do plan to glue something today But need more fire wood , have two mowers I need to fix or look at since Easter is not that big this year being the BOY (16) is in Detention  I would like to end the day with a few Beers  and run some nitro engine on a stand    out but too windy to fly .. I have a calendar maybe bee a an idea to put the start time on for a build and a possible end date ?? sounds good anyway. I could put some dope on that BR firewall I installed last week I think it was ////// Well my 3 hours of CEF reading is over for now Eric

getback wrote:So far 6 Days To O-6 yrs. is about the time frame I have and wasting time doing other stuff that you don't want to do but less thinking involved . The Wrap wing thing lately has really been my falling out ...  this what I am expecting but I do plan to glue something today But need more fire wood , have two mowers I need to fix or look at since Easter is not that big this year being the BOY (16) is in Detention  I would like to end the day with a few Beers  and run some nitro engine on a stand    out but too windy to fly .. I have a calendar maybe bee a an idea to put the start time on for a build and a possible end date ?? sounds good anyway. I could put some dope on that BR firewall I installed last week I think it was   ////// Well my 3 hours of CEF reading is over for now Eric

HA HA!.. another deterrent.. time spent reading through CEF threads! I'm almost ever-present in the on-line list. That's ok... it helps keep what's left of my sanity. Too much great reading/experiences to miss!

I made a recommendation to Lieven (RE: his FF P-40) to try putting trim-tabs on the T/E of the wing. Not that his wing was warped.. but if your BR's wing isn't terrible.. it might be an option. I could be full of crap too.. and I haven't even eaten Easter dinner yet!  

Cribbs74 wrote:I have mentioned this before, but only start one project at a time, do something to it every day, even if it's just adding a piece of hardware or a dab of glue. Pretty soon it will be done!.

Bah!!! If I did that, I'd never have any fun. I get ideas to try, but if I stuck to one until it was finished, I'd forget about the other ideas and they'd never get done. I like to work in parallel, not series. That being said, I'm not a serious builder. I make fun planes to try out ideas, not pretty planes that people "Oooh" and "Ahhh" over at the field, or serious performance planes as I'm not a great pilot. Don't know if that makes me ambitious or lazy. I'll take either. I don't get much flying time. All my free time is at night, so tinkering at my desk is easier than getting out to the field.

So for build times? Two days for one of those coroplast PT-19 Trainers, to 33 years for the Akromaster that's sitting on the desk now.


The 6026.5:1 Mark

AH HA!!  That is a trick question. I've "built" and "flown" one in 2 to 3 minutes  flight streak rubber powered. Others have taken 10 -20 years....in the "building process"....( gentle lady, freedom, Voodoo's, ringmasters and others).  The final finishing process always seems to be made from "unobtainium" from that movie. Like Roddie said having a deadline is paramount to getting something completed, done finished , balanced and maidened. Have not had that happen in a while, but like life, the journey is to be enjoyed as much or more than the destination. So I may not have anything DONE, I certainly have enjoyed my time in not getting it done.    

Oh, and there's that little voice of my wife.." If you didn't spend so much time on the internet....M A Y B E....you could get something done!!

This Def leopard song keeps going round in my head:
He says he got plans for me
"Get your butt right out of bed", Stop buggin' me, "Get up and move your sleepy head"
Don't shake my tree, He said "Mow the lawn" - who me? "Walk the dog" - not my style, man
"Take out the trash" - no way
"Tidy your room" - c'mon get real
Sorry dad, gotta disappear
Let's get the rock out of here

It won't take a minute, it won't take long
So get on in it, come on, come on, come on......let's get Rocked...

Marleysky wrote:AH HA!!  That is a trick question. I've "built" and "flown" one in 2 to 3 minutes  flight streak rubber powered. Others have taken 10 -20 years....in the "building process"....( gentle lady, freedom, Voodoo's, ringmasters and others).  The final finishing process always seems to be made from "unobtainium" from that movie.

Yes, I understand the feeling.  

I've got a kit I bought in my college days in the late 1970's, 36 inch span Airtronics Gere Sport that I haven't started on yet 35 years later. I crashed my Minnie Mambo in 1983, my Q-Tee in 1996, didn't finish repairs to both until about a year and half ago. That is 32 years for the Minnie and 19 for the Q-Tee.

Like Roddie said having a deadline is paramount to getting something completed, done finished , balanced and maidened. Have not had that happen in a while, but like life, the journey is to be enjoyed as much or more than the destination. So I may not have anything DONE, I certainly have enjoyed my time in not getting it done.

You'd make a good motorcyclist.
They say it is the ride, not the journey.

Oh, and there's that little voice of my wife.." If you didn't spend so much time on the internet....M A Y B E....you could get something done!!

She has a point.

Although I truly enjoy this hobby, I succumb to other things to do, and oft they take precedence.

I guess I never really answered the original question. It's kind of hard to answer as it depends on the complexity of the build. The longest I have spent is 8 months and that's the current plane I am working on.

Most planes I have built in weeks or in some cases days. I like to build however, I enjoy flying even more.

I have several models "on the go" at any one time. I find that the "woodwork" takes little time and is progressive. I find that the build is relatively stress free, easy to prepare and plan to carry out in small defined stages.

It is the "finishing" that is time consuming and often, for me, frustrating.

It is easy to correct mistakes during the build but a finishing error - *******!!!!!! - (expletives deleted) usually leads to me putting the model on one side, on a shelf, out of sight.

A prime example of this is the P40 I was building - there was I - only a week left to completion - and the ******* thing warped and blistered. It needs stripping and recovering.

