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Glenn Pew |
| Photographs by Glenn Pew
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| About the Author ... |
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Glenn Pew earned his
private certificate in 1991. His history includes service in production design
and quality assurance for two companies that develop and produce experimental
aircraft. He's produced aircraft parts for distribution, public display and as
samples for the acquisition of government contracts. Glenn has also worked as
a consultant for homebuilders of composite aircraft and was employed to create
raw footage for a video construction manual.
As a Research Editor for
Boardroom Inc., a direct-mail newsletter and book publisher, Glenn works with
a team of experts and freelance writers to hone useful copy for the masses. He
also edits a section of Boardroom’s web site. Glenn lives in New York City
and is building an aerobatic experimental of his own, which should be finished
"sometime late Wednesday afternoon" — he's not quite as specific
about the date.
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Without
a doubt, the most advanced designs available to the general public today are
kitplanes. In many cases, the aircraft available in the experimental category
are among the best in the world. In some cases, they are the best in
the world, and that's a statement you can back up in the record books. Still,
even the most prolific of companies in this industry don't run with deep
profit margins — just look at Stoddard-Hamilton, which filed for bankruptcy
earlier this month. But if you're looking to buy, you've got to start
somewhere. The question is — where?
An issue of Kitplanes magazine from just a few years ago listed 537
available designs. That's a lot of kits. In an industry this unregulated, that
means there can be a lot of pitfalls for the unwary. What follows are some of
the details of which the careful prospective builder should be aware. Let's
start with the numbers.
The Math
Of those 537 kits, 498 were listed in the airplane section. Of those, 166
were listed the number flying as 10 or less. That's exactly 1 out of 3.
Ninety-two of those designs listed the number completed as one or less. That's
nearly 1 out of 5. That year, an additional 82 did not report "number
completed" at all — not a good thing. For that year, there were about
498-166-82=250 (or just about half of those designs listed) that may have been
around long enough to have the major bugs worked out of them. With those kind
of numbers, the trick here isn't finding a good design. Instead, it's finding
a good kit from a good company.
A Place To Start
There will
always be a lot of new — and very impressive — entrants into the kitplanes
arena. These are great stories to watch from the bleachers, just don't become
a player. Unfortunately, there are some very good reasons to stay away from
those promising new designs. Unless you are highly motivated and very much
accustomed to using your mind and hands to build aircraft and order all the
parts for them and schedule the building process, you do not want one
of the first 10 to come off the line. If 10 are flying already, you might be
okay. If 10 aren't flying ... leave the R&D to those who are so inclined
and those who have the time. If the designs/manufacturers are good, they will
prove themselves without your help, and in the end you'll have the option of
buying a better product from them when the time is right — if you've played
your cards right.
The Rules
One Airplane Does Not A Kit Make...
I
worked for one kitplane company that had sold 50 kits (they had a very sexy
product) and had still not figured out how the tailwheel would retract. They
had also overlooked that a manufacture design change (which significantly
decreased production time) rendered the canopy attach system flimsy — if not
deadly. Sometimes it works to the manufacturer's advantage that the building
process is slow.
When you build, you want your learning curve to be as steep as possible and
you do not want to adopt anyone else's along the way. You do not want to be
involved in the manufacturer's learning curve — that would be bad. You
were probably expecting to make a few small mistakes when building due to the
newness of the experience (read: expect to be doing some "one-time
tasks" more than once). There is no reasonable theory for expecting that
a young kitplane company will not have similar problems as it moves from
design to engineering to prototyping to production and marketing.
So how do you weed out the good from the bad? Statistics are handy in this
area. Find out when the prototype first flew. Then, find out how many kits
have been sold since and compare that against the number of those kits that
are now flying airplanes. That last part is the most important. Remember; the
airplane doesn't come in a box. Parts for the construction of the airplane
come in the box. You're not buying an airplane, you're buying a kit and it
doesn't matter how great a kitplane is if people can't finish it. Do your best
to contact those who successfully completed theirs and ask them about their
experience. Include questions about the demands it placed on their time and
their satisfaction with the company they purchased from.
...Talking To Yourself...
Don't
talk yourself into anything. Every pilot has a dream plane. Kitplanes are
designed to fulfill those dreams — and the ads for them are designed to cater
to those dreams. As you pick your design, you will be bathed in silken
statistics. The performance numbers are dreamy. The plane's economy is dreamy.
