GREG HUGHES, CAN YOU HEAR ME?
I do. My apologies. Unfortunately, my time to monitor and respond on the forums is limited right now. That's not my choice, and frankly I'd prefer to be here and help answer questions. It's just our reality right now. Everyone here, myself included, is being pulled in many different directions and working some highly-complex tasks for very long hours. I've spoken recently with some of you on the phone or conversed via email, all of which are appreciated. Some questions I don't know the answer to and I often don't yet have a clear answer. So, again, apologies for the delayed reading and limited responses.
Those of us with empty mailboxes knowing others have their offers are very anxious that we've been overlooked.
Please tell us that you'll make it known when all engine contracts have been sent out (then, of course, follow through with that announcement.)
Yes, we'll let you know when all the revised engine contracts have been sent out. We explained previously that they would be going out over the course of a few days. The final batch of orders is being prepared today and should go out soon.
edit: Same request regarding LCP replacements ...
We've been sending individual customers emails with their specific lists for a couple weeks, and have begun shipping replacement parts. We will be sending additional customers their individual emails and parts lists as well, starting next week. This process will take weeks or months, not days.
(Also, where are my RV-10 seats? Shipping won't talk. Been backordered for a year and it is very apparent that new orders are getting theirs. What the?)
RV-10 seats historically were made by a third party manufacturer, which slowed production and delivery to Van's substantially while also increasing our cost by approximately 2x. We have started producing our own RV-10 seat parts, which we will start shipping soon. We will announce more on this when that transition happens. There are times in this unusual bankruptcy recovery period when decisions have to be made to minimize costs and ensure healthy cash flow, which is not always the way we'd prefer to do things from a customer perspective. For example, we might need to ship parts to a customer with a kit delivery to avoid more backorder costs before everyone gets the same backordered parts. When this happens, it primarily is to ensure two things: First, that we are shipping things that ensure positive cash flow week to week; and second, that we are not creating more backorders to manage. With that said, both backorders and new orders are being fulfilled - but it is a slow process. I know that's not what any of us want; however, we will work through this and get to the point where things normalize.
Sorry that we cannot answer every question as soon as it is asked. It's important that we provide solid answers when we have them, and also that we are focused on the internal tasks that get parts out the door and get us through this period.
Thanks.