Review of Vans ordering - shipping

rockwoodrv9 · #1 07-20-2012, 11:17 AM

I have been ready for my wings for a month, but my tax bill kept me from ordering as soon as I wanted. My son is an Apache AH-64D pilot and was receiving 2 months of additional training in Arizona. He found out he would have a week to 10 days he could spend at our house before he had to go back on duty.

I contacted Vans and asked if it were possible to rush a wing order so my son and I could work on the wings together. Anne B.could not have been more helpful. She said she would do what she could - no promises. I was putting together a list of things I might want to add to the order, contacted Anne to check on the process, and she said it had shipped the day earlier! 6 days later, the wings were delivered - in perfect condition, everything included.

I just wanted everyone to know how much I appreciated Anne and everyone at Vans going out of their way to accommodate me. My son is arriving today and his wife and kids will be joining us for some great times. I get the chance to work on my plane with my son - and that is very special for both of us.

I guess that is why Vans is far and above the rest of the kit built industry. Thanks Vans!

randyintejas · #2 07-20-2012, 03:10 PM

Great Story, thanks for sharing! Hope you and your son enjoy your time together

ccsmith51 · #3 07-20-2012, 03:14 PM

Wonderful story, and good on Van's!! Please tell your son thanks for his service.

grayforge · #4 07-21-2012, 01:26 AM

Concur, Anne and Barb are awesome!

NickAir · #5 07-21-2012, 01:34 AM

I live near Van's shop. They have helped me, at their shop, above and beyond when needed. I appreciate them too.

KRviator · #6 07-31-2012, 03:07 AM

Anne and Barb couldn't have been more helpful when I ordered my -9, even with a bit of confusion over the scheduled pickup date for my shipper.

Another big thanks to Jessica V who has twice now emailed after I've ordered stuff and basically said "You've chosen shipping method A, which is expensive, but if you go with B, it'll arrive around the same time and cost less". Muchly appreciated when raising a baby is cheaper than your shipping costs are.

rockwoodrv9 · #7 07-31-2012, 10:17 AM

Because the people at Vans went out of their way for me, I was able to spend a week working on the wings and a few empennage items. It gave us time to talk about his latest training - moving from the A model to the D model Apache. From what he was telling me, that has to be one amazing helicopter to fly. The avionics and weapons systems are unbelievable and how they are able to communicate with other Apaches in their attach group is science fiction like.

We got quite a bit of work done on the plane - lots of deburring, platenuts, and some rough assembly of the wings. The best part was just spending time with him, his wife, and their two little boys. The boys- age 3 and 4 were able to help with the deburring and they thought that was pretty cool.

We would have had a great time without working on the wings, but it makes the plane that much more special for me. I saw the pictures Peter put on showing him taking his daughter flying and how thrilled she looked. There are lots of stories like mine - made better because an RV.

Making memories one plane at a time. Thanks again Vans.