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Aveo Zip Tip Update

Jpm757

Well Known Member
Bit the bullet and bought the Aveo Zip Tips Premiere for my RV7. I was somewhat reluctant due to the mixed reviews regarding fit and customer service. They arrived yesterday undamaged. First off, the quality of the tips is about equal to those of the Vans tips. The one piece lens is high quality and very solid, probably 1/4" thick. I placed the inboard edges against my Vans W-715 tips and they are dimensionally identical, therefore I believe fitting them should be no more difficult than the Vans tips. The one piece light module is high quality with 12 led landing lights, 3 led taxi lights, nav light and double flash strobe and built in wig wag controller.Also a seperate module mounted in the outboard trailing edge with nav and strobe lights. The module mounts to the inside of the tip and has 2 nicely machined aluminum brackets for ample up/down/right left adjustment. The "kit" came with no instructions whatsoever, although a wiring diagram is available on their website, but has no mention of wiring the rear modules. After a little experimentation I figured out the connections. The lights and strobes are VERY bright. There is a recess molded into the lower front portion of the tip for an access plate
(provided) that may be installed at builders discretion. It would seem necessary to install this for access to the module and light alignment.
If you can swing the 3k price these tips are a nice addition, also no need to wire a tail nav /strobe light. Getting a hold of the Aveo Florida people can be challenging-forget e-mail, but all my communication has been through Damien via phone and he seems to be their can do guy. If you are considering these you can PM me and maybe I can be of some help.
Jake
RV7 #72018 N767T
2017 dues paid.
 
Jake

i really appreciate seeing that post. i was first aware of the product about 8 months ago. Once i saw it online i was absolutely getting them. But then so much negativity online about the product the company the service and i was hesitant. Damien returned my call early summer and i was feeling a little better about the product after discussing everything with him. i have tried to reach him since and no return call. i am so not impressed with all the other solutions that i still felt id use the Aveo tips and deal with whatever shortcomings i had to. why should this project get any easier right?
I think your post is the final decision maker for me. i am mid way through my SB wing kit and not in an urgent rush for them. I can live with not having contact from Damien yet. but i have two questions in the meantime if you could answer
Do you feel a VOR antena will easily fit in the hollow space of the wing tips?
what wiring do i require for the unit? how many conductors and what guage in order to have individual control of all the lighting?
with that i can keep moving forward. i will try again to get hold of Damien in the future and i assume the product will only be more refined the longer i wait. Would i want the tips on the wings while i work on the fuselage and finish kits or wait to order until the wings are mounted and its almost complete?
 
Adam,
I too had been following the evolution of the zip tips and I believe they have gone through several generations of update. I chose them because it is a nice all in one package that solves a lot of problems. Having to purchase seperate landing lights, nav/pos. & strobe lights, fitting them and integrating the whole package can be time consuming and easily run you $1500 or more. The $3000 price becomes a little more realistic. I plan on dimpling my wing skins and attaching with 6-32 screws and nut plates using the pre-punched holes, you could also go the piano hinge route. You will still need to use the Vans W-412 trailing edge rib opposite the aileron. There is plenty of room for a VOR antenna. As far as wiring, you need to run 2 18ga.wires for pos & taxi lights, 2 16ga. wires for ldg & strobe lts.. I plan on wiring the landing & taxi lights on one circuit. There are also another 2 18ga. wires for wig wag controller & strobe synch. I am using the wig wag controller integrated in my AFS quick panel. As mentioned, I will be installing the access panel on the bottom of the tip, there is one round twist connector on the module to disconnect and remove the tip, 2 ground wires can attached at the outboard rib. You can probably find a buyer for your Vans tips, further reducing the cost of the Zip's. My wings are mounted and I am going to complete the installation before I remove the wings/tips for final assembly at the airport.
Hope this can be of some help.
Jake
RV6 #20477 completed 1991, sold
RV7 #72018, N767T, IO-360 M1B, MT 3 Blade, AFS quick panel. On target for first flight this summer!
VAF 2017 dues paid.
 
