What's the stupidest thing you did during the build?

[fastj22]

Subject says it all.

Mine was drilling a clean hole through my index finger holding two parts together. Followed by a rising panic fumbling through the hanger looking for the first aid kit and leaving a nice blood trail showing everywhere I looked.

[Bryan Cotton]

Mangling the holes on the hockey stick. That cost me a lot of time to redo.

[N111YX]

Most stupid during build - measuring a flap rib location incorrectly by 1/4 inch. The postage cost more than the flap if I remember correctly

Most expensive- drilling the landing gear three times to get the wheel alignment right

Most stupid after flying - not fully opening a hangar door and stripping my comm antenna off the turtledeck while pulling out of a hangar

Most stupid during taxi- total canopy destruction because of wind

Most stupid in flight - landing with a strong crosswind near dark in rain with lightning and storms all around with no suitable alternates nearby

I just won another "Best Homebuilt" trophy last week (after flying eight years now) so the better moments are 100X more plentiful and make it all worth it!

[NWade]

Most Stupid:
Being a rush to drill a hole in a shim/temporary part, putting it on the workbench and just pressing down with my finger and thumb. As the drill broke through the material, it grabbed the part and instantly became a sharp whirling knife - leaving very deep slices in both my finger and my thumb. Still not sure whether the damage to my ego was more profound, though; both the physical and psychological injuries hurt like hell!

Honorable-mention: Making the outboard section of a rear wing spar incorrectly, and only discovering my mis-measurement when trying to skin the wing. Drilled off the bad part, re-made it, assembled it, and realized that I'd made it wrong _again_ - this time screwing up the dimension of the opening for the aileron counterweight! Gah!

--Noel
P.S. Even though I'm not yet flying (soooooon), I do agree that the highs outweigh the lows!

[Sonex1384]

Haha. Mine was quite similar to fastj22. When ever drilling something I always used a block of wood behind the piece when I needed to support it. All but one time drilling out a rivet on I believe a forward rib on one of the tail surfaces. Just before the drill broke through I had this funny feeling I was forgetting something and then realized I didn't have my block just in time for the drill to bust through and straight into the palm of my left hand. I stood there for a moment somewhat dumbfounded looking at my hand which had a very neat round hole in the middle of the palm. There was no blood though at that point and as I stood there looking at it I started to wonder where the rivet I was drilling out went. I started to wonder if I had drove it into my hand so, as I looked closer at the hole in my hand I pressed down on my palm with my right thumb. I was a little surprised when a spurt of blood shot out about a foot or two above my hand. Now I have never fainted in my life or gotten particularly squeamish but for the first time I felt my legs go week and I actually had to fight to stay conscious. I went into the house to patch up my hand, trying to look cool and collected in front of my wife while I held desperately to the edge of the sink to keep from falling down. I never did find the rivet. :-D

[fastj22]

I will provide testament that a brand new ACS #30 Cobalt bit makes a very nice hole in your body. There is no smoking, just the elegant curling of flesh. I suggest calmly reversing the drill and backing it out instead of taking the risk of bending the bit as you recoil from the sight. The blood isn't instant nor the pain. In fact, mine didn't hurt much, but the blood came a few moments later, bigly. Which instigated the search for the first aid kit. I ended up just wrapping with a paper towel and duct tape. Didn't tell the wife either.

[Bryan Cotton]

I drilled a finger last year but you guys make me feel like an amateur.

[fastj22]

I drilled a finger last year but you guys make me feel like an amateur.

Through and through? or just a flesh wound?

[Bryan Cotton]

Flesh wound. Felt like electrocution though.

[WesRagle]

OK,

Since it seems common enough, I'll fess up. I thought I could clamp a nylon block firmly in my hand while drilling. Needless to say, it didn't end well. The bit went right through the plastic and most of the way through the middle finger of my left hand. Now the funny part. I have an non-reversing air drill. It's just habit to goose the drill to back it out of a hole. The second scream was louder than the first.

Wes