XOverZero
Well Known Member
Another thread recently reported a defective welded assembly in an RV-12 kit. Having spent a career in hard goods manufacturing, I agree that despite all herculean efforts to the contrary, ?it happens.?
As a coincidence, on the same day I discovered a pair of fabricated sheet metal parts, left and right, in my -12 kit that were faulty. That in itself is quite rare but far from earth-shaking?what is interesting is that I discovered on that day that it was a defect. What I mean is that I first encountered the problem several days before, but it took me that long to believe and understand the problem was actually a factory mistake rather than me trying to assemble the thing incorrectly.
The rule of thumb, frequently stated here, is that if something doesn?t fit, stop, because you?re doing it wrong. That is so true a statement that it created a sort of tunnel vision where I couldn?t clearly see the obvious. It was only when I laid the part down right next to its illustration in the build manual that the difference became apparent. OK, if that says I?m horribly slow, I guess I?ll wear it. What it says to me is that Van?s kits are so consistently good it sets the stage for a sense of denial if/when a genuine discrepancy does show up.
Anyway, long story short (wup?too late!), I sent the attached photo off to the support team on Friday and no doubt they?ll send replacements promptly. No harm no foul, since these parts cannot be installed as received.
Curious as to whether anyone else received the same defective parts. On page 23-04, parts F-1203G-L&R, Bulkhead Side Channels, the upper ends with the rivet tabs, above the diagonal notch, were bent 90 degrees along with the adjacent flange where they were supposed to remain in plane with the web. The vinyl film did a good job of hiding the resulting rip in the metal caused by the unplanned bend.
As a coincidence, on the same day I discovered a pair of fabricated sheet metal parts, left and right, in my -12 kit that were faulty. That in itself is quite rare but far from earth-shaking?what is interesting is that I discovered on that day that it was a defect. What I mean is that I first encountered the problem several days before, but it took me that long to believe and understand the problem was actually a factory mistake rather than me trying to assemble the thing incorrectly.
The rule of thumb, frequently stated here, is that if something doesn?t fit, stop, because you?re doing it wrong. That is so true a statement that it created a sort of tunnel vision where I couldn?t clearly see the obvious. It was only when I laid the part down right next to its illustration in the build manual that the difference became apparent. OK, if that says I?m horribly slow, I guess I?ll wear it. What it says to me is that Van?s kits are so consistently good it sets the stage for a sense of denial if/when a genuine discrepancy does show up.
Anyway, long story short (wup?too late!), I sent the attached photo off to the support team on Friday and no doubt they?ll send replacements promptly. No harm no foul, since these parts cannot be installed as received.
Curious as to whether anyone else received the same defective parts. On page 23-04, parts F-1203G-L&R, Bulkhead Side Channels, the upper ends with the rivet tabs, above the diagonal notch, were bent 90 degrees along with the adjacent flange where they were supposed to remain in plane with the web. The vinyl film did a good job of hiding the resulting rip in the metal caused by the unplanned bend.
