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J

JDA_BTR

Well Known Member
Okay, so I placed my order for an RV-14 empennage today. Taking the leap of faith that by the time I finish it and then the wing there will be a fuselage and finishing kit. How big is the risk that it will never come? I'm a careful sort by nature and it was hard to commit in the blind! But commit I did; if I had a therapist they would be proud.
 
The risk is only in figuring out early that this isn't for you. You are only out your labor and the possible difference between the cost of the tail cone kit and what you can sell it for. At this point you are not building a plane, you are building a horizontal stabilizer. If that goes well and you feel confident, you will be building a vertical stabilizer. Then the rudder, elevators, and so on - until you end up with an entire airplane. It's a journey best taken in small steps. The steps get easier as the project progresses because of the steep learning curve. You don't even know now what you don't know, but the resources are readily available to help you along the way and you'll learn more than you could imagine. There are all sorts of unrelated benefits to what you'll gain in building an airplane. There's practically nothing you won't be able to fix in your house (if you want to). You will have all sorts of practical ways to demonstrate math, geometry, electricity, plumbing, etc to your kids/grand kids.

Good luck with your endeavor. There's no way to fail, even if you decide not to continue after your first part. If your initial goal is to see if this is for you and you find it isn't, you've succeeded. I built the wings on an RV14, and can tell you that it is the most refined kit Vans has produced to date. The accuracy of the parts is truly amazing.
 
You dont know Vans. That is the least of your worries. Theyve had a fully flying prototype that you can poke at and prod for over a year. The finishing kit will be the most comprehensive and detailed ever for the company because of the completeness of the kit (incl the panel which only the RV12 has had before). Every day they spend working on it means several days of less work for you in the end.
 
Thanks for the reassurance!!! How long has it taken lately for a kit to be delivered after ordering?
 
Ordered empennage on the Dec 27th. Arrived in Michigan Jan 10th. It would have been here a few days earlier if the weather was not so bad.

$234 shipping cost.
 
I can tell you I ordered my -14a empennage kit on 1/27/14 and received it on 2/7/14. In fact, it was supposed to arrive on 2/5 but it got stranded in a snowstorm in Kansas. I was amazed at how quickly I got it!
Also, I am not the least bit concerned that Vans will never offer all the remaining kits. My understanding is that these delays in getting the subsequent kits out is fairly typical of other models. I talked to an engineer at Vans a couple of weeks ago and he said they expect to have the fuselage kits available in the next two or three months.
Chuck
Huntsville, AL
RV-14a
#140137
Empennage kit just arrived
 
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