Shipping RV14 Kit to Australia

Hi All,
I do apologize if this has been asked over and over, I had trouble finding answers

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on an RV14 Kit, yet have a few questions - some of which I've found answers to but I was hoping that by asking these questions in one single thread it may help other (nervous) future kit builders outside of the US

Shipping to Australia
While we all know this will be pricey - a couple of questions to the seasoned builders down under

- Would you have ordered everything in one lot? eg Tail, Wings, Fuse, Engine etc
Is there any sense in ordering Tail then 3-6months later ordering wings or fuse etc?

Maybe another question would become, how many hrs were there between starting on the tail kit and being ready for the next step (wings or fuse) - was it less time that the shipping delay?

Are you able to share any shipping costs and what type of item it was being shipped? eg QB Wing cost x dollars.

QB vs SB to Aus
Anyone have insight into recent costs of Standard Build Kit vs Quick Build Kit to Australia?
In other words are Quick build kits simply too prohibitive to ship to Australia?

Tooling
I've tried to order the RV builder Kit to Aus, but the tooling companies don't seem to have the option for this on their website.
How did you do it?
Hot off the press: Been emailing Cleveland, seems they may be able to do it for me.

I appreciate anyone taking the time to assist.

Not Quite The Same, But FYI

I just shipped (UPS) a little box (6x6x12" - 2lb 5oz) downunder - $271.77. And what was inside was made of scraps from around my shop!

Ouch - I feel their pain.

HFS

PM sent

PM sent regarding shipping costs

When you order your kit the first thing you will face is the delays in production which will make you reflect on these questions again, despite thinking you already have the answers. While it will always be most cost effective to bring everything out in one consolidated consignment, in reality you're going to be forced to break it up just to keep your own production advancing. The age-old advice to get the Empennage Kit first and finish it before ordering the rest just needs to be modified a little to - order everything and get the Empennage Kit sent out first so you have something to do while you wait for the rest of the kits to arrive. I haven't built an RV-14 empennage however I took less than 100 man-hours to build my RV-6 empennage so I would have to guess it would take you much less to build the RV-14 parts. You will most certainly have it finished before the Wings and Fuse Kits are available to ship.

Over the last couple of years Vans have experienced a problem with warehousing space - the physical inability to hold onto your kits so they can be consolidated. This has meant we have had to ship kits as they come out of production. Some of this problem has been alieviated by the additional warehousing Vans has added but if kits continue to be as popular as they are, you might find you have no choice but to ship piecemeal.

In direct support of shipping to this part of the world, Vans will put you in touch with a pair of lovely ladies in Australia who offer an excellent service at a very competitive rate. As the kits roll off the factory floor these ladies will contact you and offer you all the services you need in order to efficiently get your kits to your front door. While I haven't used their services (we have historically used a favoured provider) I have reviewed several of their quotes and I can tell you they are very well priced.

Keep in mind that almost all the parts you are going to need - the kits, the engine, the avionics and all the hundreds of little bits and pieces that go into your project - are all going to need to come from outside Australia so you're going to end up on a first name basis with your local courier guys. Where you can, consolidate, but the rest of the time you'll be shipping via FEDEX or DHL just so you can make progress.

All shipping is expensive at present. Container space to this part of the world has gone up over 800% in the last 2 years. From this perspective the purchase of a flat-packed standard kit is going to cost you less to ship than a QB kit. That said - it is what it is, so you either take the hit or you build the standard kit. To be honest I think most people here will tell you that the construction of the kits into a recognisable aeroplane component is the enjoyable part and the hard part is the fitting out and finishing.

In respect to costs - these are going up weekly it seems, but a recent RV-12 Wing and Fuse Kit to NZ was in the order of $7,000. The engine was about $5,000.

I hope this helps and good luck with the project.

Thank You

Many thanks planenutz, RBR & HFS - This information is most helpful.

Simply amazing to post a question, go to bed, wakeup the next morning and have such detailed responses.

I appreciate you all taking the time

Jono

The other thing with ordering all at once is storage, Vans give 30 days to inventory the kits (They will help for a lot longer than that) so you will need to open each crate, check it is all there and find somewhere to put it all.

Vans have introduced a policy to charge $500USD if you want to use your own shipping company. The ones they use are the two ladies who are expensive. I have organised my freight and saved approx $1000aud per shipment but have not had a crate since the new policy. I have asked Vans if they will review their shipping companies they use for us in Australia but have yet to get a response. I don't care who they use but if I, as a random guy off the street can get a better price of $1000 off surely Vans would have the buying power to get even better than that.

Generally I take the USD price, put AUD after it, double it and that is what it will roughly cost at my door. Very rough but gives an idea of what I need to save before ordering. $10k USD becomes $20k AUD. It is usually a bit less, does depend on exchange rates, freight etc.

Have a look at https://tasrv14.blogspot.com/search/label/17 - Leading Edges he is in Melbourne has been a huge help for me in Adelaide.

Make sure you can afford an engine, I wish I had ordered mine when I started, would have saved in the region of 40-50k. But funds just were not there so its a coulda woulda shoulda thing.

You're welcome to get in touch anytime.

Brilliant advice, thanks!