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| Preparation | Delivery | Inventory | Packing | Supporting Parts | Airport Move | |
Delivery & Unpacking | |
Mon 08 December 2003 | |
| The 3 quick build crates arriving in Cromwell. Total weight of 700+ kg. |  |
| Then the first major problem of the project - this was the fuselage shipping create as it arrived. As you can see it is missing an end. Not sure yet of the implications / damage, but obviously lots of paper work...... |  |
| The next challenge was getting the 5m wide crate down the drive and into the shed. The delivery driver was really careful and managed to get it to the shed without further damage to the crate.
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| The next risk was the crate packing falling apart and damaging the fuselage. It was therefore unpacked in short order. |  |
| The fuselage is absolutely jammed packed with all the bits. |  |
| Minus the packing and all safe and sound in the shed. The first IOU for a flight - thanks for the help Cliff. All looks OK at first glance. |  |
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Sun 21 December 2003 | |
| I arrived in Cromwell from the UK, the drive down from Auckland to Cromwell was great. Wonderful weather and I manage to beat the holiday rush. It was late evening, but a got a quick look to see what the state of play was with the kit. | |
Mon 22 December 2003 | |
| For shipping the rear cockpit bulkhead is tied together by these little braces, the distortion was initially a bit of a concern, but I'm now convinced that all will be fine once the skins are located and this wavy line will all come into a single flat plane.
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| The major thing today is finding this damage to the starboard side spar uprights (F-704C & D). Sent an email to VAN's. I'm not very comfortable with this - I would seem to be rather important in the overall strength of the underlying super structure I would have thought. I'll see what support has to say. |  |
Sun 11 January 2004 | |
| We are still not sure of the best approach to the stressed F-704's. They seem to have been given one hellava wack. | |
Wed 28 January 2004 | |
| Received the TruTrak autopilot pitch and bank servos from the USA today. The install kits looks good and should be simple to install. | |
Thu 29 January 2004 | |
| I also got confirmation the Aircraft Spruce order for various bits (including the pitot) was shipped today, so should be with us (via airmail) beginning of next week. | |
Mon 02 February 2004 | |
| In the post today I got the 'lectric Bob's AeroElectric Connection publication. Looks really good and larger than I expected. This seems to be the bible for modern aeroelectric design. More bed time reading....... | |
| This morning we went on a mini-shopping run. Got protective gloves, masks etc for the prep & priming functions. Also got a cleaning product designed for AL (AllSol) which sounds like it is the right local stuff (MEK type equivalent). Not really plane 'building' time but needed never the less. | |
Tue 03 February 2004 | |
| First thing this morning the Aircraft spruce order arrived including the pitot and pitot mount plus a selection of solid rivets for stock, that was the good news. The bad news is the pitot had a dent that looks like it was done whilst still in the USA. Obviously I'll need to get hold of Spruce..... |  |
Thu 12 February 2004 | |
| I also spent a significant chunk of the day prodding & chasing Aircraft Spruce on the damaged pitot. Finally (after 2 weeks) they accepted that the part needed to be replaced and provided a returns procedure. I then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to work out the international shipping process with FedEx. All rather frustrating, I'd rather be building an aircraft and it will be at least 2 more weeks until we have a pitot. Not a biggy on this occasion but it could have been, oh well by the end of the project I'll understand the GST and NZ & USA customs processes in much greater detail :-| | |
Fri 20 February 2004 | |
| The logistics of the project are one of our biggest challenges, partly being in the middle of New Zealand, partly seeming to have problems getting quotes / products out of NZ suppliers and partly just being a long way away from the US sources of aircraft parts. Currently things pending include - proseal, fuel valve, bolt hardware, electrical wiring components etc. These aren't all critical path but with shipping costs (~US $50 per order) I try and batch things as much as possible. | |
Wed 25 February 2004 | |
| Logistics - Well I got a response from Aircraft Spruce today to say that the Pitot tube (AN5814-12) I ordered (and was damaged on delivery) has now gone end of life and they are unable to get a new one. I'm not sure of the best way forward. I really like the idea of a heated static source along with heated dynamic and I was under the impression that the 5814 was used in other production aircraft. The other issue is I've paid GST on the original goods coming into the country and now I have no goods and have still paid for the government duty! I'm sure I'll be able to get it back - just hassle that I don't need. I've obviously committed to the Gretz mount (I've got the holes in the wing to prove it) so my options are slightly limited. More thought needed..... | |
| A large chunk of the lunchtime / afternoon was taken up trying to sort the Pro-Seal order from Auckland. This product seems to be in scarce supply within the country and I was told it was going to cost me NZ$290 + shipping (~US$203) for a pint tin. This is a product that retails from Spruce at US$58. I really object to paying that sort of extortionate prices, and this is when I need it as a sealant compound to reduce flutter and vibration - it isn't even sealing the fuel tanks!! After some telephone calls back and forth, I agreed that I would source it in otherways, but it now looks like I should have a delivery by next Wednesday for ~NZ$90 which is much more reasonable. I don't think it is the local reseller, I think the problems are coming from the suppliers but I rather lost it this afternoon! I've also made a list of lots of 'bits' that are needed so hopefully they will all be available together. | |
