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01-12-2012, 04:45 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 4,435
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This whole discussion ought to be a sticky, it's been around so long.
Dave
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01-12-2012, 05:36 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Hervey Bay Queensland Australia
Posts: 205
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SV Release
For goodness Sake have some Patience you Guys ..!! Everyone wants everthing Yesterday! You want a perfectly Operating Intergrated System don't you all..?? Patience is a Virtue...........!
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01-13-2012, 05:37 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 845
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bgl
What do we think of Van,s today
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I think Van's could have just as easily done the entire Skyview thing in secrecy and continued to sell D-180s right up until the day they switched to the Skyview. That would surely have caused a lot of gnashing of teeth and complaints from people that bought a D-180 kit a week before Skyview came out.
Van's is often put in darned if you do, darned if you don't position when it comes to these things. Sure, communications could have been better, and yes, they somehow vastly underestimated the difficulty of the process, but I appreciate that they let us know what was coming with the best of intentions.
I have no way of knowing, of course, but I would guess that no one at Van's is particularly happy with how this went, and I hope that they will have learned some lessons from it. I also hope one of those lessons learned is not "just don't tell the customers what we're trying to do until it's done."
__________________
Dave Gamble
Grove City, OH
RV-6 N466PG Purchased already flying - SOLD!
The Book: The PapaGolf Chronicles
Built RV-12
http://www.schmetterlingaviation.com
The Book: Being written.
The above web blogs and any links provided thereto are not instructional or advisory in nature. They merely seek to share my experiences in building and flying Van's RV airplanes.
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01-13-2012, 07:01 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: La Feria Texas
Posts: 3,822
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It is my understanding that Garmin pulled the plug on the GPS Vans used, and that was what made the "gap" between D180 and Skyvew.
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01-13-2012, 09:49 AM
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Perryville, MD
Posts: 93
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I would bet the delays are not due to the technology and making it work but are with getting everything thru for the change to the E-LSA certification. I guess Vans is just too nice to put the blame off on the government.
__________________
Joe Mikus
MSgt USAF Ret Avionics Tech
Perryville, MD
Student Sport Pilot
Future RV-12 Builder?
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01-13-2012, 01:35 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Marshall TX (KASL)
Posts: 1,783
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There isn't any gov't approval involved for LSA, companies more or less self-certify vs. the ASTM standards. And I would bet that the Garmin AERA series (that replaced the 496) is pin-compatible, or if not would require almost nothing but a couple of jumper wires and a different sheet of aluminum for the center stack. My GUESS is that the issues were with the redesign of the custom circuit boards for the switches, trim, fuses etc. That whole assembly had to be split. If you read the Van's PDF from last July about the redesign, it is a pretty neat plug/play type of replacement which will make future additions (like an ADSB receiver) easier. Vans has done an exceptional kit here but their communication on this whole issue has really needed improvement.
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01-13-2012, 04:58 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Elkton, Md.
Posts: 1,652
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I bought my avionics package in November of 2010. I knew that Van's was working on an alternative, but chose not to wait because the airplane was going together so quickly. The 12 and I were on a roll and decided not to stop. Looking back, would I have done things differently? Probably yes, especially after seeing Mitch in New Blue a few weeks ago. I don't know the exact price of the package, but I have heard it is not significantly higher than the old one. In that regard you guys who waited will be rewarded. The system is over the top especially for a light sport aircraft. When we on Earth start communicating with alien beings from other planets, it will probably be via Skyview. Just my .03. I do believe Van's will get this spot on.
__________________
Wag Aero Sport Trainer built,sold and wrecked
N588DF RV12 #336 built, sold and alive and well in New York
N73DF RV12 #244 built, sold and alive and well in Florida
N91 RV RV9 I wish I could say I built this one! Mark Santoleri hit the ball out of the park on this gem.
Currently restoring a 1978 Citabria GCBC
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01-13-2012, 06:25 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Southern Mississippi
Posts: 495
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bgl
VAN'S AIRCRAFT Has very poor leadership or we would have been informed as things went along
good or bad not the way it went.
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The most successful kit manufacturer in the world has "very poor leadership"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgl
What do we think of Van,s today
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Speaking for myself, I'm glad that Vans has the leadership it has. I suspect very few people are actually being held up in their completion of their project by Vans, remember the D-180 avionics were available until what, last August? Most are being held up based on a decision they made to wait for Skyview. At the very least, that same leadership decided to announce their intentions to change the avionics so people could at least have a choice to wait.
Having said all that, the truth is quite literally, anyone that is tired of waiting can simply order Skyview from Dynon or any number of their suppliers and finish their project. Or of course, put any panel they desire in it.
I would love to be a fly on the wall at Vans the day Skyview is made available. Reading this thread you would think hundreds will be ordered within the first hours. Bet it's going to be more like a dozen.
__________________
John Ratliff
N898R
RV-8
Saucier MS
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01-14-2012, 07:52 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MC HENRY MD
Posts: 33
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I am on hold and have been for 8 months. There is allot of speculation out there that could be helped with better communication.
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01-14-2012, 01:59 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hubbard Oregon
Posts: 9,035
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cptbob
I am on hold and have been for 8 months. There is allot of speculation out there that could be helped with better communication.
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I wont argue with the better communication part ( though in reality what could anyone have been told that would have made them happy... The whole process has run into repeated road blocks that no one ever saw coming, so the only guaranteed true information that could have ever been provided was... We don't know when it will be ready). I believe every time someone at Van's said it was expected to be ready on XX, that was said with a genuine expectation at that moment (but they cant help it if another unforeseen road block popped up after they said it).
I do understand your frustration, but in all fairness, you have not been held up for 8 months. You could have ordered the original avionics kit as late as the end of August 2011 and taken delivery shortly after.
Van's was gracious to RV-12 builders and gave them a far advanced notice of the change that was coming (and risked getting stuck with parts for the D-180 kit because no one wanted them).
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