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  #21  
Old 03-22-2013, 03:13 PM
AL_O_Dine AL_O_Dine is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plehrke View Post
Change is not good if you can't make money at it. There are also plenty of example of companies going out of business because they changed to things outside of their strengths. Just looking at product, McDonald's no longer sells the McLean, Lockheed no longer makes commercial airliners, Ford no longer makes garden tractors.

But will sonex ever sell enough to recoup development cost? Vans is a business that is unwilling to increase prices (for customers benefit) of existing products to fund the risk of some they do not think will make them dollars. Remember they are the masters of a very thin margin and therefore can not afford very much risk.
How do you know what Van's accounting is like? Are you their CPA?

I would hazard a guess, that Vans offering a high wing kit or two, would be a nice addition to round out their lineup of aircraft. Certainly the demand is there for high wing planes.

Rans introduced the S19 low wing kit not long ago. Why would they do such a crazy thing? After all, Vans has the market cornered with low wing kits. Oh wait there is that other company called Zenith too. So it would be futile for anyone else in experimental aviation to think about offering a low wing kit right?. NOT!

With that logic, we as consumers would have a very pathetic selection of items to choose from at any retail location.

Why in the world did Lowes hardware open up? Surely the bankers laughed them out of the building, while pointing to Home Depot down the street.

Burger King? You have to be kidding. McDonalds has the market on hamburgers. Forget that idea. Wendys? Get out of here, never going to work. Just go to McDonalds.

No, not all product introductions are successful. No, not all businesses are wisely managed. But simply saying Van's can't or shouldn't do a high wing is ridiculous.

Van or his successor will ultimately decide, since they are the ones who will know the numbers and where they want the business to go and what they want to tackle.

If it ever comes to pass that Vans does offer a high wing kit, it would not surprise me in the least that they grabbed a whole new lineup of customers sending checks their way.
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  #22  
Old 03-22-2013, 04:42 PM
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randyintejas randyintejas is offline
 
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"How do you know what Van's accounting is like? Are you their CPA?"

Dude, relax! This is supposed to be a low stress place!
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  #23  
Old 03-23-2013, 10:57 AM
AL_O_Dine AL_O_Dine is offline
 
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Default Vans New High Wing

Through a variety of seedy contacts, I was able to get an image of a new and highly secret project at Vans aircraft. It took months of planning and intelligence gathering.

What we do know is this. A new model is indeed underway. It was extremely difficult to get a proper photograph of the project. Apparently Vans has gotten hold of some very high tech military hangar floor paint that somehow masks and distorts objects on the floor, thus making photography extremely difficult. Word on the street is that the paint it is straight out of Area 51.

Only one photo of this new project was able to be taken before the guard chihuahua made a beeline to the operative.

With the photo distortions, it is hard to tell, but it appears a high wing of some sort is being developed. Whether or not it will be a tip up or slider model is yet to be determined.

One thing is for sure though....it will be yellow and white.

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  #24  
Old 03-23-2013, 03:55 PM
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plehrke plehrke is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AL_O_Dine View Post
How do you know what Van's accounting is like? Are you their CPA?
No not their CPA but have bought tens of thousands of dollars of stuff from them and I have priced them against others on many items. Also he charges very odd prices (never ending in 99) like $2.06 for something tells me he uses a % margin and not round up to the next traditional price.
Buy a kit and learn what the van's company is all about.
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  #25  
Old 03-23-2013, 06:08 PM
E. D. Eliot E. D. Eliot is offline
 
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Default Fun to speculate

I'm neither an accountant or aeronautical engineer but I am pretty sure that Van doesn't pay those engineers that he employs to just sit around without a project. The economics must make sense for sure and any design (I think) begins with available engines - then aerodynamics.

So let me speculate about a 'high wing' Van's aircraft. My opinion, Van's has done about all that they can with two person low wing aircraft except design and sell kits for a second high wing LSA or improve existing kits. So the high wing that I visualize will be a four place hauler with at least a 250 HP engine. Maybe a 'round' engine. @ 450 HP or a small turboprop.

Something that will be fast enough to move four people plenty fast with at least four hours of fuel. High lift type wing too. Something that the people who want to build a float plane or land on rough fields or haul heavy loads or parachutists will either build himself or have built for him. A 'working' machine primarily.

It would be primarily a tail dragger with maybe an 'A' model offering for those who would want it.

This is not an aircraft that I would operate or could afford - first things first - would it sell???
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  #26  
Old 03-23-2013, 07:53 PM
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Geico266 Geico266 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AL_O_Dine View Post
Yikes! It's an RV-HW!
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  #27  
Old 03-23-2013, 08:17 PM
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walkman walkman is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plehrke View Post
Change is not good if you can't make money at it. .
To bring this thread back on track (pun intended) I believe it was dr. Ferdinand Porsche who said "Change is easy. To improve is the thing."
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  #28  
Old 03-24-2013, 09:25 AM
AL_O_Dine AL_O_Dine is offline
 
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Default Vans High Wing

Quote:
Originally Posted by E. D. Eliot View Post
So let me speculate about a 'high wing' Van's aircraft. My opinion, Van's has done about all that they can with two person low wing aircraft except design and sell kits for a second high wing LSA or improve existing kits. So the high wing that I visualize will be a four place hauler with at least a 250 HP engine. Maybe a 'round' engine. @ 450 HP or a small turboprop.

Something that will be fast enough to move four people plenty fast with at least four hours of fuel. High lift type wing too. Something that the people who want to build a float plane or land on rough fields or haul heavy loads or parachutists will either build himself or have built for him. A 'working' machine primarily.
Sounds good but, completely ignores Vans primary mass market appeal and target market. With those specs, you are well over the six figure mark in cost. A very small niche market indeed. But it is possible, if he wants to start targeting a completely new buying audience.

I think if Van were to do a high wing, it would most likely be similar in specs to the Bearhawk or Patrol or the like. Keeping the total cost under 100k and probably under 80k if feasible.

Or maybe he will do another low wing to knock Sonex off it's little niche perch it has.
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  #29  
Old 07-03-2013, 06:51 PM
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Bill_H Bill_H is offline
 
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IMO: If Vans does a high wing it will be cantilevered, no struts. Gotta look good to be an RV and struts don't.

(Former 182 owner...)
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  #30  
Old 07-03-2013, 07:19 PM
aerhed aerhed is offline
 
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Because a high wing has the "dangle down" thing going on they attract a large share of the nuts.
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