Fri 05 March 2004 | |
| The Pro-Seal was delivered!!!! I also got a few other bits including rivets and nuts & bolts. |  |
Fri 19 March 2004 | |
| Other news today, the new fuselage is in the country, however due to various reasons it has been delayed in bonded customs storage for the past week. Very frustrating but hopefully by mid next week we should have it. Next question will be any damage?? Also confirmed shipping of the harnesses and supplementary order from VANs (including Angle of Attack system) should be here next week sometime. Christmas this year must be the last week in March! | |
Mon 22 March 2004 | |
| Other 'distractions' for the day, various shipping companies either need paper work filled in or payments made or whatever. If you are building in NZ - get yourself registered with Customs (Form 224) - it will save you hassle (don't ask me how I know....) | |
Wed 24 March 2004 | |
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Mon 29 March 2004 | |
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Fri 24 December 2004 | |
| We also got the Avery misc order from last week. some extra clecos and other bits. |  |
Wed 19 January 2005 | |
| Delivery of bits and bobs from Aeroware in Auckland |  |
Mon 29 August 2005 | |
| I got phone call at 7:30am this morning to say my engine was just up the road and ready for delivery. After a moment to get up off the floor, I got outside and cleared a space for the new addition. |  |
| The shipment came in two boxes, the main engine (foreground) and a second auxilerary box with harnesses, manuals, FADEC parts, filters etc. |  |
Mon 17 October 2005 | |
| Received in the post today the CO gas detection kit from the UK. This is a small build project with a relay output that detects most 'bad' gasses / vapours (including Carbon Monoxide). I'll assemble and test one evening when I have a spare moment. Meanwhile Dad spent most of today working through our current shopping list. The propeller should be ready to ship from VANs within the next few days and will add a whole pile of 'bits', won't be cheap but at least shipping costs should be minimal. |  |
Fri 25 November 2005 | |
| Late morning the delivery from VANs finally arrived. The new Hartzel prop box was bigish - lots of spare space - why VANs can't use this for packing for the international shipping beats me - and annoys me. |  |
| This was the main contents of the second box - lots of bits, including COM / VOR aerials, PC 680 batteries, push/pull quadrant controls etc. One note - the crotch strap attach kits have both the LHS & the RHS components. I got two kits so have a complete spare set! |  |
| Also included were a VANS (falcon) Altimeter and a VANS (UMA) Air speed indicator. This will be two of the backup instruments. |  |
Thu 08 December 2005 | |
| Also got a little delivery from Nuplex in Christchurch including some black pigment plus some light weight glass (2oz / m2). | |
Thu 02 February 2006 | |
| Nuplex delivery arrived mid morning - good service, ordered Tue morning, here Thr morning.... |  |
Wed 08 February 2006 | |
| The Shell delivery arrived this afternoon - all in all good service and means we have the right grease and brake fluid available for when we need it. |  |
Thu 16 February 2006 | |
| Misc delivery of 'snake skin' braided sleeving and the 2.5mm tap / dies from Blackwood / Packels in Dunedin - good service, fast delivery. |  |
Fri 24 February 2006 | |
| First half of the day was 'shopping', including some sheet materials and #6 nut plates from an engineering arm in Queenstown. |  |
Wed 08 March 2006 | |
| Also spent quite a bit of the afternoon sorting electrical order from Stein. Sounds like it probably won't leave him until begining of next week. The AI instruments are going to be a real pain (poor availability), undecided on the best way forward. | |
Mon 27 March 2006 | |
| The first part of the day for me was spent with more shipping problems. This time it was the NZ carriers organising sea freight rather than air frieght. Another weeks delay on us getting the avionics - gone past frustration. Hopefully all now sorted. | |
Thu 06 April 2006 | |
| Not much time on the project today - other gardening. I did spend about an hour on the phone with the customs lady from the NZ shippers sorting tarrifs and codes for the inbound avionics - what fun.... | |
Sat 08 April 2006 | |
| Mixed sort of day. Picked up the delivery from the local depot this morning - shipment in one piece. Got home started unpacking and found a number of big ticket items hadn't been shipped and part of the order missed altogether. Rather frustrating to put it mildly, I'm sure we will get it all sorted with Stein and it will be just another phase of the project, but it still takes time and effort to fix. Rather defalting all in all. |  |
Mon 19 June 2006 | |
| Second part shipment from Stein arrived today, various bits in addition to some of the back ordered parts. Included was the VFR GPS module for the GRT's, fuel flow and TruTrack AutoPilot head unit. Still a few more bits to come / get sorted but nearly there. | |
Thu 14 December 2006 | |
| The second part of the ACS order got delivered - a 'huge' box, with lots of worms and box in it, which contained lots of foam and a REALLY small vertical card compass. It cost US$70 to ship this large box (3lbs weight) to me - rather frustrating to be spending money on shipping 'air'. |  |
Tue 22 May 2007 | |
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Mon 18 June 2007 | |
| I got a selection of resistors and bits for stock. |  |
Sat 07 July 2007 | |
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Tue 18 September 2007 | |
| Also recieved the Headsets Inc ANR upgrade kit for my David Clark 13.4's. |  |
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