T

TimSPEED

Member
Hi everyone.
So in May of last year (2023) I ordered a complete RV-8A standard kit, putting down the deposit for all four kits. This all before the chapter 11 and LCP craziness. Anyways, it kinda hasn't gone too bad for me, with the EMP kit arriving in Oct 2023, and the Wing and Fuselage kits arriving late Jan 2024. So far so good, and I guess this also means I only incur the price increase on the remaining Finishing Kit.

However, the problem I have is that all of the kits arrived with a significant amount of parts missing, noted as being on back order.

So my first question to everyone, especially those that have received a kit recently (ie post Chapter 11), are you getting your kits with everything included? Or are you also missing items?

And second question, if you did have missing parts, have you received them yet?

For me, especially with the EMP kit, I have had this for 5 months now and I really cannot build very much as there is too many missing items. It seems a little unreasonable to have me endure 5 months of looking at my kit knowing I cannot build anything for want of some few parts. It is super frustrating!! And of course correspondence with Vans is met with complete silence, no hint of an indication when any back ordered items will appear.

Has anyone else received an EMP kit recently and had it complete, or is everyone missing the same parts? Mostly the missing items for all my kits are ribs, along with some other things.

I did consider ordering them new from the parts store, but none of the missing items are listed as available :(.

I am feeling completely stuck, and of course powerless, as I have no option other than to just hope and pray that Vans might send some scraps my way, and hopefully sometime soon. And I guess I can vent here a little bit, which is what I am doing ...

I would welcome knowing how others are doing, and if you are having better luck than I.

Thanks.
 
My wing kit arrived in February with only two bags of hardware on backorder. I haven't received those yet, but I'm not in a rush.

Compare that to my emp kit which arrived in August 2023 and had a couple dozen parts on backorder. It seems they backordered parts for me rather than including any LCP. Those backordered parts arrived before the end of the year.
 
Curious about how parts/small kit orders would be, I ordered an IO-540 Baffle Kit a few weeks ago before heading out for Antarctica. Got back two days ago, and the box was here waiting for me - complete down to the last nut and bolt! Very glad that Van’s is able to get (and keep) the process going again!
 
There were some backordered parts from my RV-12 fuselage kit when it was shipped last month. I received a FedEx package with the backordered parts the day before the kit itself was delivered.
 
I've been waiting on backordered parts from my RV-14A finish kit since May 2023. Every kit I purchased since Sept 2020 has had backordered parts. B/O'd parts normally shipped within a few months, but this seems to have changed with Chapter 11. Van's seems to be prioritizing new orders as they result in increased cash flow. Shipping already paid-for parts does not help their bottom line.
 
I had good success with backorder parts being delivered. Hang in there.
There is always something to do with hundreds of holes to drill, deburr, match drill, deburr, scuff for paint, dimple, and prime. Assembly and riveting goes pretty quick! Are you sure there is nothing to do?
 
I had to return my 7A QB Fuse due to primer issues. While waiting for the replacement, I kept myself busy with the “make” items. This made it less frustrating then waiting for an email from Vans Shipping department.
 
BenNabors said:
I had good success with backorder parts being delivered. Hang in there.
There is always something to do with hundreds of holes to drill, deburr, match drill, deburr, scuff for paint, dimple, and prime. Assembly and riveting goes pretty quick! Are you sure there is nothing to do?
Click to expand...
So I was able to the rear spar on the tailplane before I ran out of parts. I have deburred the rest of what I do have.
But not enough items to put skins on and match drill etc.
And as a first time builder I really want to just follow the steps as written, not jump all around starting many different things but finishing none. I feel I would get into unforeseen issues as I don't have enough of a picture yet of how it all comes together.
 
My finish kit had just a few BO parts that I got about a month ago, and the BO parts where shipped this week, so that seems to be moving along ok. I did have a finish kit ordered originally in 2022, almost two years ago now, so not sure if that plays a part or not.
 
I do the ordering and follow-up of kits for our School Trust and since taking over from my father in 2019, every kit I've ordered has had back-ordered parts. Things got pretty ridiculous over covid and for several months following (2021/2022), however I'm pleased to say we've seen improvements. The latest RV-12iS kit received in late January 2024 included everything except the engine and avionics (not ordered) and in total we have only a dozen or so line items missing. These were shipped from Vans last week and I'm dealing with their importation and clearance this week. We're pretty happy with this.

A big frustration for us with back-ordered parts is in proving to Customs we've already paid the importation duties and 15% GST on the items. When the Kit arrives in a big crate we pay the duties and taxes on the entire value of the purchase and of course at that time we do not have any idea what might be missing. Once the crate is unpacked and inventory complete we can follow up on the missing items, but when they fiinally arrive in-country with a "value" attached to them, the gummint want taxes and duties on those items... again. Convincing gummint agencies not to take taxes is like... well... you can imagine.
 
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