End result

I've mentioned this before but I have been using AVEO gear for many years. Communications can be painful but the end product is pretty good. When they first wanted to do a plug and play tip I warned that this would be difficult to do because the trailing edges are all a little different and the tips would need adjustment. Somehow they missed this and thought they were ready to ship.

Not really sure what they did to resolve this. Since I already had my Van's tips set up with antennas, reinforcements etc, I only wanted the light modules. Despite their promise several years ago to sell me only the modules it took an act of congress to actually get them. Lots of work to get them install but they look good.

I was already wired for AVEO lights when these came out. BTW, 16 ga is serious overkill. These are LED's and draw very little current. 18 ga is probably too heavy but fine. You don't need 16 gauge for sure.

Overall the product is excellent and the end result is as well if you want to suffer through the customer service frustration. I will say it is getting much better with Damien's help.
 
Here is how they look after arriving. I will post more pictures once they are installed.



 
aveo

thanks guys im really feeling better about the tips now. so helpfull
im just about to build my second tank, i am aiming to have both wings complete by april
 
One question I have is the time frame from order to delivery. I hear this can be several months.

Thanks

Called them a Thursday and they said they would ship them on Monday. They didn't ship till the next Monday and arrived on Friday. So about 2 weeks.
 
I'd like to hear a pirep about how well the landing lights work on final, as well as the taxi lights (especially for a tail dragger).
 
Good to hear you got your tips. I received the first set of tips for the 10 last week and will get an update posted soon along with some pictures. It's interesting to see yours having the light cavity pieces separate. The prototype set they sent me had them molded in already.

Note of caution, make sure that when the flange is trimmed, the light cavity piece is outboard far enough that the mounting pin doesn't interfere with the wing rib. I trimmed mine without thinking about that and wound up having to redo a lot of work.

I did test my lights out in the yard at night and was pretty impressed by how bright and powerful they are. The beam seems pretty good as well, we'll see how it works in the air.
 
They state ok for the 10, will they work on the 14

I like these tips but was concerned like many about the service. There web site lists compatible with the RV-10, I assume the 14 is also ok?
 
Landing Lights

I beleive the Zip Tips also have landing lights. Since the wings have cut-outs for the lights how are you dealing with this? Thanks
 
I've also recently received mine (for the -10). Haven't installed them yet, but looks like almost no work to do - they pretty much just fit, and just need some sanding along the edges to be totally smooth (and drilling the holes/installing nutplates).
 
will light modules fit into stock Vans tips?

I was wondering if one could just get the light modules, and with cutting and glass work fit them into the stock Vans tips? Or is the contour shape different enough that they wouldn't fit?
 
Here are some photos of the actual installation using nutplates. Fitment is very good and lights are super bright. Overall very impressed with these wingtips, although still months away from flying.















 
The light modules are not available separate from the tips that I am aware of. But give Damien a call and see. Never hurts to ask.
 
I got to see these in action when I got a ride in a 10 back in December or so and not only are they incredibly bright but man do they look cool. I started looking into them after that and was pretty disappointed to learn about the customer service issues people were having so it's a relief to see that people are having some success working with the company.
 
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Does the tips shipping out of Florida come with the REAR light module yet? They have been advertising the REAR light module being built into the wingtips since day 1; however, it doesn't look like they are in the actual production parts. Are they missing or just not visible in the photos I've seen? The REAR light module is to eliminate having to put a white light in the rear/tail.

REAR light module in AVEO's rendering below.

Conforma-ZipTips-01.jpg
 
Does the tips shipping out of Florida come with the REAR light module yet?

Yes, these have strobe lights and white LED position lights in the trailing edge. Nice and simple, no need to run any wires to the tail of the aircraft, even though its just a few ounces, it will also help keep the CG forward. The rear modules are tiny and fit beautifully in the trailing edge, wouldn't know they were there unless you were looking for them.
 
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Does any one know if the tips are more or less aerodynamic. It seems like the flat back end by the lights would be a bit more draggy.

Pete
 
My Aveo Ziptip experience

In March of this year I ordered a pair of Rv9 Ziptips from Aveo. I'd heard mixed reports from others about the Aveo customer service, and the price of this product seems high but they had been advertised for about a year and I assumed any teething troubles would have been resolved.

