Building an all-metal airplane forces the builder to develop a large set of new skills. In the author's opinion, the best way to develop these skills is by directed practice under the guidance of an expert. A large number of workshops are available from various organizations.

When the author decided to build an aluminum airplane, he had never worked with metal at all. While wandering through the Craftsmen's Guild's Affair in the Park, he learned about the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, who offer adult art classes covering all sorts of subjects. The following weekend, on September 13th, 2008, the author attended Melissa Davenport's Copper Wall Hangings course, and got his first chance to bang on metal, if not aluminum, and get a feel for the tools he will learn to use while building a CH 701. Read more...

While visiting Zenith on September 20th, 2008, the author had a chance to participate in a sort of mini-workshop that the factory had set up for visitors. Participants were given, free of charge, the chance to build a riveted aluminum binder sized for the 11" x 17" pages of the CH 701 official plans. Though trivial, the construction of this binder was the author's first opportunity to work with pneumatic tools, pop rivets, and aluminum. Read more...

Zenith has designed a workshop that should be mandatory for all builders of their aircraft. During the rudder workshop, the builder gets to complete the first component of their finished airplane, providing an introduction to the tools and construction methods used throughout the plane. (See image of rudder in progress, borrowed from Walter's build page.) The cost of the rudder is then deducted when buying the rest of the kit. Zenith offers this workshop at their factory on a regular basis, and every builder should make the pilgrimage to check things out. The rudder workshop is also offered by various Zenith partners: Quality Sport Planes in California, Flight Crafters in Florida, and Can-Zac Aviation in Canada. The author, having already visited Zenith in Missouri, will attend the rudder workshop taught by Mark Townsend in Canada on October 18th and 19th, 2008. Read more...

The EAA has designed a wide range of workshops (under the SportAir name) to teach homebuilders of all sorts of airplanes the skills they will need to build and maintain their constructions. The most relevant to the author is the Sheet Metal Basics course. While not as directly relevant to CH 701 construction as the rudder workshop, it covers a broader range of skills that may come in useful, such as solid riveting. (See image of completed project from an RV workshop, borrowed from Brad Oliver.) And in the author's opinion, learning the same material from different sources is a valuable way to solidify an important skill. The author will attend the sheet metal workshop in Indianoplis, Indiana on November 1st and November 2nd, 2008. Read more...

After registering for the Sheet Metal Basics course, the author learned about a small session held the evening of November 1st, 2008, and designed to cater to the attendees of the various workshops being held that weekend. The workshop, entitled "What's Involved in Kit Building?", is designed to discuss the overall process of building a kit plane, including discussion of the non-building aspects, such as FAA registration requirements. Read more...

While these workshops are designed to specifically give the skills needed for building a homebuilt-style all-aluminum airplane, there are many things that can be done with aluminum by a skilled builder that are not included here. Kit designers avoid extensive use of stretching and shrinking aluminum as the required skill level is much higher. Tin Man Technologies, though, specializes in this kind of work. For those who are accustomed to kit-style construction, seeing their work on a replica Hughes Racer (see photo borrowed from that page), or even just simple wheelpants, is awe-inspiring. They offer significantly more advanced workshops than those designed for kit builders. The four-day metalworking intensive course requires no previous experience, and covers a wide variety of skills not even touched on by the EAA course. The author is extremely excited to be attending from November 14th to 17th, 2008. Read more...