Kit Delivery and Inventory

All of a sudden, a whole bunch of airplane parts have arrived. My initial kit order and build plan went as follows:

  • During Sun N Fun in April
    • Hope that Van’s would run a special (they didn’t*)
    • Order Empennage, QB Wing, and QB Fuse either way
  • During 4-week Empennage lead time
    • Finish shop set-up and practice kits
  • Empennage delivery in May
  • During 26-week QB Wing & QB Fuse lead time
    • Work on Empennage
    • Finish my CFI in the Citabria, then sell it to make space
  • QB Wing & Fuse delivery in ~October

Welp, the order and empennage delivery went as planned, but I got a call from Van’s just a couple days after the empennage arrived to ask if they can send my wings and fuse in late May, almost 5 months early!

I figured that kit pricing is not locked in until final payment is received, Van’s already had my 35% deposit anyway, and I technically did have the space. So yeah, alright, bring on the wings and fuse.

*Van’s did run a special for Memorial Day… after I had already placed the order for these kits. Oh well.

Empennage

I set aside “receiving” space under my Citabria’s right wing, and the empennage crates fit easily.

I carefully removed all contents from the crates, compared the packing list vs the parts themselves, then sorted into shelves, bins, and temporarily to a pair of folding tables. I also sorted and counted all of the hardware, then printed labels and organized them into plastic sliding drawers. With a bit of help over 3 working days, it took 8.5 hours total.

I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it went – no inventory errors or damage, and it all fit neatly into the storage space I had planned.

QB Wings & Fuselage

When I got the call that I would be receiving the wings and fuselage imminently, I quickly pulled up an Excel diagram I drafted to ensure that I could physically fit all the crates in my hangar together with the Citabria.

Turns out that it is physically possible, but it does feel a bit snug. Also noteworthy is that the Van’s website said the quick builds come in 5 crates, but they actually arrive in 4, so that was good news.

In any case, completing the inventory itself was again uneventful except for the higher volume of parts and limited maneuvering space. I opened each crate and completely broke down the smaller fuse crate except for the base to make space – still considering whether I can store the cabin cover vertically or if I need to lay it flat.

This time, I put a few parts on shelves, but I had the idea to buy underbed plastic storage bins and moving blankets to protect the parts from dust and spiders, then I threw in desiccant packs with everything to ensure a dry environment too. Wing hardware fit into sliding drawers with the empennage stuff, but the fuselage hardware went into Milwaukee packout cases for safekeeping.

I also bought some binders, dividers, clipboards, etc to better manage the increasing amount of paperwork.

Unfortunately, the wing kit did have some minor omissions (nut, washers, and templates) and the fuselage kit did too (mostly related to wheels and brakes). The biggest issue was that I found some moisture staining on the front-right of the fuselage – I believe that it’s cosmetic rather than structural one, but it still doesn’t feel great. Chatting with Van’s about it and I’ll leave it at that for now since I don’t yet have all the details.

As I type this, I still need to find a way to finish inspecting the wings and fuse assemblies. I was hoping not to spend time building cradles yet, but it’s possible that I end up doing that anyway for better access.

After spending the last 16.1 working hours knocking out wing and fuse inventory, I’m turning my focus largely back to the empennage build. Excited to work on that vertical stabilizer.

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