Try not to get starstruck with the image before you know the airplane. It's
very easy to take those numbers and that "money shot" picture, and
let an airplane that is well-marketed become the airplane of your dreams
before you even sit in it. Important: Don't let anyone tell you anything the
plane hasn't told you for itself. Including you.
...Talking To The Designer...
While there are a lot of good and good-hearted designers out there, people
don't get into this business to get rich: Don't forget that they have egos,
too. They have worked very long and very hard on their design (for years). Now
they have seen their dream come true. Do not underestimate the impact of that
notion on a designer's attitude about his/her product. Designers seldom offer
the most objective perspective.
If you run into any problems once you've started building — this is their
first design, and yours is number six — they may not be very open to you
pointing out their shortcomings and how it has complicated your life. No one
wants to hear that the airplane they designed to be the ultimate whatever is
not a good enough kit for you. This is not a situation with which you want to
get involved. I speak from personal experience — take it as advice, if not
law.
Understand that designers have had to overcome a large number of formidable
obstacles to produce a kit and, understandably, this has forced them to make
numerous compromises along the way. The problem this causes for you is that
they more than likely did not make the choices you would have. They are
sellers and you are a buyer: You are approaching the same problem from
opposite sides of the coin. Ultimately, they will learn that your way is the
right way, but you as a builder and a buyer do not want to be a part of that
initial argument.
The Lesson:
Be careful what you ask for when you talk to the designer. Designing a
plane and designing a kit are two different things. Just because it's a great
plane does not mean that it is a great kit — and it's never going to become
your great plane unless you can get through the kit. All you want to know from
the designer is why they designed the plane and how close that is to what you
had in mind. Your compatibility with the kit is another matter.
...Go Sit In One
Go fly one. Try to sit in one and fly in it in the same way you dreamed you
would. Very important: If your spouse was in the dream, bring her (or him) to
sit next to you and listen to her (or his) comments. Your spouse might have
been smiling as you flew three hours cross-country in the dream or buzzed low
and slow through a riverbed. It's worth seeing the real expression on a real
face before you lay out the money.
And, of course, are you smiling ... or are you losing feeling in your legs?
A lot of these designs pick up performance by having low frontal area. There
being no free lunch — especially when it comes to aircraft design — this can
often translate to no room for arms, legs or pilots. Make sure you, your loved
one and whatever else you plan on stuffing in there fit without any
unwarranted binding or chafing. Again, be aware that aircraft design is about
compromise: If they're roomy and still have great numbers, there's a very good
chance they either have a big engine — which means $40 of fuel an hour — or
it means the finished products needs lots of smooth pavement to get airborne.
Hint: Get the specifics. Find out what effect adding all those avionics you
want (and their weight) will have on the performance you crave.
The bottom line? There are excellent designs out there. Buy the one that is
what you want it to be. Buy the one that will do what you will use if for. Do
not buy one to change it into the design you actually wanted. Be very
introspective in your judgment in this area and always true to yourself.
Tips And Traps As You Get Close
Never Trust A Salesman...
Get references. Find people who are building and find people who have
ordered. Are the manuals clear? Have the parts arrived on schedule? What is
the quality of the parts and, more important, what are they comparing it to?
If their realm of comparison is not up to your standards, find out for
yourself. Visit builders of various kitplanes who live "nearby,"
even if theirs is not the same design as the one you have in mind. Local EAA
chapters will be glad to help you with this. This is not an extra step,
because if you do build, you will be talking to these people anyway for all
kinds of reasons and for all kinds of help. Personal visits will give you
invaluable perspective on what's out there.
...Never Trust A Salesman, Part 2...
If they say
it climbs 3,000 fpm, ask how they measured it. Many companies (especially in
their early stages) will ballpark those figures or rely on computer-generated
numbers for ROC, cruise, range, ground rolls and roll rates, that their
prototype has not lived up to ... "yet." Again, talk to people who
know, because they built one and are flying it. If there are none to talk to,
it doesn't matter what the reason is. Just walk away.
...Never Trust A Salesman, Part 3...
I know of one popular manufacturer who had sold 20 kits and delivered zero
complete kits. While this is not always a cause for alarm — again very few
people build airplanes all that fast — it may (and did in this case) indicate
financial or practical production problems at the parent company.
