Graham wrote:
The line Vans take in their construction notes is that a rivet has to be pretty awful to warrant the risk of drilling it out to try again
That is backed up by Vans intentionally designing their riveted joints at a fraction of the normally allowable rivet shear loads, to account for variations in builder skill.
And all the skins being flush-riveted, where you gain extra strength through the interlocking dimpled surfaces.
Or so I think. Still learning this stuff. Good thing the kit is delayed – I get to shoot hundreds of practice rivets, drill them out and do them again.
The vibe I’m getting is that LAA inspectors in the UK (our equivalent of the EAA) are extremely picky about quality of rivets and won’t hesitate to tell you to drill a whole load out and try again. I hope I’m up to it.
In other riveting news, I floated the idea of Oshkosh this summer with my other half and wasn’t shot down.
Rivets deform to fill the holes completely when they’re driven and so they are really good structurally, whether flush or not.
Friends of mine rent the same house every year for Oshkosh, and generally don’t fill all the available berths. Also, I have some AA miles that need to be used before expiration. Might be a plan 
Drilling out rivets is a skill you learn if building a Vans. It’s not as scary as it sounds, and damage to the hole is very rare, if you do it properly. Even then, there are oops rivets (standard head with a larger shank) to get you out of trouble.
About your first year of ownership, what kind of performance do you see (speed, fuel consumption) ?
Are you satisfied with the plane’s utility ? Is your family too ?
Did you take a CAMO or follow airworthiness yourself ?
For the 3-seat back row, I suppose it has 3 seat belts but only 2 headset plug sets ?
Jujupilote wrote:
About your first year of ownership, what kind of performance do you see (speed, fuel consumption) ?
My numbers are pretty close to book values: 120kt @ 35l/h @ 6000 ft as an example. It’s not a speed demon, but my location in NL means I can get to a lot of places within a few hours at that speed, or I can burn a bit more gas and get about 127kt. But in any case it’s a reasonable fuel burn.
Are you satisfied with the plane’s utility ? Is your family too ?
I’m very satisfied with it. As anyone with a TB can attest, it’s a super comfortable airplane that you can sit in for hours without the fatigue I’ve often experienced in your typical GA spam can. The 3 back seats also means we can take the whole family or the kids’ friends. A four-seater would be not enough and a six-seater too much I think. My wife and I are light, as are our kids, so all of us and full fuel is totally fine. It would be more challenging if you had taller or heavier people.
Did you take a CAMO or follow airworthiness yourself ?
I am doing this myself.
For the 3-seat back row, I suppose it has 3 seat belts but only 2 headset plug sets ?
Yes 3 belts and currently 2 plugs, but as part of the renovation I will add a plug. For now I have a Y-adapter that also works fine.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
but quite a few Piper Autopilots are augmented with the Stec 30 Alt or 60PSS system, which then give you altitude hold or a full vertical channel. I had once a chance to fly with one of those and they work just fine.
Nice idea, but it’s not as easy as you describe it. Second-hand costs you as much as new, because Stec has to give you some authorization that you may use that used autopilot. And the installation does also not come cheap. It is ridiculous. But going straight to an GFC500 makes more sense, it’s not so much more expensive, and then you not only have altitude hold (however altitude hold is by far the most important use). That’s the point where I stopped investigation.
dutch_flyer wrote:
A four-seater would be not enough and a six-seater too much I think.
Comanche! Comanche! 
Up to six comfortable seats, but no real six-seater due to lack of baggage space with 6 POB. But I won’t tell more, you already have your thing.
dutch_flyer wrote:
My wife and I are light, as are our kids, so all of us and full fuel is totally fine. It would be more challenging if you had taller or heavier people.
I guess the kids are still quite young?
In ours we can do four adults (old school adults, none more than 75-80kg and the ladies quite a bit less) and three hours fuel. I have not worked out how light the passengers would have to be for four people and full fuel, but it’s great that your family fits!
Perhaps a TB10 meet-up when travel becomes a little simpler. I am looking for somewhere to take it this summer.
Thank you for your report, @dutch_flyer
What a big job! Nice work on the interior.
I am too puzzled about the number of rivets. I’ve had maybe 5 working rivets on my TB20, in 20 years.
Thank you very much Dutch
