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I missed responding to the posts a few days ago concerning kit quality -- I
was out of town on business.  Some words for the questioner who is obviously
trying to decide whether or not to join our merry little band.

I have noticed several areas where the fit of parts on my 360 kit is
sub-optimal.  I'm working on the header tank and this is one of those problem
areas.  The horizontal tail fit to the fuselage is another one, which I have
not yet attacked.  I've also had an obsolete part in my optional bracket kit
which was caused by changing  the gear leg hole pattern without changing the
hole pattern in the part which bolts to it.  There are several other places
where I had to use my ingenuity to solve minor problems that didn't need to
be built into the kit.

No, the kit isn't perfect.  Neither is the construction manual.  But they are
both pretty good, and I doubt there's anything significantly better out
there.  The place where I think Lancair stands out is their responsiveness to
builder problems.  I get same-day response to any problem I have.  If there's
something wrong with a composite part they tell me how to fix it.  If there's
a problem with a hardware item (rare) or a missing part (more rare) they send
out a new part the same day.  Also, this e-mail forum has caused the number
of phone calls I make to Redmond to drop in half.

The place where Lancair could be improved is sharing information on recurring
builder problems.  Things which most of us have had to struggle thru which
were not covered well in the manual, or where the molded parts don't fit
together ideally and have to be "made to fit" somehow.  If I spent my time
answering the same builder questions over and over, I'd do something about it
-- like make a "fact sheet" to fax out when people call, or update the manual
or something.  Anything to keep from answering the same question twice.  This
is not a slam on Orin, or Doug or anyone else up there at Lancair.  I love
being able to ask them questions and get helpful, cheerful answers.  Maybe it'
s the rural setting up there, or maybe Lance puts Valium in the coffee, but
they're so relaxed and friendly up there!  And this forum also helps -- Marv
has done a great job coalescing and cataloging this stuff.

I have told myself, more than once, that if I win the lottery I'll finish my
Lancair and then fly to Redmond and spend six months rewriting the manual,
incorporating all the stuff we've learned about these kits in the last ten
years.  But until that happens, rest assured that although the world is not a
perfect place, and the Lancair kit isn't perfect, there are plenty of
resources to help you through the problem areas, and plenty of beautiful
finished airplanes to testify to the soundness of the product.  

- Rob Wolf
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