Friends.... I've made an important decision regarding my plane....
For the last year I've been exploring ways to get help finishing the plane and to no avail. Where I'm building I haven't had the good fortune to have TAF nearby, an A&P friend to help, easy visits to the factory... Nothing, and it's increasingly taken a toll on me lately.
At any given point in the last year or two I thought I was between 3 to 6-ish months away from completion... But, every time I got there, I again thought the same thing.. Over and over....
After 5 and a half years - I want this plane done. I want to fly it.
I recently got into a discussion with Mike Black at Sling Central in Oklahoma (I had a question and he's been super knowledgeable and helpful in the past) and I brought up my state of mind in hopes that he could suggest something... Well, he said, "We can come pick it up and finish it for you." 🙂 After some discussion on cost and time estimates, it was clear that this was a definite go for me. It would clearly be worth it.
Some people do Quick Builds to save time. I'm ready to save time, I'm just doing it at the end.
It's what I'd call a Quick Finish. I figure it's also better to have pros do the critical plumbing and rigging. I have no doubt I could have done it in a safe manner, but it definitely feels better to me having people with lots of experience do it.
They're also going to do the Phase 1 testing and I'll also have the painting done down there (a good deal cheaper than up here in the North). So basically I'll fly down to OK in later January to pick up my ready-to-fly Sling 4! 😁 I won't be flying back alone - Bob Zaleski has offered to fly back with me. 😊
The plane will be picked up in about 2 weeks. Meanwhile I'm going to finish up some easy miscellaneous tasks and start boxing up all the remaining parts.
I am SO happy about all of this.
NOTE: I will continue to post pictures and updates on this blog, so it can continue to be helpful to other builders.
Wow, that is a great option to have!
ReplyDeleteBob Patterson
Congrats on making a no doubt tough decision! Look forward to seeing it progress to airworthy...
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can have a post mortem sometime?
ReplyDeleteFor example if they suggest 1200 hours to build, do you think you could have finished if you could do it in a single year instead of 5.5?
I think this might be helpful to anyone thinking about starting?
Don
A lot of factors went into how I came to 1400 hrs and still not being finished. Personally I think a Sling 4 is at least a 1600 hr. build - and that's if you're efficient. At least for someone that has not built something before.
DeleteWow, big decision indeed, though it sounds like the right one for you. I understand the frustration ... I'm living it too, though for now I'm still patient enough to slowly work my way forward. It is definitely a much longer build than advertised IMO. Unfortunately, mostly due to plan and kit quality I think.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your assessment. As the kit currently is (plans/QA) I think the S4 is a 1700 to 1800 hr slow build (more if you do more involved corrosion methods). If the plans were absolutely perfect and there were no QA issues, it could be a 1400 to 1600 hr build.
DeleteAdding in the work that will be done by Sling Central I think my build will come in at around 1700 hrs.