Not too long ago I was listening to the radio when a guy who
really liked running...something I cannot understand at all, was
talking about exercise. He brought up a concept that I
think directly applies to our homebuilding aircraft hobby.
That concept is that of inertia. I'm going to use that as
my starting point and then apply a bit of Newton Physics to it
and lets see what happens...
So Newton's first law is that, to paraphrase it, an object in
motion tends to stay in motion, and that makes the opposite true
also...an object at rest tends to stay at rest, unless an
external force is applied. I think this is the Number
One thing that causes homebuilders a problem in getting
their kit built in a timely manner. The radio show talked
about people like me...people who get lazy, and gravitate to the
couch, and that really the hardest thing about getting started
on an exercise plan is GETTING STARTED ON AN EXERCISE PLAN.
It's that constant struggle you have. From a homebuilders
perspective, we often wait until everything is perfect before we
get started...either started building, or started on that next
kit section, or even just started in the garage for the
evening. If you can just forget waiting for all the stars
align properly to get started, and just get moving on your kit,
you'll find that once you start it's easier to keep
rolling. The trick is, simply not letting something bring
you to a complete stop. I think this applies to kit
building, exercise, dieting, and any other household project you
can think of. So your #1 enemy is your own inertia.
If you can overcome that and get started building, you'll find
it easier to continue.
Now I think I'll look at Newton's 2nd law, since that seems to
me that it applies well also. Basically, it says that F=ma,
or for those non-physics types, Force equals Mass times
acceleration. Let's call Mass the entire kit
project. It's a massive project, and your job is to move
it to completion. Let's call Acceleration
"Motivation". That sort of makes Force a synonym for
"Completion". If you can put a lot of motivation behind
your project, even though it's massive, you eventually will
achieve the full force of having your kit completed...and the
more motivation you can hold, the faster you reach that
completion. I look back to building my RV-10. I
ordered the kit, and got started on it, but had at least 2 full
MONTHS that I didn't touch the kit. One was partly due to
waiting for kit components, and some scattered days were due to
waiting for ordered accessories, but some of it was simply due
to DOING OTHER THINGS...not that there's anything wrong
with that. Summer would come, and we'd get out and
play. And, since we really only had an empennage, how big
was the motivation to continue? Not that big.
Getting the wings provided a bump, but I can distinctly remember
that it really wasn't until the cabin top was going on, and I
had a fuselage that I could sit inside, that I REALLY started
getting motivated. That was basically AFTER all of the
aluminum work was done! In fact, I built the entire plane
in 25 months, but almost exactly 1/2 of the time it took to
build, took 18 or 19 of those 25 months. Yes, I put in
nearly 2000 hours, with 1000 of it in the first year and a half,
but the other 1000 hours in the 2nd half of a year! What
made that work?? Motivation! I added that
acceleration component to the equation and the outcome was
Force.
I could end there, because at this point I think I've solved my
on self's problem. I need to apply more motivation to my
RV-14 project, and I think I will, as soon as I get the
fuselage. I'm really pumped about wiring the panel, buying
the engine, and hearing that thing run. For now, I'm stuck
waiting for the Fuselage to become available, and then the
finishing kit. But rather than end here, let's finish with
Newton's 3rd law.
Newton's 3rd law of motion says that for every action there is
an equal and opposite reaction. This is where I think some
people can get into trouble. It depends on more than you....but
your family and spouse also. You can make a big action
(completing your kit quickly), but it may lead to an equally
dissatisfying reaction such as...getting divorced, going broke,
having your kids hate you, your lawn growing into an alfalfa
field, your car falling apart due to no maintenance...the list
goes on and on. So in getting this project done, you need
to at least become aware of what the downside is. For me,
I had a wife who was willing to 100% take over the lawn work,
the cooking and cleaning, and basically leave me to the kit,
without giving me scorn, so the divorce didn't happen. I
worked late nights and played with the kids until they went to
bed, so they didn't hate me. My cars already weren't
fantastic, but they survived the years.....but what DID happen
is that I basically went broke. Yes, I paid for the entire
kit as I went. I would never borrow money that I wasn't 100%
sure I could repay even if I lost my job, so I didn't have an
airplane loan, but, I did deplete every bit of cash I had and
was down to less than my last dollars when I finished the
plane. I had less than $1000 to my name, and didn't even
have the money to afford the fuel to do the 25 hour
flyoff. Personally, I don't know that all that many people
can avoid having at least some downside to the build. Best
case, you simply gave up 2000 hours of your life. But
maybe that's your situation, and if so, you're probably not
going to regret the kit at all. But I've known people who
have had other negative effects and it isn't always pretty, so
spend time planning and discussing so that you can at least know
what Newton's 3rd law is going to do to your life when you build
the kit.