Now for some inside information: Companies usually don't have much money
when they start up. Some of them run through the early years like a pyramid
scheme — the money you pay for kit #20 pays for the materials for kit #7. The
delivery schedule stretches longer and longer. Slow delivery times and rapidly
increasing kit prices are a good indicator of this sort of problem. While you
may be able to look into it, you'd rather get a kit after those problems have
been ironed out — even though you will end up shelling out more cash.
...Never Trust A Salesman, Part 4...
Building time: Only 700 hours... Ask people who are building the kit. How
good are the instructions? How much can they get done in a weekend?
Start with
the basics: How many pages are there in the manual? How about the blueprints?
That 700 hours may be reasonable for a retired engineer who is used to reading
blueprints and can continue to work the whole week through without
interruption ... or for those who feel it is okay to do an okay job on
something that in many cases will take at least four years to do, cost $70,000
and all of your spare time to complete — and be something that you will trust
your life to.
If all of the above is okay by you, and you're an aeronautical engineer, an
A&P and an avid hobbyist, maybe that build time applies to you. But this
is your airplane. You will not have the luxury of saying "it could
have been better but this is just the prototype" and it's likely that
you'll spend about 100 hours just shopping for the right paint and upholstery
for your dream machine (amenities that are not often included in build-time
estimates). Even ordering the right parts and having them arrive at the right
time is not as easy as it looks. A lot of mistakes can be made when doing
something for the first time, and they often are.
...You Get What You Pay For — Usually...
There are no deals in this or any market. It is generally very competitive,
with many similar designs fighting for the same market segment. If one design
is significantly less expensive there is probably a good reason.
"Reasonable" reasons include: differences in materials used, e.g.,
high-temp pre-preg vs. wet lay-up; aircraft grade vs. hardware store-quality
hardware; manuals and blueprints vs. instructions and pictures; prefab vs.
"here are the raw materials."
Look into things carefully. There is a wide range of kits out there and
your airplane may come in a kit that is not right for you. But skills you can
learn and time you can make. These things can be overcome.
...Consider Your Workspace...
Be aware
of the space needed for storage as well as work. Certain tasks in kitplane
building take as much or more time in preparation as they do in physical work,
and this aspect is magnified if your space is small and you must "make
space" to work. These constraints become especially apparent when the
only time you have is the weekend. As a rule of thumb, a good amount of space
is twice the space needed to store the aircraft comfortably when completed,
although you can get by with half that.
Also, is there a significant other in or near the workspace? Better cut
that free time in half. Sprinkle in a good dose of clean-up time, too, if
you'd like them to remain significant and not just other. Your mileage may
vary....
...Factory Support...
How much guidance will you need? Be very honest with yourself and very
generous with your estimate. If you are unsure of yourself at any stage of the
project, will you need affirmation before moving on? Find out what incarnation
the support system has taken back at the manufacturer's end. Do they have a
system or department to deal with builder questions? Is there an 800-number
you can call? Or is it "we're usually around to take your call"? You
are more than welcome to ask the company, but find out from the builders.
Always find out what the results are from the receiving end of the equation.
...Tools Required
Only simple hand tools, right? What does that do to the build-time
estimate? Did they build the prototype with simple hand tools? It's worth
asking, but be specific and accept specific answers only. There's a difference
between an air-powered hand tool and a hand-powered hand tool. Whatever anyone
says, the more money you spend on tools, the less time you will spend
sweating.
Make a
list of what you need and make a separate list of what would be handy to have
if you had the cash (you may need to seek out help to make sure the list is
complete — ask several builders). The actual making of the lists not only
forces you to differentiate, but it also provides you with an item to
circulate to your EAA buddies — aside from giving you an idea of what you're
getting yourself into. Don't worry, you will probably be able to borrow the
more expensive/less frequently used items. What's more, most of those tend to
come with a ready step-by-step explanation and a tutor who will have a vested
interest in your using the tool properly for the best results (read: not
breaking it). They feel good for being able to teach, and you get the job done
by someone who knows what they're doing. It really does work very well.
If You Choose To Build
Advice: Seek As Much As You Can At Every Stage...
There's no need to reinvent the wheel. Getting a lot of advice has many
good side effects. For one, you create ties within the aviation community.
Another is that you will get better at distinguishing the enthusiasts from the
genuinely informed — a handy talent.
...Looking Silly...
