Alexander Technical Center

31 Oct 2003 Alexander Technical Center

I just finished a week of training and building my RV8 empennage kit at the Alexander Technical Center in Griffin, Georgia. I flew here from Switzerland to attend, and I can say it was worth every penny and more.
I had the kit shipped directly from Van’s to Alexander, and I just showed up with about a week’s worth of clothes, and a whole lot of motivation. Boy, did I need the motivation! The days were long and hard, but after 7 full days of work, my empennage is done.

I still need to document my photos, but I have them up if you are interested. http://www.rv8.ch/gallery/

The guys here were great, the facility is really top notch, and even though I ate like a horse, I lost a few pounds during my visit, probably due to the hard work.

If you are considering starting an RV, I can recommend this place as an excellent way to get you rolling.

There is an article on this program in the September issue of Kitplanes magazine if you want more info, or just go to their website. http://www.buildtofly.com/

The classes have a max of 4 builders, and 3 – 4 instructors, which is a pretty good ratio. They have *a lot* of experience building the tail kit, and give a lot of good advice, tricks, and tips. There are also three other RVs under construction in the facility, a 6, a 7, and an 8.

My class had two 8s, a 7 and a 9. It was interesting to see the other kits and how they are different and have evolved. There are some really cool changes on the 7 and 9 that I liked, and I hope they get incorporated in future 8 kits as well, like the trailing edges of the elevators and rudder.