Getting Started
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 10:02 amOur Xenos kit arrived by motor freight over a week ago, but we were deep into some work on another of our airplanes, and resisted the urge to dig into the new project until we’d buttoned up the old one. Talk about kids waiting for Christmas!
Receiving the kit was simple – we were worried about the unload, since the freight carrier showed up without a lift-gate, but the driver was happy to help get it off the truck, and Sonex’s packing system – a pallet with lots of individual boxes strapped on top – made it relatively easy to get the 1100 lbs of parts and packaging off the truck and into the hangar/workshop. The only parts we saw until this morning were the large sheet metal pieces shipped in the double-layered pallet, as we had to take that apart to make it light enough to handle with two people.
The pallet is an inspired idea – it keeps the flat stuff flat – and turns out to be a great basis for a large workbench. I picked up about ten 10’ 2/4’s and six four-inch casters at home Depot, and with a couple hours of work (using a skill saw and drill-driver), we had a nice 4’x10’ workbench that can be moved around the shop AND gives us storage space for about 2/3rds of the kit parts. All of the large, flat pieces can stay flat until they are needed! The big parts like canopy, cowling, and wingtips will just stay boxed and stacked in the corner until needed. Now to cut up all the rest of the boxes and bail up the packing paper for the garbage man….
Inventory for the airframe kit took the better part of four hours for the two of us – one reading off part numbers, the other checking things off. This familiarized both of us with the kit parts and where they would be stored. Louise and I will be working on this together and individually, so we mounted the drawing tree on the wall to keep track of what we have each done. So far, we’re impressed with the quality of the parts, the organized method of packing, and the completeness of the kit. We only had one small part that didn’t show up in the inventory – not bad for a complete airplane kit.
We figure we’ll start with fabrication of the parts that need to be made from stock – then get building!
Paul
Receiving the kit was simple – we were worried about the unload, since the freight carrier showed up without a lift-gate, but the driver was happy to help get it off the truck, and Sonex’s packing system – a pallet with lots of individual boxes strapped on top – made it relatively easy to get the 1100 lbs of parts and packaging off the truck and into the hangar/workshop. The only parts we saw until this morning were the large sheet metal pieces shipped in the double-layered pallet, as we had to take that apart to make it light enough to handle with two people.
The pallet is an inspired idea – it keeps the flat stuff flat – and turns out to be a great basis for a large workbench. I picked up about ten 10’ 2/4’s and six four-inch casters at home Depot, and with a couple hours of work (using a skill saw and drill-driver), we had a nice 4’x10’ workbench that can be moved around the shop AND gives us storage space for about 2/3rds of the kit parts. All of the large, flat pieces can stay flat until they are needed! The big parts like canopy, cowling, and wingtips will just stay boxed and stacked in the corner until needed. Now to cut up all the rest of the boxes and bail up the packing paper for the garbage man….
Inventory for the airframe kit took the better part of four hours for the two of us – one reading off part numbers, the other checking things off. This familiarized both of us with the kit parts and where they would be stored. Louise and I will be working on this together and individually, so we mounted the drawing tree on the wall to keep track of what we have each done. So far, we’re impressed with the quality of the parts, the organized method of packing, and the completeness of the kit. We only had one small part that didn’t show up in the inventory – not bad for a complete airplane kit.
We figure we’ll start with fabrication of the parts that need to be made from stock – then get building!
Paul