After four months and multiple enquiries into the status of my order, I was told they had arrived in Florida from the Czech Republic, they would ship tomorrow and to 'stand by for a tracking number'. A week later I had received nothing and my calls went unanswered. Finally I was told that the Quality Assurance engineer had decided that they were substandard, they should not be shipped and that I should be given my money back. Further correspondence followed on whether they could be modified or if I should wait for replacements. Finally, I followed the advice of their QA engineer and requested a refund while emailing Aveo of my dissatisfaction that after five months, they had not produced the product that had been advertised through reputable vendors such as Aircraft Spruce.

I received the following replies.


?Christian Nielsen has
invested a very large sum of money into the Vans project, as CEO and sole
owner of the company and factories. Many people dont realize, when you
email the general Aveo inbox, it goes directly to CEO and then is sorted,
he is F-14 Naval Aviator and commander, and likes to keep a finger on the
pulse of the company personally. So rest assured your concerns have been
duly noted from the top down, and we will continue to strive to complete
the tooling necessary to make RV-9 composite tips compatible with the
latest technology available Lighting modules?.

And the following email from CEO Chrisian Nielsen.

?You will see RV9 new tips on website and 5 planes in next four weeks. *I gather engineering us not your career as you would know what happens when molds are wrong. *Safe flying sir!?

I placed an order with Van's for a pair of wingtips and received them in four days.

What a contrast in customer service!
 
Ah, so it's YOUR fault they can't produce them! :)

Never good to deflect blame for your company's f-ups onto the customer. That's a shame...I have various Aveo products on my plane (nav/strobes, interior lights, RockRack switches) and have been very happy (although they *did* discontinue the switches, which sucks...).

What a weird response..."The CEO is a really studly pilot, and you clearly are a bumpkin for not understanding why his company completely fell on their @ss on this product. Have a nice day!"

Sad.
 
?Christian Nielsen has
invested a very large sum of money into the Vans project, as CEO and sole
owner of the company and factories. Many people dont realize, when you
email the general Aveo inbox, it goes directly to CEO and then is sorted,
he is F-14 Naval Aviator and commander, and likes to keep a finger on the
pulse of the company personally. So rest assured your concerns have been
duly noted from the top down, and we will continue to strive to complete
the tooling necessary to make RV-9 composite tips compatible with the
latest technology available Lighting modules?.

Seems sketchy, since the F-14 has been out of the U.S. inventory since 2006...
 
https://youtu.be/QM7gZSNj_wE

Here?s a walkaround in the hangar with the lights on. Nav lights and strobes with landing lights on pulse. Landed at dusk the other night and the local tower said they could see me 20 miles out, they are pretty bright!
 
https://youtu.be/QM7gZSNj_wE

Here?s a walkaround in the hangar with the lights on. Nav lights and strobes with landing lights on pulse. Landed at dusk the other night and the local tower said they could see me 20 miles out, they are pretty bright!

Jake,
You wouldn't happen to have any video of those lights at night during taxi, takeoff and landing would you? I have been seriously considering getting a set of these for my RV-7 but I was concerned with how well the landing/taxi lights performed.

I have been waiting for some brave soul to shoot a video of the ziptips at night from the cockpit in flight / ground ops. :)
 
We put them on our RV-10 with the assistance of an experienced builder at our airport.

I think the quality was pretty good. I think we got them in October of last year, we had them all installed and flying again in early December.

Aveo (Damien) has been really great about responding to emails on status, issues, etc. At first we had an issue with static on our radios. Any time the modules were drawing anything more than just the nav lights on we would hear blaring static. The strobes would cause a pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft every flash. It got old fast, but they sent us new modules at no charge that fixed the problem. My only complaint about the new modules is they take around or just over 0.25 seconds to turn on any light after being switched on. I'm using my VPX-Pro for Wig-Wag and that makes the landing light wig-wag basically a flash rather than a traditional wig-wag.

I'm very happy with the kit. It's a very unique and modern look.
 
Matt, did you have any interference between the end wing rib and the module mount?


No. We had to fiberglass in the module mount so if there had been any it would have been on us. It did require some trimming to fit but that was expected since the wing tip itself needed trimming.
 
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