That's the second time you saved me from making the same mistake. First one was the vertical stabilizer you fixed. Appreciate you making these detailed videos. Keep them coming!!!
You are saving my butt! Thank you so much! About to rivet the elevators together next week. By the way, are you planning to do the QB wings or slow build? Lead times are wildly different. QB takes over a year. I'm thinking slow build just to stay sharp. Thanks for leading the way. Looking forward to the next video!
Guess I posted just in time… glad to hear it :). Definitely going slow build on everything. The build is a huge part of the fun for me…. Mistakes and all. Wings are on order… probably delivery in January, plus or minus.
I almost got burned by this. My empennage kit was crated in October 2023 with the outdated plans. I don't recall how I learned about the service bulletin but I caught it just in time. Kind of ticked me off too that they shipped my kit with old plans. Now I check their website every couple of weeks juuuuust in case there are updates. Sorry you got caught up in this one but I think you're making the right decision by opening up the leading edge and adding sealant.
Glad you caught it. I felt the same way. Really frustrating, but like you, I’ll just make a point of checking for plan changes and bulletins on a regular basis. Thanks for sharing, and for watching!
I come from the world of aviation where every manual is a living document, meaning that there are constant revisions. On the FAA side they're in the form of FAA Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins. So when I started my project, taking note of the info blocks at the bottom of the pages, I was familiar with the coding. Section 1 of the plans covers Change Memos, Change Notices, and Service Bulletin policy, but it is incumbent upon the builder to stay up to date for those changes/revisions, and update the plans they initially receive. Not sure why, since Van's knows by our builder numbers which models we're building, these notices aren't automatically sent out via email.
Wonder if this is how maintenance doors fall off airplanes. 2 out of 60,000 mechanics don't get the notice and since they have "new" parts expecting their current. Someone didn't check that their parts were packaged before the last 10 notices. I bought a 3d printer, waited a year to get, finally showed up, spent 4 weeks with online, email support before they realized my machine sat on a shelf for a year and a half before shipping and many changes in software and parts had been made. They sent a brand new printer and it worked perfectly. They told me to keep the old one, they didn't want to waste time with it.
I definitely think there should be a better process in place such that revisions to plans would be emailed to people working on an aircraft. They certainly know who we are and what we’ve purchased. For now it’s just up to us to be diligent and check for updates.
That's the second time you saved me from making the same mistake. First one was the vertical stabilizer you fixed. Appreciate you making these detailed videos. Keep them coming!!!
Happy to help…. Guess I’m taking one for the team :)
You are saving my butt! Thank you so much! About to rivet the elevators together next week.
By the way, are you planning to do the QB wings or slow build? Lead times are wildly different. QB takes over a year. I'm thinking slow build just to stay sharp.
Thanks for leading the way. Looking forward to the next video!
Guess I posted just in time… glad to hear it :). Definitely going slow build on everything. The build is a huge part of the fun for me…. Mistakes and all. Wings are on order… probably delivery in January, plus or minus.
I almost got burned by this. My empennage kit was crated in October 2023 with the outdated plans. I don't recall how I learned about the service bulletin but I caught it just in time. Kind of ticked me off too that they shipped my kit with old plans. Now I check their website every couple of weeks juuuuust in case there are updates. Sorry you got caught up in this one but I think you're making the right decision by opening up the leading edge and adding sealant.
Glad you caught it. I felt the same way. Really frustrating, but like you, I’ll just make a point of checking for plan changes and bulletins on a regular basis.
Thanks for sharing, and for watching!
Bad luck. You've taken it well. Good idea to move on to something else for a bit 👍
Agreed… got to be in the right mood with plenty of patience to enjoy the build. Thanks for watching!
I come from the world of aviation where every manual is a living document, meaning that there are constant revisions. On the FAA side they're in the form of FAA Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins. So when I started my project, taking note of the info blocks at the bottom of the pages, I was familiar with the coding. Section 1 of the plans covers Change Memos, Change Notices, and Service Bulletin policy, but it is incumbent upon the builder to stay up to date for those changes/revisions, and update the plans they initially receive. Not sure why, since Van's knows by our builder numbers which models we're building, these notices aren't automatically sent out via email.
Yeah would have been nice to get and email when your plans change, but just something to keep an eye out for.
Wonder if this is how maintenance doors fall off airplanes. 2 out of 60,000 mechanics don't get the notice and since they have "new" parts expecting their current. Someone didn't check that their parts were packaged before the last 10 notices. I bought a 3d printer, waited a year to get, finally showed up, spent 4 weeks with online, email support before they realized my machine sat on a shelf for a year and a half before shipping and many changes in software and parts had been made. They sent a brand new printer and it worked perfectly. They told me to keep the old one, they didn't want to waste time with it.
I definitely think there should be a better process in place such that revisions to plans would be emailed to people working on an aircraft. They certainly know who we are and what we’ve purchased. For now it’s just up to us to be diligent and check for updates.
"The ONLY constant in aviation is change." - Me
Indeed