How do you build an airplane like this? Well, some will claim that anyone with ordinary hand tools can build one of these 'kits'. It would be a little naive to think you could pull this task off with a couple screwdrivers, wrenches, a file and a hammer. There are aviation specific tools that need to used to build an airplane. I plan to buy an all-inclusive tool kit put together specifically to build this airplane. In addition to this, there are certain non-aviation shop tools that I have added to my inventory to aid in the building process. As for skills needed, although I dont think just 'anyone' could do it, I do mostly believe your average 'Joe' or 'Jane' with a little mechanical aptitude has what it takes. You dont, however, need to to be an A&P mechanic or an Engineer or have prior aviation experience to pull this off. I also want to note, I am not designing an aircraft from scratch, this is a kit that has been designed and tested by people who are knowledgable about such things. I am not going to put my life on the line for a design that I dont feel comfortable about, and Van's produces such a kit. There are literally 1000's of them flying so it is a tried and true design. Essentially this is, by and large, an assembly project. Not unlike a Cessna assembly person making $15/hr does while creating production aircraft. Its not rocket science. Doing custom modifications does change that equation slightly though, depending on the complexity of the changes.
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