We Are NOT Experts: An Airplane Building Podcast

Chris Gilbertson, Tim Piscitelli
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Join Chris and Tim, two enthusiastic amateurs, as they fumble their way through building Vans RV8 airplanes in their garages. 'We Are NOT Experts' is an honest, humorous, and insightful look into the world of experimental aviation. Whether you're an aviation enthusiast, a DIY hobbyist, or just someone who enjoys a good misadventure, you'll love hearing about their triumphs, facepalm moments, and the occasional animal interruption (goats and donkeys included). Follow along as they turn rivets and dreams into flying machines—unfiltered and unscripted!

  1. The Kit Is the Cheapest Part (We're So Sorry)

    28 MAR

    The Kit Is the Cheapest Part (We're So Sorry)

    In Episode 18, Chris and Tim reunite 24 days later with minimal airplane progress and maximum excuses — but at least the audio works this time. Tim's Lycoming is looking fresh after a dry ice spa day, the foot wells are riveted (don't say it out loud), and a desktop CNC machine may or may not be joining the Cleveland Skunk Works. Chris teases a new software project that might actually help RV builders build instead of stare at plans, and somewhere in there, float plane ratings, sim flying confessions, and the brutal math of kit plane budgets all find their way in.

    1hr 4min
  2. Mind the Gap: Left Flap, Access Panel, and the RV-15 Instruction Envy

    7 FEB

    Mind the Gap: Left Flap, Access Panel, and the RV-15 Instruction Envy

    After a short break, Chris and Tim are back with updates from the shop and far beyond it. One host returns from international travel, the other survives the busiest week of the year, and somehow airplane progress still happens. This episode covers recent build work, questionable planning decisions, new parts, old frustrations, and the ongoing reality of building experimental aircraft with confidence that may or may not be deserved. As always, there are no experts here — just two builders figuring it out one quarter-inch gap at a time.

    1hr 5min
  3. Drilled Fingers and the Illusion of Competence

    10 JAN

    Drilled Fingers and the Illusion of Competence

    In Episode 15, Chris and Tim discover that confidence peaks right before you drill your finger. They cover access-panel optimism, aileron push tubes, solo wing-handling regrets, and what happens when the tech finally works… except the video. Progress was made. Lessons were learned. Expertise remains theoretical.

    1hr 5min
  4. Smoke Systems and Lithium Batteries: Let’s Start a Comment War

    30/12/2025

    Smoke Systems and Lithium Batteries: Let’s Start a Comment War

    In this episode of We Are Not Experts, two amateur airplane builders catch up on real progress, unexpected detours, and the kind of decisions that always seem to spark strong opinions. We talk shop updates from the Cleveland Skunk Works and the Gilbertson AeroFactory, navigating confusing plans, thinking ahead to maintenance and future upgrades, and why experimental aviation has a way of forcing you to slow down and rethink your next move. Along the way, we wander into a few topics guaranteed to light up the comments — including smoke systems, electrical choices, and the many ways builders convince themselves they’re doing the “right” thing. As always, we’re not experts — just builders figuring it out one decision at a time.

    1hr 11min
  5. Oompa Loompa Blood & Lucky Rivets

    13/12/2025

    Oompa Loompa Blood & Lucky Rivets

    In this episode, Chris and Tim hit a major RV-8 milestone: finishing the bulk of the fuselage canoe riveting and somehow pulling off a full riveting session with zero drill-outs. They talk tool wins, custom yokes, avionics planning, magnetometer placement, finishing-kit realities, and the ever-present ProSeal anxiety. Chris finally solves his aileron push-tube problem with welding, sandblasting, Cerakote, and an impressive amount of bright orange overspray that would make an Oompa Loompa proud. There’s travel talk, shop upgrades, future kit planning, and the usual realization that you only get good at something right after you’re done doing it. We are not experts — but sometimes the rivets get lucky.

