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The spar is not hard at all to build. I would even call it easy. It is however very repetitive and time consuming. I managed to do it in about five weekends.

Gaining as much fabrication experience as possible is equally important to me as the fun i will have flying it some day.. so i built the spar and would encourage others to do so. However if you do not enjoy the tedious parts of the build and only want to get to the flying part as soon as possible.. definitely pay the money for a pre-built spar because it is boring!

142YX wrote:The spar is not hard at all to build. I would even call it easy. It is however very repetitive and time consuming. I managed to do it in about five weekends.

Gaining as much fabrication experience as possible is equally important to me as the fun i will have flying it some day.. so i built the spar and would encourage others to do so. However if you do not enjoy the tedious parts of the build and only want to get to the flying part as soon as possible.. definitely pay the money for a pre-built spar because it is boring!

I agree the spar isnt a big deal. Time to build the spar probably depends on available time and available tools. If you have or can borrow and learn how to use a pnuematic rivet gun it will make the job easier than using the hammer and bolt method. My whole plane took 15 months to build and the spars took about 2 weeks of that. I definitely wouldnt bother spending the extra money for spars or angle bits. But I like building as much as flying.
Steve
sonex 892 77 hrs

Sorry guys . I'm not usually the guy who just tries to stir up cr@p . Everybody has there opinion about how they want to build their airplane . I chose the machined parts option but not the spar . Some of the other Sonex builders are going from plans . Bravo !

My comment was only because the spar option was linked to safety , implying that a home built spar is inferior to the factory built one . I did try to temper the comment with a ;) . Maybe I'll use a :D next time !

Sorry to those I offended .

Marc

Thanks for all the opinions guys.I think I have to look at the journey as well as the end product and after reading your comments and 142yx(sorry don't know your name,I checked all your posts and you never sign your name so you will be 142YX for now ;) )in particular I thought

Gaining as much fabrication experience as possible is equally important to me as the fun i will have flying it some day.. so i built the spar and would encourage others to do so/

Yeah I guess that's me.I enjoy going to my shop every day and pounding rivets may be a bit boring but so is TV.Granted I will take another 1/2 year to complete it but I still rent a plane at least once a month .
I guess I also like saving the $4400 + tax =$4972. :D That 42 hours of rental on a 150,just don't tell my wife where I got the extra money.
Marc I don't think anyone was offended .Thats what those smileys are for .Just be wary if you ever get one of these :evil:
Cheers' :D
Mike

GOIX wrote:My comment was only because the spar option was linked to safety , implying that a home built spar is inferior to the factory built one . I did try to temper the comment with a ;) . Maybe I'll use a :D next time !

Sorry to those I offended .

Marc

Not offended Marc, just gave a friendly eyeroll. I only meant that the spar from the factory I would *know* is correct. I could build them, and my confidence in them would be very high. But the factory spars I would know are correct to specs. However, that's NOT the reason I will buy them. It's the saved time, and not having to mess with the solid rivets that is my real reason. I'm just lazy at heart. :lol:

sonex892 wrote:..If you have or can borrow and learn how to use a pnuematic rivet gun it will make the job easier than using the hammer and bolt method...

Agree, and i recomend that everyone do this. You can buy one for less than $200 and learn to use it in less than an hour. That hammer and bolt method is insanity, in my opinion.

I already had a cheap HF pnuematic air hammer ($20) that came with various chisels and tips. I bought a rivet tip from ACS ($6) and drove a couple dozen practice rivets to figure out the correct pressure and technique. I can now confidently drive a solid rivet as well or better than the hand method. Not sure why a $200 rivet gun would be much better.

Oh and for bucking bars? I already had a set of autobody dollies that work great for bucking bars. Again HF, probably $10.

I'm resurrecting this old thread as it's still relevant. I'm nearly done making my spars and thought I could offer some insight.

I used a combination of riveting methods (hammer/bolt, rivet set, back rivet set) and by the end pretty much decided that the hammer and bolt method is best for flush and hard-to-access rivets, and a harbor freight air hammer with a rivet set will handle most of the rest. The back rivet set might actually be the best of them all, if only my $15 HF air hammer had more power at 90psi.

I have 65 hours of work into my main spars (this includes about 15 hours of angle component fabrication, subtract that if you have pre-machined upgrade.), and have about 120 rivets to go (probably 3-4 more hours). So all told, I personally would say the pre-built option saves 70 hours and a LOT of mundane grunt work. The spars were the least "fun" to build for me yet, but honestly no less satisfying to complete. The solid riveting itself has been less than 15 hours, but it's definitely the most taxing work.

Here is my blog post detailing my work on the right spar, and includes a fun time-lapse video. This should give an idea of what is involved in the spars.

http://www.rynoth.com/wordpress/waiex/2 ... pse-video/

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