RivetBangers.com

All -
My "standard build" fuse kit is supposed to be shipped in 2 weeks - and I have a question for the group.
In the past - I've always inventoried my parts down to the small parts bags... but never opened up each bag to count the items.
I figured the time it takes was probably not worth the effort. So far - I have not had any mistakes.
This time I think I'm going to inventory (and organize) every fastener.
Anyway - here's my question - has anyone had a problem with missing parts in the small bags?
Thx, Lorin D.
SB 9A / Tip Up / O-320 Lyco
N194LD reserved
Waiting for Fuse delivery

I'm a yes vote, but it was pretty minor...2 separate bags of rivets. 30 rivets total, but weird sizes.

Van's sent them right out.

Joe

My wing kit had everything it was supposed to. However, my fuselage and finish kit were both missing some minor hardware from the bags. I would definitely count the hardware in the bags.

Yes, I had about some stuff missing that I did not catch. I had ordered the brake kit for both sides which they charged me for but only sent the left side. I did not catch it as it was not eve non the packing list. Then when I did catch it Van's would not take care of it because it had been to long.

I was a little ticked. I also had a couple of bags of misc rivets missing in the fuse kit.

Other than that no problems.

i guess im the odd ball. all my kits had all their parts. now the damage caused by ABF is another story..

The wing kit had some major and minor issues. They sent me two right side aileron spars instead of one R and on L.

I was also short counted on some nutplates, etc.

I receveid two right flaps skins.
Van's replaced it immediately, the part was then damaged during shipping and they send a replacement.
I also received a wrong bolt bag with my finishing kit (got the right one later and they told me to keep the wrong one; I now have two sets of wing bolts)

I would definitely do the inventory - four hours of work (IIRC) could save you a bit of $$ depending on what's missing. Up through the fuse kit, I was lucky, and only recall a single bolt of the wrong size which Van's cheerfully took care of.
My technique is to go through the big bulky parts first, checking off the checklist, then going down the list in order. I count everything in hardware and parts bags except rivets and other mass produced parts (I just peak in the bag to ensure they look uniform and the right size). The fuse kit is probably even more important as there are many one off parts and a lot more variety of unique hardware than with the wings.

Defenitely count the bags and everything else. Van's gives you 30 days to inventory and report missing parts. They are human and make mistakes just like everyone else and especially yours turly. I was missing one of the steel carry through plates on my RV-6A Quick build. They assured me it was somewhere in the box but I got the name of the person I talked to at the time. He also noted that it might be missing. Sure enough when a year or more later when I got it out of the box the plate was missing. They sent me another plate and I had to match drill it to the rear lower carry throught plate. A couple of weeks ago I bolted them together with the wings to the fuselage.

There wre a few items missing from some of my bags and they cheefully sent me missing items. I have made a copy of each invoice and also a made a copy of the bag list contents. I keep the orginal with my builders manual and the copy in my work shop. Many although I have stored large bolts and rivits in peanut butter jars, I have put smaller bolts in small 60 drawer organizer. Starting with An3-4 bolts down to An 5-12A bolts etc. Still there are times I find myself tracking down the bag it was sent in to make sure they were received. Sometimes I have stored larger items in a box in my haymow or else where. I have so far managed to find all parts sent but on occasion it has taken a while. A good inventory readly available is a must. I now have my airplane at the airport 22 miles away from our house and my workshop. I am never very happy when I realize I don't have the part I need with me! The trunk of my car has my part my small 60 drawer organizer in it, many of my peanut butter jars, and most of my aircraft tools, plus a quarter inch socket set, a 3/8" inch socket set, combination box end open end wrenches, air drill, angle drill, electric cordless drill, plans, etc. There other guys use the hanger and several others have keys. Therefore anything I cannot convently lock in the airplane leaves with me.

Adding to Bob's comments, I used a multidrawer organizer, too. This time for the fuse, I separated all the different nutplates, washers, nuts, bolts into their own drawers besides the rivets. It goes much quicker now when I need a 515-838 screw or NA-blah blah-10L washer that I have no clue what it looks like. A couple extra hours and an extra drawer organizer upfront has saved me many more looking up parts. Also, I sometimes put the bag number on my drawers, too, for cross reference to the picklist.

I had a washer missing in my emp kit and a small bolt in my wing kit, both in sealed plastic and labeled bags. Mistakes can happen. In both cases I didn't bother telling Vans because I ordered a collection of misc hardware from Aircraft Spruce so I would always have spares.

Putting all the little parts in those parts drawers really makes it easy to keep things organized and easy to find once a good inventory has been done. I even used a postal scale to weigh the bags of rivets.

The stuff I was missing was minor, but doing a good inventory saved me some trouble nonetheless. I didn't count or weight rivets or anything, but I checked to make sure every bag was there. I don't have any fancy organizers or anything. I just leave stuff in the numbered bags, and it's easy to find what I want by referring to the pick list to see which bag I want for whatever I'm looking for.

My wing kit was missing a bag 803-2 and I had two bags 802-3, for example. You can see how easily they could mix those up. My wing kit was also missing the counterweight pipes for the ailerons, and I wasn't sure at first if they were something I was supposed to make on my own from galvanized pipe, or if they came with the kit. They cheerfully gave them to me on my next trip to Van's, and replaced the missing bag in exchange for the extra wrong one I had. They're very good about that.

When I upgraded to the deluxe locking fuel caps, they took my original ones back in exchange and gave me full credit for them, even though it had been almost a year since I had ordered the kit. I give them a lot of credit for that.