CorvAircraft> A different view on "Jeff and Knock-Offs"

[Dave Morris "BigD"]

May I just say a few things?

This is not an ordinary business endeavor.  You have to understand 
that Experimental Aviation is EX-PER-EE-MEN-TAL.  You don't just 
order parts assemble them according to a diagram, and have it up and 
running in the afternoon.  That would be called CERTIFIED 
aviation.  You are an experimenter, and the people doing the R&D who 
are in this endeavor with you are your Band of Brothers.  Not just 
some faceless vendors.  If they have done something you haven't, you 
should listen to them.  Don't plan to write checks for everything, 
take UPS delivery of it all, assemble it, and fly it in a short 
period of time without ever meeting anyone or forming any 
relationships.  True, there are a few loners out there winging it on 
their own, but I've seen what some of them have produced.  Most of 
them had to reinvent several wheels, and some of them are in wheelchairs.

With that perspective, I believe things make a lot more sense.  A 
couple of hints that I guarantee will make this a more positive experience:

1. Finish your airframe.  You don't need the engine until you're just 
about done with the airframe.  It's not optimal to have an engine 
sitting around for several years while you finish the plane.
2. Make an appointment to visit William at his hangar.  Either to do 
the final assembly or just to test-run your engine. If you live in 
the southeastern U.S. you should go there sometime before that, just 
to spend a few hours and meet the people.
3. Cut anybody in this business a lot of slack.  None of them are 
making enough money.  Go ahead, total up everything you see in the 
catalog and figure out how little profit there is.  Unless you're 
cranking out $100,000 kitplanes, you're in this business because of 
passion, not for the money.
4. Don't use the "L" word.  It's the kiss of death in aviation in 
general, and in experimental aviation in particular.  Ask the Quickie 
people what happens when lawyers get involved in something that is 
none of their business.

Just my $0.02 worth

Dave Morris


At 07:20 PM 4/7/2007, you wrote:
>I was initially quite excited about the prospects of using WW's 
>conversion products to make a reliable aircraft engine.
>
>But after these and other posts I have read, I am not so sure about 
>sending this guy any of my money at all.
>
>Does he just deliver parts to people who don't put up a fuss or 
>complain about delivery times?
>
>Has anyone ever received a timely refund from him for so called "in 
>stock" parts that take too long to deliver??
>
>What exactly does "in stock" mean to WW? He lists on his order page 
>that "most parts are in stock." Is that just to get people to keep 
>sending him money??
>
>After reading about all his "free workshops", I wonder if the people 
>going to them get preferential order fills over others waiting on 
>parts for a long time.
>
>Irregardless of how motivated he is about Corvairs and doing good 
>work, it's a total crap deal if he is bullsh****ng people into 
>thinking he has these parts in stock ready to ship. Clearly that is 
>NOT the case. For if it were, there would be no backorders, or very very few.
>
>It seems like he is using his influx of monies from his free promos 
>at airshows etc to be his working capital. Building yesterdays parts 
>with todays payments. Bad business practice. Real bad. What if he 
>gets ill? What if he decides to go do something else. What if a 
>tornado rips through the hangar? Anyone waiting on "in stock" parts 
>are screwed. Good luck getting a refund.
>
>Does he even have a stated "refund policy?"
>
>He sure knows how to toot his own horn online. But waiting over a 
>year for parts delivery on his "in stock parts," that's just 
>unethical behavior. I would be on the phone to a young hungry recent 
>law school grad with low hourly rates if a business did that to me.
>
>This WW guy sounds like he is running a hobby and financing it with 
>YOUR dollars.
>
>No thanks...sign me up for Lycoming or Continental or Egg Subie, 
>etc. I will spend the extra cash and actually be flying instead of 
>waiting and waiting and waiting and listening to a guy talk about 
>how great he is and how he has all these projects going on, but 
>can't seem to ever catch up on backorders.
>
>John Lemperes / UK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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