You don't have to look like you know what you're talking about. And if you
don't know, it's better to admit it and make that obvious to everyone now,
rather than have it become evident later when your project is done and
"less than perfect." Besides, the more different techniques you make
yourself aware of, the more likely you are to find one that best fits you and
the more able you will be to modify it to suit your needs as you learn.
...Know When To Say When...
As
you go about building your aircraft, you will find yourself getting better and
better at solving problems and creating solutions in increasingly complex
situations. It's exciting at first, and draining, but later it can become
addictive. Sooner or later your skill level has risen to the point where you
can fix just about anything you mess up and figure out any problem that
arises. You become a very powerful person when you have gotten this far.
The obvious trap? The problem is not how to see a certain series of steps
through. It becomes stopping yourself from fixing things when the better
solution is to scrap it and start over. It is not always easy when you've
gotten yourself all wrapped into problem-solving and finally worked through a
solution. The key is to step back and reassess things: There will be a great
ego boost if you figure it out or fix it and make it work the first time. But
would it be better for the airplane for you to start over and make it perfect
the "second time?"
...Don't Be Bullied...
Aesthetics:
A lot of outside influences will offer advice on how to do things ranging from
how to drill holes, to how to fill and prime, to what your airplane should
look like. Remember, your free time is on the line (waste as little of it as
you can). This is your project and it should look how you want it to and be
done in a manner you feel good about. Advice is good. Doing something you're
not comfortable with — at any stage in this game — is not!
Physics:
Most important, your life is on the line. Do not spend any time listening to
people who have good modification tips, unless they are the designers. Even
then, make sure it has passed the eyes of an engineer well-versed in these
matters. And, do not let the manufacturer pass off production flaws as
okay. It can be very tempting to give in to their superior experience, but
this is your airplane and it is your responsibility to get at least the
highest quality practical. This is one place where you shouldn't be shy about
sending the bad soup back to the kitchen.
Myth:
The designer created it and any change he makes must be okay. The truth is
that the designer drew it, and told the engineer how he'd like it to hold up
to what kind of punishment. The engineer is the guy who makes sure it won't
fall apart until those limits are exceeded. This is not something to mess
around with. At all.
...Be Careful Out There!
The way things are set up right now, any Mary or John can sell kitplanes,
and you will sign your life away when you buy one. But remember, when the FAA
comes by and says it's airworthy they won't be dropping a single sandbag to
see if that wing can hold it — let alone the 7 g's the manufacturer says it
will. Be careful. Most young kitplane companies cannot afford to break their
prototype to test their computer-designated load parameters. Some have not
even done static load tests of components to their stated limits to see if
they hold up.
In most
cases, the ultimate load of your airplane is a computer-generated number that
the kitplane manufacturer has divided by 1.5 or 2 to allow a good safety
margin. It is an industry standard and a good practice. That method does not,
however, take into account the possibility that actual construction methods,
materials, or techniques could somehow be flawed. Especially because all of
those things tend to get changed as the company streamlines its
manufacturing/production process. In other words, even if they did break their
prototype it is quite possible that your aircraft is built differently, or has
a number of different or altered components from that of the prototype.
Regardless, you don't want to be the one to point out the fact that things
have changed by splattering yourself across a cornfield. The information won't
be of much use to you then anyway. Buy a proven design from a proven company
with a good track record; there are plenty out there.
Reasons For Building
If
you're building because you can't afford buying, maybe you should rethink
things. Remember that if your dream plane is more expensive than you can
afford, you probably could afford it if you spent your weekends working
overtime at your job or picked up a second job. The more expensive projects
(fast glass) are going to take you about five years to complete with project
costs hurdling $70,000 with ease. There is a lot of money you could make in
five years if you are creative, resourceful and devote your energies to it.
You are creative, resourceful and energetic, aren't you? You were planning on
working your weekends, weren't you? If you are simply looking forward to the
building process, there is nothing more to say.
If you've made it this far, you deserve a taste of the upside. Building is
a working experience of unparalleled reward and self-empowerment. It is the
creation of your dream through your own hands, put to the harsh test of
reality. In one monumental effort you create what existed only in your highest
hopes and ambitions. It is like flying. There will be no excuses at the end of
the day. There will simply be you and what you've done. And the truth of its
excellence and failures will be manifest for all the world to see. You will
have tackled a project — an event, really — of such magnitude few others
would dare consider it possible. You have indeed made your dream come true.
And that makes your reality special — to you and everyone.
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