Old School Thinking

[JimParker256]

Well said, Christopher. Like you, I'm extremely happy that Dan, Rachael, and company have invested their time, energy, creativity, and (not least of all) money to develop the Panther (and eventually the Cougar). I cannot wait to get started on my Panther, but promised my wife I would kill off the Honey-Do list before starting the plane. (Happy wife = happy life!)

For years, I wanted to build an RV-3, but didn't want to take on a "slow build" kit... The Panther does everything I wanted from the RV-3, but will cost less and go together in less than half the time, and will fit in the hangar next to my Commander 114. It will be a fantastic "fun plane" for me. Cannot wait to get started (but see paragraph #1). I know that I cannot order now, for fear of nothing else getting done once the kit arrives...

[Sacpilot]

Based on two conversations today with the owners of the largest aircraft tool distributors in the US, I thought I would share a thought in support of people like the Panther Design Team.

For over a week now, I have been scouring catalogs and the internet, trying to find a simple "grip" or reach gauge for Cherry N and Q rivets. Having found a ton of them for CherryMax rivets, I called the two largest companies and ask for the owners who I have become acquainted with via the pliers. When I asked if there was a grip/reach gauge for N/Q rivets, the 20 year A&P owner said "I have been an A and P for over 20 years, and I have no idea what a N/Q rivet is. What is the CR part number?"

After directing him to the Spruce page, which would explain it better than I, he said "Oh, those are pop rivets. Those don't go in airplanes. Those aren't structural. You won't find a gauge for those because they are in very low demand. You would never see those at Boeing, etc." I responded by reminding him that the popular Vans RV-12 was made with blind rivets as well as the 2nd most popular kit company, Zenith aircraft, and the new Panther, amongst many others. He replied "Oh, I don't know much about that."

I guess my take away is a couple fold.

1. Experimental airframes now outnumber Certified airframes in the US. If I read the EAA article correctly. Tool makers and distributors need to realize that, and quit telling builders what is verboten because Boeing doesn't use it. Experimental has made many advances with perfectly safe technology, as long as the technology is appropriately integrated and designed for in the particular airframe. Embrace the responsible changes in the experimental community! Push for the Part 23 overhaul, which is now mired in red tape and delayed for 2 years.
2. Blind rivets are ok!!!!!! I built one plane out of them (a Zenith 750), and even the old school Vans now used them on their RV-12. Not as a replacement or fix, but for the entire structure. Zenith has used them for thousands of airframes. Countless other companies use them. If the airframe is designed around their strength and use, by a certified engineer, than they seem to be just fine!!!! Imagine if all airframes in the Vans family used a blind rivet! There would be more rivets in the airframe, but they might actually sell 2x's as many airplanes/plans due to a more reasonable build time. That is the beauty of another kit designer like the Panther team, taking on the blind rivet debate. They will get a ton more customers due to a much easier to build plane, with a very sound airframe! I am building it vs a Rv-7 or Rv-8 because I don't want to spend 3000 hrs to do some simple, fast ,VFR, mild aerobatic flying, even though I love the Vans offerings.
3. Embrace and promote people in the true experimental community to leadership. As an EAA lifetime member, I would vote for Dan Weseman, Tony Spicer, or any other active person who has made a serious change or commitment to lead experimental aviation, before I would vote for Jack Pelton. Are you kidding? What does an owner of a TBM, the former head of Cessna that headed the failed Cessna 162 program that went to China and now has 50-100 airframes sitting mothballed by the factory as a completely failed model, do for experimental aviation????? Other than the repeated articles in the front page of each month's magazine, where he repeats the 3rd class medical cry over and over, what is he doing for EAA? Has he ever built a plane? Squeezed a rivet? Learned how to assemble something from a plan, video, or diagram, that he was scared of building before? Experimental aviation is about trying new things. Building before buying. Coming away with a sense of accomplishment because you built something you could have never imagined possible. Learning things that you thought were beyond your learning curve. Learning that Home Depot actually has a lot of aviation parts...

24 months ago, I had no idea what a crankshaft looked like. An oil pump did not sound like it looked. Rivets were things on shoes. I never thought I would install and modify a starter on an o-200. Take off 4 cylinders and overhaul them with new cylinders, rings, pistons, and pushrods? What????? That scared the krap out of me. Assemble my own molex connectors let alone design and install a completely working electrical system in a plane???....Yeah, right man.....except holy cow, I did it. Learn how to solder, by heating the wire, instead of dripping tons of solder all over it like icing? Debur thousands of holes and edges in wings that will actually pick up a structure instead of fold in flight????? Well, ok, now it seems reasonable in hindsight. Rebuild a brake master cylinder? Rebuild and adjust brake assemblies on the wheel? Time Mags? Pitch a propellor? Wrestle and replace aicraft tires in your garage? yep.....

And, three patents even came out of it as a process! Holy cow. Never saw that coming in a million years.

I cannot even express the education that I have received, since I received my tail kit in Nov 2012. It is unfathomable. So, I say to everyone, whether 1st time builder, or seasoned builder, keep your eyes and ears open, ask a lot of questions, and remember why we got into this. Challenge yourselves. Challenge yourselves to complete the largest project you have taken on in your life. Challenge yourself to learn. Challenge yourself to accept new ideas. Challenge yourself to wonder why the norm is the norm, and whether or not there is a better way. Challenge yourself to use tools that you think you will blow yourself up with, or cut yourself with. If you grew up in a non-mechanical house, like I did, figure out how to use a compressor, a grinder, a double compound miter saw, a squeezer, a drill press, a blast cabinet........All of the tools that my dad said might hurt me.....yeah, they might, but that's not a reason to not learn how to use them and use them properly! Your world opens up immensely when you have a working knowledge of tools! Don't wait until 38-40 years old to learn how to use them like I did! Overcome obstacles and keep an open mind...challenge your fear with calculated advances.

In my mind, assuming there are no big hiccups, the Panther represents a challenge to the RV norm, for one. Whether the Panther, or the Cougar, these appear to be solid "blind rivet" airframes that will allow a person to go fast, do it safely, and have an airframe that lasts a long time. There are going to the RV purists, who say "oh, I would never do that.....solid rivets are the only way" but, they also likely drive a big black car, and ask people "Do you have any grey poupon?" at stop lights. I really love RV's. I always wanted to build one once I started to build kits. But, even with quick build, the time investment is just too high for a guy with a young family and two companies. Bottom line, "Give peace a chance......." Give blind rivets a chance old schoolers.......This is an airframe that can finally give us normal tall guys with normal schedules and normal budgets, a hope that we can fly 150mph plus in under 600-1000 hours of build time.......my wallet, my ears, and my eyes, are open. Here's to the continued refinement in operations and build of this airframe....I hope it continues to get traction.....