We got it done! Jack and I spent the afternoon finishing up inventory counts. It’s amazing how accurate Vans is at putting 210 nut plates in a bag. We definitely had fun counting them all. Can’t you tell from Jack’s face??
We were able to get through all the remaining bags, and ended up doing a lot of work to combine rivets, nuts, bolts, and other like items across bags. At first I thought I would keep them separated into their corresponding bags, but I think it’ll be easier to have shared part bins. (ie, there’s no point in saving AN426AD3-6’s for assembly B later, when assembly A needs them now). I may even combine the remaining parts from the empennage build with the wing kit parts.
There were some minor issues we found during inventory. For example, this AN4-32A bolt was bent. I think it ends up going through a bushing so it was objectively unusable. I could probably have fixed it, but I think with such a large item, might as well have Vans replace it. Definitely highlights the importance of a thorough inspection during inventory check. Below is the list of items that were missing from the order (not including known backorders).
With all the parts fully inventoried, and organized appropriately, I sent off an email to Van’s notifying them of the missing parts. (btw, the correct email to use is orders@vansaircraft.com). I was impressed, once again, when I got an email (on a Saturday no less) within 1 hour stating their active movement towards resolution on those items. Hopefully I’ll have all the unaccounted for parts shipping my way sometime next week. Below are some pictures of the final parts bins. In places where we were running out of slots, I simply combined some low quantity, distinct items together, and labelled for both.
I leave for UAE for a week next Friday. I’d love to start the kit before then, but realistically, I want to spend a little more time on the practice kits before diving into the main spar prep. I’ll Hopefully I can get the light box done this week, which will set me up nicely for a strong start when I get back in late September. It’s nice to have the kit in house, on the shelves, and ready to work on. It should be a fun winter!