I have put it out of sight to prevent me burning it!

Took me a year and a month to get my ARF Kadet Senior Sport in the air.  Of course, I chopped on the thing as I went along, modifying it to suit me.  But that seems about right for me.







In simpler days, it was a lot easier to quickly crank a project out the door, and into the sky, because I didn't have much of anything else going on.  I'm into a ton more stuff now, so projects get attention when I have the time, and more importantly, the mood.

The latter ingredient is absolutely essential...if I ain't in the mood...I might as well stay out of the shop, since I can easily do more harm than good.

But when I AM in the mood, magic crap happens.  I have noticed a phenomenon I refer to as "The Bending of The Shop Space-Time Continuum".  This occurs when I'm in the zone, and accomplishing amazing feats of building wizardry in moments instead of days.  Tools literally seem to jump into my hands (vrs my searching for them to the point of angry frustration), and a mistakenly selected drill bit turns out to the be the right size after all.

A boy has got to make hay while the sun shines, and so interference from friends or family can be meanly rebuffed...figure I can always apologize later...when the magic is gone.

This is not totally off-topic, since if I hit this zone and 'finishing fever', I've been know to knock out a couple stalled projects in one swipe.

Anyway...my answer to the pertinent post's question is,  "It all depends on the Cosmic Forces"!

New Age Hippie Kim

My dad started this Stunt model in 1968, it's still not done.
I'm into 10 years on this Gieseke Nobler.
I think I built my Tigercat in 4 months for the 2007 VSC, the Staggerwing took several years that i restored. I'm also bad about starting new models and now that R/C ARF's have gotten so prevalent there are now several pof those that are still in the box from several years ago! I have a stalled "ARF build" of a Maxford Swift on one bench and a stack of ARF's in the crawlspace including a Curare, Gilmore Red Lion, Cap 10, Radian and a PBY foamie. Now that i've written this out I know I am pathetic. It took 20 years to restore my MGB, so...
Chris...

Kim wrote:Took me a year and a month to get my ARF Kadet Senior Sport in the air.  Of course, I chopped on the thing as I went along, modifying it to suit me.  But that seems about right for me.



In simpler days, it was a lot easier to quickly crank a project out the door, and into the sky, because I didn't have much of anything else going on.  I'm into a ton more stuff now, so projects get attention when I have the time, and more importantly, the mood.

Nice Kadet Senior, Kim. Prior to the information age and computers, it was a lot easier to get stuff out the door.  

A shortest build was a GP Big Stick 60 less radio and engine given to me by a modeler getting out of the hobby, who was into cars. Got it repaired in about a week or so.

Repair blog is at: RCGroups - Great Planes Big Stik .60 Repairs



Still have yet to fly it, but plan to. This is my first balsa ARF, and I found inherent weaknesses with it needing repair to increase its robustness. That's the difference between a kit build and an ARF.

stuntflyr wrote:It took 20 years to restore my MGB, so... Chris...

That's a really nice MGB, Chris, my kind of horsepower and manoeuvrability; must be a lot of fun to drive.

I've have to say that after reading all these replies I really do believe that I may suffer slightly from some strange abnormality. However, I appear to be in really good company. I understand that between parenting, a relationship, business, home ownership and life, in general, radio control modeling may typically take a back seat; but, it is still something that I enjoy very much. Perhaps, that is why I am questioning why it is taking longer to complete projects now than it did twenty or more years ago. I guess it really doesn't matter. I still enjoy the projects. Of even greater importance, I enjoy the people and companionship way more now, too. Thank you for sharing your flying stories and glimpses into your lives. I have truly enjoyed it.

Well said.

It's your corner of the hobby so whatever makes you happy.

I will admit, to knock out projects like I do requires everything else to take a back seat. That's not always a good thing.

I got an e-mail today from the guy that gave me his wrecked Shoestring several years ago. It said, "Call me when you get this message." I only see him a couple of times a year at our Jackson Flyers meetings, and he's into jets now. The kind that you might mistake for full size when they fly over. He usually asks if I'll let him fly his old Shoestring, so I figured that's what he wanted. Nope.

He said Watt Moore gave him an Oriental ARF at Joe Nall last year and he wanted to know if I would build it for him so he could fly it at this year's Joe Nall... Hah! Sorry man, that's in 4 weeks. I had to decline, but told him I'd ask Wayne. Wayne said Last year! More like 2 years ago, and Watt asked him where it was last year. No way! (Wayne doesn't cuss).

Asking Rusty for a speed build. He said you're supposed to be able to build them in a couple of days. I hated to tell him I was not able to pull that off. To myself, I added, Even if I wanted to. He should have read this thread. I had to ask him what color it was. Red. And Wayne found a red one in his shop he'd forgotten about. EVERYBODY's got a red one in the box like I wanted. I ended up with a yeller one. Oh well, what the hell.

Hey Bob, I'm just glad you're trying to get some building and flying accomplished. Good luck, and let us know how it goes, no matter how slowly.
Take care.
Rusty

1/2a slab type (as a kid) one day max! As an adult (?) forever! When i was flying Q500 two ships over winter months, full painted ukie stunt ship 40-60 hrs. I still got a Magnum with the wing only done, 12+ years. An old wooden sailboat 24 years and holding!

I had to do some thinking but, it looks like it took me 34 years to finish my S1A ringmaster. The trick to finishing it for me was realizing that I hate to paint and cover planes. I quit using silkspan and dope , and I started finishing planes.
Phil