WingedFrog
Well Known Member
This is a follow-up on the (Mis)Identifying nutplates thread that goes beyond just nutplates.
I initially blamed myself rather than VANs on this mistake (see my blog) but after going through the thread's answers, I came to the conclusion that, at least for novice builders like me, there is no easy foolproof way to identify nutplates. My problem stemmed from the fact that VANs put in paper bag 2717-2 nutplates K1000-3, -4 & -06. The -4 is easy to identify because of the rivet holes spacing but -3 and -06 have the same spacing. What I suggest to VANs is: if you want to save money on paper bags, just mix items that cannot be misidentified like bolts with washers and nutplates, just one kind of each.
This may look like a joke but the logic is hard to beat:
What VANs has got with the RV-12 is a winner: easy to build, easy to fly.
This does not quite match the profile of previous RVs builders. The RV-12 targets a population that is less experienced in building and more interested in flying. If VANs wants to make these customers real happy, it has to ease the building process by trying to minimize their building mistakes, particularly the painful ones (ie, nutplates confusion). VANs' habit of putting different parts in one paper bag seems ludicrous in view of the cost of a kit vs cost of a paper bag but they may have their reasons that I am not in a position to challenge. Hence my suggestion...
I initially blamed myself rather than VANs on this mistake (see my blog) but after going through the thread's answers, I came to the conclusion that, at least for novice builders like me, there is no easy foolproof way to identify nutplates. My problem stemmed from the fact that VANs put in paper bag 2717-2 nutplates K1000-3, -4 & -06. The -4 is easy to identify because of the rivet holes spacing but -3 and -06 have the same spacing. What I suggest to VANs is: if you want to save money on paper bags, just mix items that cannot be misidentified like bolts with washers and nutplates, just one kind of each.
This may look like a joke but the logic is hard to beat:
What VANs has got with the RV-12 is a winner: easy to build, easy to fly.
This does not quite match the profile of previous RVs builders. The RV-12 targets a population that is less experienced in building and more interested in flying. If VANs wants to make these customers real happy, it has to ease the building process by trying to minimize their building mistakes, particularly the painful ones (ie, nutplates confusion). VANs' habit of putting different parts in one paper bag seems ludicrous in view of the cost of a kit vs cost of a paper bag but they may have their reasons that I am not in a position to challenge. Hence my suggestion...