EAA Sport Aviation - September 2011

It has been said that there is no such thing as too much workspace. This, however, isn’t entirely true; excess space still has to be heated and cooled. Homebuilt airplanes aren’t usually very big, so a 30-by- 40 foot space is ideal. But seldom do most of us have that much space. An absolute minimum size, however, would be a single garage, with a double garage being much better. Light-years better, actually. Lots of airplanes have been built in back bedrooms, single garages, and attics, but those environments have also killed a lot of projects because they’re anything but inviting. Stepping over and around stuff gets old fast.

STORAGE

As long as it doesn’t impinge on floor space, there really is no such thing as too much storage. But if your workspace is limited, which is usually the case, try to keep storage off the floor. Put hinged hoppers between the rafters, and hang cabinets from the ceiling against the wall so they take no floor space. Think outside the storage box. The smaller the workspace, the more innovative you’ll have to be, and there will be more problems storing finished components, e.g., wings. Outside storage in lean-tos and containers may be the only alternatives.

CREATING A BRIGHT SPACE A sheet-rocked workshop painted off-white is much more inviting than a gloomy space with bare studs, spider webs, and grandma’s rocker in the rafters. Make it look and feel like a real room. This assumes, by the way, that you don’t need the copious amount of storage space offered by rafters and wall studs. If you need that space, paint everything in sight off-white. This will brighten up even a bare-stud garage or basement.

LIGHTING

You want your friends to need sunglasses
when they visit. Dark and dreary is not invit-
ing. Lots of light is. Peruse Craigslist, or any
similar source, looking for used fluorescent
fixtures from commercial remodeling.
Ideally, you’d like 8- or 4-foot fixtures with
which you can blanket the ceiling. Mount
two 4-footers on portable stands that set the
fixtures vertical on the floor with the long
dimension horizontal. Sit them on the floor
next to a project when more light is needed
on the sides or bottom.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Having to leave the comfort of your living room for a steamy or freezing workspace is not going to get you excited about working on your airplane. Also, some processes (paint, glue, fabric work) don’t like temperatures that are out of limits. When measured against many other activities, every homebuilt project, regardless of size, is relatively expensive, so it makes sense to invest the comparatively small amount required to guarantee your comfort.

Think outside the storage box.

The smaller the workspace, the more innovative you’ll have to be, and there will be more problems storing finished components, e.g., wings.

The least expensive, safest source of heat is a used oil-burning furnace. Make sure it’s in safe working condition and wasn’t removed because of a problem. You can just set it in the corner (as per code), duct an exhaust flue out through the wall, plumb an oil supply to it, and plug it in when you want heat. Or get sophisticated and wire in a thermostat. Incidentally, a neat way to make a paved garage more comfortable is to build a hollow floor over the pavement and pump hot air under it. Use 3/4-inch ply on 2-by-4s standing on edge, the ends staggered with every other one missing the wall by a foot or so, which creates a serpentine air duct.

Of course, a few 8-foot heaters with extension cords could be laid around the project or even put in the fuselage to warm it, should it be cold soaked and you want to paint or do something else that’s temperature sensitive.

COOLING OPTIONS

A couple of large window air conditioners (220 volts are more efficient than 110 volts) stuck through a wall, window, or door opening work wonders in a hot climate. If necessary, drape plastic sheeting from the ceiling to partition off work areas making them easier to cool (or heat). An air-han-dling unit that’s a fugitive from a remodeling would give both heating and cooling but isn’t as easy for the amateur to hook up on a semi-temporary basis.

WORKBENCHES

Don’t go nuts with workbenches when building airplanes. They’re temporary, so most of them will be in the way once those components are finished. The absolute simplest way to approach that problem has already been worked out by EAA Chapter 1000 in California. You can find the plans for these benches in the January 2010 issue of EAA Sport Aviation (or find the link on www.SportAviation.org). They’re simple and built in 2-by- 4 foot sections ( 4 feet economizes on material) that can be clamped or bolted together to become any size bench required but individually don’t take up much floor space. The concept can be expanded or contracted, as needed, to fit different phases of the project.

FLEXIBILIT Y IS KEY

Don’t bolt anything to the floor. At some point during the project, anything bolted down is guaranteed to be in the way. Also think in terms of storing stationary tools in innovative ways that keeps them out of the way when not in use, e.g., a fold-out mount between wall studs for the bench grinder or straddling file cabinet storage with the stand for a sheet metal brake.

WORKSHOP RULES

Make sure family members realize a workshop is a workshop and not a place to store bicycles, old furniture, or anything else that doesn’t have its own home. Also make sure they realize that some of the tools in the shop are dangerous and shouldn’t be used without supervision. In fact, if you’re concerned about children, a master switch for the power to everything might be worth installing.