I'm one of those who love to fly, but I'm not real fond of building. Anyone have some good advice for turning building into more of an enjoyable experience?

I've got a bunch of very nice ARFs (GP Lancair, DP Ultimate 120, VectorFlight Edge) in the box and when I do get the building momentum, I usually spend it on minor repairs on the four planes I have already.

Any help or inspiring words would be appreciated.

Happy flying, er, I mean building!

SkyDude,
"For Me" getting the building momentum is directly associated to................................................ .................................................. If I have the $$$$$$$$$, to have eveything there when I start.
The rest come's EZ... Turn on the radio, Get a Cold one, And forget everything else... Just build away !!!!!!! And think about the day this New Bad Boy will roll out on the runway.

Building is the best...do you not like it or something

???[sm=confused.gif]???

Dan

I say if you have kids, make it a son/daughter time where you can spend time with them and maby get some new blood into flying. I think it was a very good experience for me and my son.

maybe get an ARC, then you can pick it apart and finish it to your liking..

Go with drizz's idea. My kids like to whittle on the wood with my hobbie knife so I cant let them around the stuff but me & a friend get together in his basement & usualy build 2 of the same thing or what ever we want. Not only do I then enjoy building but the fellowship of having someone around while I'm doing it. When one of us runs into something we thing might be a problem it's great have 2 minds there thinking about it.

The best way to get hooked on building... success building.

the best way to get success building, start with an easy kit with GREAT instructions.

The easiest kits with the best instructions that I have seen so far... Sig 4*40 and Sig Somethin Extra.

There may be easier kits for planes that fly well... but I haven't seen them and I've been building these things for 30+ years.

Do you have a dedicated space for building? Is it comfortable? I have found these things to be very important. Some people can seemingly build a watch in the dirt at dusk by candle light and be successful at it and enjoy it. But I need enough space to spread out my stuff and be able to leave it that way for as long as it takes. And I agree 100% about starting with easy stuff to build, easy to build does not mean boring to fly either, the Sig Somethin' Extra and Bruce Tharp's BTE Venture .60 are perfect examples.

[:-] He been lookng at me working on my airplanes! [:-]

Somebody's already built the ARF, you merely assemble it. Build a kit, then ARFs will seem easy.

First, you review the instructions. Get a mental pic in your head. Then set a small portion of time each evening (30 min to 1 hour) as a "My Time". And of course some time on the weekends. By reviewing the instructions you can get right to work instead of dawdling your first 10-15 mins. There is much satisfaction and gratification not to mention it takes your mind away from your daily tribulations(hard day at work???)

i just build and build and buy and buy then i have no choice but to get into it... i am a person who needs things done right away..... just get too it and in no time its done... dont hesitate or you'll never get it done.... happy flying to ya

SkyDude, sounds like you're talking about ARF's. I also don't care for assembling ARF's.....I'd much rather be flying them, so what I do is get myself psyched up for flying that new plane, and I usually get the plane done quickly after that. Just work a little at a time, jump around the instructions if you want to.....many times, I'll jump forward in the assembly manual to skip a part that I don't really want to do, then, once I get into the assembly, I'll go back to that part and get it done.

Thanks folks. Very good advice and some of it hit right on the mark for me.

My workspace is in my kitchen. I live by myself so it's not really a problem, but the space is just small. Between tools, spare parts and supplies, I have little room for what I'm actually working on. Yup, an organized space will do wonders for me. I couldn't tell you how much time I've wasted looking for stuff that's buried under something else.

I have a one car garage, but it's full of crap from my other hobbies - surfboard, hockey gear, golf clubs and a ton of old computer junk. I just need to bite the bullet and get my garage cleaned up, then I can use a much larger table. Once the weather warms up it will be a good place to build.

I also like the idea of picturing the new plane ready to fly and the excitement of that first flight. The adrenaline rush of the first few flights is always cool, once my hands stop shaking.

I'm not entirely new to building, I've built one kit, a GP Cherokee and a couple ARF's (SkyVista, Lazy Tiger P-51) and the 30 minute build of the Avistar Select. They all fly great and I make sure to do it right and beef up any weak spots I find.

Also, I am helping my Dad, brother and nephew learn to fly. My Dad and nephew seem to like it and are asking about what ARF's to get.

Thanks again for all the good advice. I'll post some pics of my planes when they're done.