i posted this last week but did not see it apear so i'm reposting it.

hi all-

largely i am a lurker planning for final inspection and first flight in propjet n750dw very shortly.  however when someone demeans an honest businessman like joe b who to the best of his ability stands behind what he sells i find it necessary to share one of my personal experiences dealing with joe and lancair.

i made the decision early on in the building process (attended the 2 week buildshop at lancair over the labor day flyin in 2001) to buy everything possible related to my propjet from lancair.  i felt that this would help keep lancair flourishing financially(and i've spent a lot!) and i would have the right to gripe if things didn't go as planned.

thus i ordered a remanufactured walter engine from joe b.  it arrived basically on schedule but it obviously had been damaged in shipment.  the cannister was damaged from the inside out with visible damage to the engine.  as one of my friends who has been helping with body work said "one of the fork lift monkeys" obviously dropped this $100k+ shipment.  for some unknown reason the ins co agreed it had been damaged but declined to make it right.  walter was not overly helpful-they wanted to just make repairs to my "0" time remanufactured engine as opposed to remanufacturing it again and i just didn't feel comfortable with this.  joe stepped to the plate and made a couple of propositions to me.  it was not an ideal circumstance for any of us especially since none of us were at fault but ultimately joe made it right by me.  ultimately i ended putting out a few more bucks but i have a brand new "0" time engine which is going to be better in the long run.  joe did what he needed to do-stood behind what he sells and mediated the situation to a mutually satisfactory conclusion.

yes it is true that on occasion lancair's left brain may not be in concordance with it's right cortex or things may be delayed longer than expected but overall my experience with lancair has been very positive.  joe seems to want to make things run as smooth as possible.

i can say unequivocally that on the very few occasions that i had to get joe b involved he made sure the problem was solved fairly.

most importantly,  joe b is NOT a liar but rather a smart, fair and honest man who happens to be a lawyer and loves aviation and is obviously committed to do what he can to sell and support the best kitplanes for a long time to come!  i believe it behooves the entire lancair community to support him in this endeavor.

lastly,  may i suggest that if someone has a legitimate gripe, take it to joe b before venting publicly.  the odds are high that he'll make sure the problem is solved.

with best regards,

david weinsweig