majuro15
Well Known Member
Disclaimer: I do not work for Aveo nor am I affiliated in anyway to the company, employees, or ownership! I want to provide everyone interested an update for Aveo since they aren't active on VAF and admittedly have poor customer service / communication to the masses. Please don't flame me, hopefully this will help some folks out, as there have been quite a bit of negative comments that aren't representative of the whole story.
I have been a fan of Aveo for five years now since the first time I started researching a RV build. It seems like I've also been waiting that long for their ZipTip wingtips with integrated lights. I spoke to them at Sun 'N Fun in 2013 and placed my order for a set and have yet to get them. There have been a lot of rumors and disgruntled customers since then that I won't get into, but I do want to provide some details on my interactions with them.
Over the past year, I've been in regular contact with Damien, their do-it-all guy in Florida. Damien has been very quick to respond and very forth coming with information and product status to me. And while it seems a lot of the issues are beyond his control, he's doing his best to try to run the front and back shops at Aveo while getting more employees on board.
Aveo changed their ZipTip design about two years ago to better their product including changing the LED heat sinks and a newly engineered board. They also worked to integrate a rear facing white LED as a rear position light in each wingtip. They are now getting all of the molds set up for US production of these tips and are about finished with the 10 mold (more on that in a few). During this time, they were also working on the certified of our GA world, with Cessna and some Piper aircraft designs receiving TSO certification.
However, their production suffered as a hyped expansion did not pan out and there are still only a small number of employees with limited US production at this point. All of the engineering is happening back in the Czech Republic, and some of the production is shipped over with new molds making lead times long.
Damien recently received the old style molds for the RV-10 and called me to see if I'd like to get a set of tips now or wait for the new style molds to arrive. After talking to him, I decided I could wait a little longer and go for the new style. He asked me to do a bit of engineering assistance for them and shipped me a full size tip profile to match up with my wing so they could ensure the right profile on the new mold. I spent some time on the phone and took a lot of pictures and measurements for him and even talked with the Czech engineer on a certain measurement they needed.
The 10 molds will be shipped over now in the next month or so along with a few production units. Moving forward, they will be produced in the US.
Damien currently has sets for the RV-4, 6, 7, 8, and F1 with the new design and rear position lights in stock. He's also made a few sets of custom tips out of carbon Kevlar material for an aerobatic 8 with extended range tips.
This is an excerpt from an email from Damien with his contact information: "I work in the main office (386) 225-4779 ([email protected]) around the corner each morning and handle sales and warranty service and general inquiries parts ordering etc., take lunch and work in the composite shop each afternoon till 6 where I can be reached by company cell at (631) 935-8483."
Now, I'll be the first to admit that Aveo has some awesome products out there that they have made extremely difficult and frustrating to purchase. Some have not been happy with customer service and worry about longevity / warranty service down the road. I can't comment on that, but did want to pass this info along to folks who are still interested in their products but may not be up to speed with what's going on. I've given them plenty of feedback about their go-to-market strategy and think that the leadership will have to make the changes needed to improve their sales side of their business. I have spoken to the owner several times and provided this feedback. I honestly feel he received it well and was open to hearing real customer issues. My opinion is that they are trying to nail down a lot of certified products to get the cash coming in to fund further growth and finish the products that are development for smaller markets like ours.
I will say that Damien has been fantastic to work with and really is driven to make folks like us in the EAB world happy and promote Aveo at the same time. I'd encourage anyone that needs info to contact Damien.
Finally, there are a few pictures of their facility in Palm Coast with the finished tips hanging on the wall posted in this thread. I have also attached a picture of my wing with the profile to finalize the new 10 profile.
I hope this info helps out others like me that are still excited about having their product flying on their planes. I'll certainly try to keep folks updated as I get word as well.
I have been a fan of Aveo for five years now since the first time I started researching a RV build. It seems like I've also been waiting that long for their ZipTip wingtips with integrated lights. I spoke to them at Sun 'N Fun in 2013 and placed my order for a set and have yet to get them. There have been a lot of rumors and disgruntled customers since then that I won't get into, but I do want to provide some details on my interactions with them.
Over the past year, I've been in regular contact with Damien, their do-it-all guy in Florida. Damien has been very quick to respond and very forth coming with information and product status to me. And while it seems a lot of the issues are beyond his control, he's doing his best to try to run the front and back shops at Aveo while getting more employees on board.
Aveo changed their ZipTip design about two years ago to better their product including changing the LED heat sinks and a newly engineered board. They also worked to integrate a rear facing white LED as a rear position light in each wingtip. They are now getting all of the molds set up for US production of these tips and are about finished with the 10 mold (more on that in a few). During this time, they were also working on the certified of our GA world, with Cessna and some Piper aircraft designs receiving TSO certification.
However, their production suffered as a hyped expansion did not pan out and there are still only a small number of employees with limited US production at this point. All of the engineering is happening back in the Czech Republic, and some of the production is shipped over with new molds making lead times long.
Damien recently received the old style molds for the RV-10 and called me to see if I'd like to get a set of tips now or wait for the new style molds to arrive. After talking to him, I decided I could wait a little longer and go for the new style. He asked me to do a bit of engineering assistance for them and shipped me a full size tip profile to match up with my wing so they could ensure the right profile on the new mold. I spent some time on the phone and took a lot of pictures and measurements for him and even talked with the Czech engineer on a certain measurement they needed.
The 10 molds will be shipped over now in the next month or so along with a few production units. Moving forward, they will be produced in the US.
Damien currently has sets for the RV-4, 6, 7, 8, and F1 with the new design and rear position lights in stock. He's also made a few sets of custom tips out of carbon Kevlar material for an aerobatic 8 with extended range tips.
This is an excerpt from an email from Damien with his contact information: "I work in the main office (386) 225-4779 ([email protected]) around the corner each morning and handle sales and warranty service and general inquiries parts ordering etc., take lunch and work in the composite shop each afternoon till 6 where I can be reached by company cell at (631) 935-8483."
Now, I'll be the first to admit that Aveo has some awesome products out there that they have made extremely difficult and frustrating to purchase. Some have not been happy with customer service and worry about longevity / warranty service down the road. I can't comment on that, but did want to pass this info along to folks who are still interested in their products but may not be up to speed with what's going on. I've given them plenty of feedback about their go-to-market strategy and think that the leadership will have to make the changes needed to improve their sales side of their business. I have spoken to the owner several times and provided this feedback. I honestly feel he received it well and was open to hearing real customer issues. My opinion is that they are trying to nail down a lot of certified products to get the cash coming in to fund further growth and finish the products that are development for smaller markets like ours.
I will say that Damien has been fantastic to work with and really is driven to make folks like us in the EAB world happy and promote Aveo at the same time. I'd encourage anyone that needs info to contact Damien.
Finally, there are a few pictures of their facility in Palm Coast with the finished tips hanging on the wall posted in this thread. I have also attached a picture of my wing with the profile to finalize the new 10 profile.
I hope this info helps out others like me that are still excited about having their product flying on their planes. I'll certainly try to keep folks updated as I get word as well.
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