u/Fair-Pilot-8847 — reddlx

The empennage kit just showed up at the shop — RV-15 build Episode 18 is live

After spending a good chunk of the build deep in wings, it's a little surreal to have a whole new box sitting in the garage.

Episode 18 is the empennage unboxing — unloading it, doing the full parts inventory, getting eyes on the major components, and a preview of what the tail build is actually going to look like. No major disasters to report. Yet.

If you've gone through a tailkit arrival yourself, I'd genuinely love to hear what surprised you most when you got into it. And if you're earlier in your research phase like I was not that long ago, hopefully this gives you a good look at what to expect.

[Video linked in comments]

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u/Fair-Pilot-8847 — 21 hours ago

▲ 6 r/DIY

I run a YouTube channel where I’m documenting a full scratch-style build of a Van’s RV-15 — basically taking a pile of parts and turning it into a real, flyable airplane.
I know most people in here aren’t “airplane builders,” but at the core this is just a big DIY project… just with tighter tolerances and higher consequences if you mess something up.

The channel covers a lot of the same stuff you’d see in other builds:

Figuring things out from plans that aren’t always perfect
Tooling setups, workbench design, and workflow
Fixing mistakes (there are plenty)
Breaking big, overwhelming projects into manageable steps

Learning skills as I go (metal work, riveting, wiring, etc.)
Recent episodes have been focused on building out the wings — ribs, wiring, control systems, and now getting into skinning them, which is where it really starts to look like something.

If you’re into building anything—cars, furniture, shops, whatever—you’ll probably recognize the process, even if the end product is a little different.

Here’s the channel if you want to check it out:
👉 https://youtube.com/@airspeedacres?si=KudWaX51JKfn5phz

Curious what other long-term DIY projects people here are working on too.

u/Fair-Pilot-8847 — 18 days ago

▲ 36 r/homebuilt

Been documenting my RV-15 build since the wing kit arrived. Just got to the point where the wing skins start going on and it finally looks like a wing instead of a pile of ribs.

Full episode here if anyone’s into homebuilt content:

https://youtu.be/nDvFI8bGSmc?si=L1llN6gU2R6EYDuH

Happy to answer questions about the kit, build time so far, or anything tooling-related.

u/Fair-Pilot-8847 — 20 days ago