tailwheels

Unintended Adventures

Tag: Misc Kit Stuff

Kit Inventory

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On April 1, 2015

In S-20

We arrived with the kit back in Iowa City just after midnight on Saturday (28MAR). At 10AM on Saturday we were tearing the crate open to start unpacking. The fuselage is being kept in a loft at the airport since our garage has no room for such things. RANS packed and crated everything exceptionally well and nothing seems to be damaged. It took a while to get the crate open, but once we did it was quick to get the fuselage unloaded and put away. After that, we set off towards the house to unload the rest of the kit.

After unloading we took a break for lunch and my father-in-law helped inventory the kit. The packing list was 17 pages long and it took us about one hour to inventory the large pieces and 2 hours to inventory one box that held a lot of smaller pieces. In all we were only missing two items. There are now airplane parts strategically placed in three different areas of the house.

Here are some pictures of the whole process.
(5 h)

IMG_1847 IMG_1848 IMG_1849 IMG_1852 IMG_1856 IMG_1862 IMG_1881 IMG_1879 IMG_1878 IMG_1877 IMG_1876 IMG_1884 IMG_1883

Picking up the kit!

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On March 30, 2015

In S-20

The time has finally arrived. Myself and Chris (a friend) left Iowa City this past Thursday (26MAR) and began our journey to RANS. We stopped about halfway in Lawrence, KS. The next morning we headed out for the final stretch to Hays and arrived right around 11AM. We had a great time meeting some of the folks at RANS and Randy (the owner). Randy showed us around and we got a demo flight in the factory’s S-20. It flew great and I’m excited about getting it built.

Loading the crate onto the trailer was not a big issue. The trailer was only slightly below the loading dock and we were able to just push it onto the trailer with a fork lift. I don’t think it could have been any easier. After loading it up we headed out for some lunch and returned to strap the crate down to the trailer. After checking everything over we launched off back towards Iowa City.  We left Hays around 2:30PM and arrived back in Iowa City around 12:15 AM the next morning. This included 2 stops for food and fuel. Overall it was a very long drive in a short timeframe, but it was more than worth it to visit RANS, get a flight in the S-20, and meet the folks at RANS.

For the trip totals, we drove around 1,140 miles from 6PM Thursday to 12:15 AM Saturday morning and about 82 gallons of gas.

2015-03-27 10.56.35 2015-03-27 08.11.53 2015-03-27 11.55.21 2015-03-27 11.55.01 2015-03-27 11.37.21 2015-03-27 12.33.49 2015-03-27 14.01.48 2015-03-27 14.16.32

Getting Ready to Pick-Up

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On March 20, 2015

In S-20

Insurance on the kit has been set-up, the last payment to RANS is on its way, and the details for getting down there to get it are being finalized. We’re planning to pick it up from RANS on March 27th. At the moment we’re also looking at starting to make our way down sometime Thursday night to make sure we make it in time.

Also finishing up ordering some tools that will be needed in the initial stages of the build.

Stay tuned for pictures!

The Big Purchase

By

On February 23, 2015

In S-20

I finally committed and placed the order for a RANS S-20 kit on December 28th. The kit ready date is set for March 25th so there is plenty of time to sit, wait, and get anxious. I’m hoping to chronicle the build on this site for historical purposes and general amusement. Time will tell if I actually keep up with it. I had the steel fuselage powder coated and had the internals corrosion protected. After talking with a few others I am glad I am haing the factory paint the fuselage as it will save me a lot of time and headache.

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