Many wars have been fought over the choice to prime aluminum or not. Many thoughts, considerations, pros and cons exsist over the use of primer on aluminum aircraft. I made my decision, and I’ll live with it: Minimum primer.
Here are my guiding rules about decisions in building my aircraft.
- First, did Van’s tell me to do it? That is an overriding decision point. If Van’s said do it, I do it. Remember, I’m not an aeronautical engineer, I’m an aircraft assembler.
- If Van’s has no preference, I ask: “Would Cessna do it? Cessna aircraft, and the Cessna 172 in particular, are the safest aircraft in the sky. My motto is ” Cessna Safe”.
- Finally, for more modern options (that are not related to safety of flight issues) I look at what other guys on the forums have done. BUT only AFTER they have some time with it. Beware of advice from folks who have “heard from a friend…” or “read this on the web…”
Avionics is a BIG gray area here. Cessna does not use Dynon Avionics, but how cool is THAT in an experimental aircraft.
Murphy’s Law of Selective Gravitation:
“If while working on a large object with tools (car, airplane, boat, etc.) the dropping of any tool will cause the said tool to roll to the exact center of the object.”
Be sure to build a nice paint stand.