    1hr 2min
  6. The Zoom of Shame, and Forward-Skin Gymnastics

    23/11/2025

    The Zoom of Shame, and Forward-Skin Gymnastics

    After burning an hour trying to make Riverside work (again), Chris and Tim retreat to the warm, forgiving arms of Zoom — a platform that at least pretends to like them. In this episode, the guys recap the Great Recording Meltdown of 2025, followed immediately by an actual near-meltdown: Tim almost flipping his canoe-stage RV-8 while Chris looks on in a mixture of concern and morbid curiosity. CG matters, folks. They dive into the forward-skin riveting marathon, the seatbelt-bracket-to-the-kidneys experience, the mysterious bucking bar incident, and the riveting miracle: not a single rivet drilled out during their work session. (Please don’t expect that again.) Tim confesses to forgetting he installed nuts on his fuel-selector bracket. Chris pretends to be surprised.The guys also talk brake-line bracket sorcery, 3D-printed goodies, welding ambitions, and why Houston heat turns grease guns into crime scenes. They close with plans for episode intros, classic-rock walk-in vibes, and their ongoing quest to produce a “better podcast” while steadfastly remaining… Not Experts.

    1hr 4min
  7. Big Scary Holes and Hot-Rod Lycomings

    17/11/2025

    Big Scary Holes and Hot-Rod Lycomings

    After a six-month “we definitely meant to publish that” gap, Chris and Tim are back in the shop and back on the mics. Chris catches everyone up on life outside the Gilbertson Aerofactory: fully exiting the film and TV world (farewell, John Wick wrap gifts), growing his advisory business, hiring a team, and bouncing between graduations and family trips instead of riveting wings. The airplane hasn’t moved much, but the long game is clear: build the business now so future-Chris can actually finish and fly the RV-8. Tim, on the other hand, has been in full send mode. Since the last episode he’s turned a pile of fuselage parts into a real RV-8 canoe, installed dual fuel pumps and a custom fuel selector setup, and cut a big, terrifying, totally worth-it access panel into the side of the fuselage so Future Tim doesn’t have to do inverted yoga under the subpanel at age 65. He walks through brake line upgrades, why he’s throwing money at stainless braided lines instead of plastic, and how his 4 a.m. build routine is the only way any of this gets done. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Tim’s daughter decided to join the United States Marine Corps (to Chris’s great delight), a 200-horsepower IO-360 “hot-rod” engine showed up in Tim’s garage and got lovingly pickled, and the guys started sniffing around a two-plane hangar they absolutely don’t need yet but absolutely want. They talk about fellow builders finally getting first flights, why RV-8s keep stealing their hearts, how AI is quietly writing half their YouTube metadata, and what it’s like to restart a podcast when life — and airplane projects — haven’t slowed down at all.

    57 min
  8. Experimental Minds, Experimental Solutions

    15/11/2025

    Experimental Minds, Experimental Solutions

    In Episode 10 of We Are Not Experts, Chris and Tim catch up after a long stretch away from the shop and dive deep into the latest round of RV-8 building chaos. Chris returns to the project with a vengeance—facing down long-neglected rear spar fixes, wrestling with questionable rivets, and discovering that CherryMax rivets have exactly two moods: perfect and absolutely not. Meanwhile, Tim goes full Air Force safety-review mode after the Rob Holland accident and engineers a clever (and actually elegant?) solution to ensure his wingtip hinge-pin block can never jam an aileron. It’s a rare moment where overthinking pays off. The guys talk wingtip redesigns, fiberglass confidence levels, Insta360 camera power systems, and Tim’s accidental new side-hustle selling experimental airplane parts. They also tour the new Chennault Airfield development, discuss hangar hopes, Oshkosh prep, and the ongoing struggle to build airplanes while also affording airplanes. It’s classic We Are Not Experts: two RV-8 builders, equal parts enthusiasm and self-doubt, figuring it out as they go — and sharing every win, mistake, and improvised solution along the way.

    59 min
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About

Join Chris and Tim, two enthusiastic amateurs, as they fumble their way through building Vans RV8 airplanes in their garages. 'We Are NOT Experts' is an honest, humorous, and insightful look into the world of experimental aviation. Whether you're an aviation enthusiast, a DIY hobbyist, or just someone who enjoys a good misadventure, you'll love hearing about their triumphs, facepalm moments, and the occasional animal interruption (goats and donkeys included). Follow along as they turn rivets and dreams into flying machines—unfiltered and unscripted!

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Gilbertson, Tim Piscitelli
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16

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