Finish Kit Arrival

I took Friday the 17th off from work to stay home and wait for my Finish Kit to arrive. The shipping company said it would be delivered between 10 and 2. While waiting on the kit to arrive I completed several odd jobs I've been meaning to complete. Finally they called and said they had some lift gate problems and it should be there in the next couple hours.  .....long story short, the day was very frustrating with broken promises and the kit didn't arrive until 7:30 that night. Luckily, Kris, who stopped by earlier in the day with the intention to help unpack everything stuck around until they finally arrived. The temps were now dropping into the mid 20's outside and this didn't sound like fun anymore. We decided to try and roll the pallet jack on the semi frozen ground to the shop. The shop sits about 200 feet off the street and the crate weighs about 350lbs. With a running start we actually made it to the shop, exhausted, but we made it. The truck driver, upon entering the shop, was just amazed over the plane and had several questions. The excitement and wonder he had over the plane relieved the frustrations of the day and made me remember just how cool this project really is.

Kris left after hanging around much longer than he intended and then Jess and I started unpacking the crate...

Taking the top off.

The engine cowlings are huge!

With Ayla fast asleep inside Jess was able to help me unpack and complete inventory. There really isn't that much to this kit. A lot of big parts.

Dorky space helmet pic.

Ordered the Finishing Kit

Finally the day has come to order the last kit of the RV-10. Of course I still need an engine, prop, hoses and such forward of the firewall, an interior, avionics....but this is the last part of the kit! So last week I emailed my request form into Van's and made it official. The kit should ship out in January.

I requested a kit packing list from Van's that contains a list of all the parts and pieces that come with the finishing kit. I needed this because I knew there were some parts I wanted to replace with nicer stuff. For instance I've heard the wheels and tires aren't the best and should be replaced among a few other things. I started digging into what I wanted to remove from the shipment when I thought I'd ask Ed what he was planning on removing from his shipment. I've mentioned Ed a few times in the blog. He's the guy up north that is at the same point in the build as I am and we tend to share notes. Anyway, he already generated a pretty comprehensive list of what to remove from the shipment and what to replace it with and I am shamelessly going to copy.

What I removed from my Finish Kit:
2 U 15X6.0-6 MAIN TIRE 6 PLY RV-10  (Replace with Desser Retreads)
2 U 15X6.0-6IT INNER TUBE MAIN RV-10  (Replace with Aero Classic Leakguards from Desser) 
1 U 5:00X5-6 6 PLY TIRE MAIN GEAR  (Replace with Desser Retreads)
1 U CLEVELAND 199-104A 6" RV-10 WHEELS SETS  (Replace with Matco Wheel & Brake Kit)
1 U 5:00X5-6IT TUBE FOR 5:005-6  (Replace with Aero Classic Leakguards from Desser)
1 U NW501.25 NOSE WHEEL W/BEARINGS  (Replace with Matco Wheel)
1 RUBBER DOOR SEALX25' VA-198  DOOR SEAL  (Replace with McMaster Seal)
2 C-1016 DOOR STRUT GAS STRUT FOR RV-10  (Replace with heavy duty strut)
1 U-1009 AXLE  (Replace with Matco Nose Wheel Axle)
2 WD-1023-PC GAS STRUT BRACKET  (Replace with PlaneAround bracket to clear McMaster seal)
1 U-1019-L LWR.INTERSECT.FAIRING  (Replace intersection fairings with RVBits)
1 U-1019-R LWR.INTERSECT.FAIRING  (Replace intersection fairings with RVBits)
1 U-1020-L UPR.INTERSECT.FAIRING  (Replace intersection fairings with RVBits)
1 U-1020-R UPR.INTERSECT.FAIRING  (Replace intersection fairings with RVBits)