SonexBuilders.net

As far as my "accusatory comment" goes (and I guess it was deleted), it was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek scenario about this whole fiasco with the ignition module plate. My sense of humor is not understood or appreciated by all.

The rest, however, is as accurate as I can make it. "Lead times"? Are you kidding me? I guess some would have had me order the kit just after puberty.

The factory's policy on recalls is not in question here. Yes I was informed of the faulty part and promised a replacement. I still have not the slightest idea as to when that part might be in my possession. No tracking number has been issued as of this time.

So to sum it all up, AGAIN, I ordered the kit in July 2017, got all but the carb and trigger plate late Sept., received the carb and plate 2 weeks ago, got a recall notice for the plate on the 31st of Jan.

I am a fan of the aircooled VW engine, and have every intention of seeing this thing through to the end. How much good, or bad, press goes along with the build, is in someone else's hands.

daleandee wrote:

SonexFactoryTech wrote:Sadly, this post seeks a reaction by omitting some (all) of the details.

SonexN76ET wrote:Please watch your accusatory comments as you are not just hurting the manufacturer but all builders and owners. We are all in this together.

I agree ...

Doctor, do you concur? ... Actually, I agree also. But I also understand his frustration.

It does seem that everything that could possibly go wrong regarding parts "correctness" and delivery goes wrong for some people. And not just engine stuff. I have not had that problem for the most part - if something seems wrong it had almost always been user error on my side. In the one or two cases where I thought I was missing something or something was wrong I cleared it up one-on-one with the factory. (And there was a case where I "knew" I was shorted a part, but then discovered long after the fact that indeed was not shorted after all.)

I know the factory is not perfect, but I tend not to read posts that come across as public venting.

Area 51% wrote:As far as my "accusatory comment" goes (and I guess it was deleted)

Good guess.

Refer to rules.

4. Do not post in a confrontational manner.
7. If you are having a problem, construct your statements, concerns or question in a respectful manner.

Perhaps the forum could have the feature added where the person posting could remove the post themselves. As it stands now you can for a very short time but after that it's on for good. You can't remove it even if you'd like too.? Is that correct?

Hi all,
You have a unlimited time i believe, maybe chis would know better, to edit to post.
And in further defense of randy, his fustration level is high. As kevin pointed out a couple threads above , some people have had bad luck. Remember his posts from a year ago were the mishapen gas tank, and the problem with some ribs.
Yes in the end he was made whole from sonex, he may have even made an alum fuel tank, but it hasnt been easy. Some of you may have been lucky, all your parts were there. For your engine and airframe. All correct, and of good quality. Every thing fit. Whats the big deal you say?

Yes thanks chris to remind us of the posting rules.

Again, its been mentioned before a little better QC from the factory , opening boxes, unwrapping things, taking a look see, to make sure things are ok before shipping them out the door. Not everything will get caught, but maybe a higher percentage.

The folks at the factory are not villians, a little tweaking in the shipping dept could help.

Take care.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

I had to wait 3/4 year for my Aerovee kit to arrive, as I was not interested in any back orders. 20-30% of core engine parts I had to replace (from other sources) due to manufacturing errors.

What I payed for was a kit. What I got was a collection of parts where 20-30% were unusable, and they came 1/2 a year later than promised. That's the truth, and if needed I can go into every little detail about the broken parts.

The point is that people automatically want to fix things. They want to move on. Bad shit happens, file it as experienced learned and move on. They don't want to talk about it, because it's unproductive. You wan't get the aircraft faster into the air by dwelling with it. So people don't, they trash it and move on - more than enough problems to solve :-)

Still, any problems Aeroconversions has about getting parts for their kits, they are *not my* problems. I have paid exclusively to make it *not my problem*. That's the bottom line. On the other hand, the concept of putting together you own engine is cool. IMO Aerocinversion should sell both kits and finished/tested engines. That way they would have much better quality assurance of the parts, as well as ready to run engines for most of us. The "kit" is way below anything acceptable today.

A couple of years ago I was on a cross country flight 1200 miles from home base. I stopped to do my 25 hour maintenance and was adjusting my valves on my Aerovee. I over torqued one of the retaining nuts and stripped the adjuster foot. Panicked that I would be stranded there indefinitely, I called Sonex.

The replacement parts were there the next day via FedEx. No cost for the parts.

That is the kind of company Sonex and AeroConversions are.

Jake

AeroVee Parts Quality...........?

According to some posts......the AeroVee "kit engine" has some (?) substandard parts that may or may not be discovered until the builder gets around to actually building his engine.

There are other options available if you are "comfortable" with a VW engine. The Hummel 2400 is $500.00 less than the AeroVee and comes assembled and "test run". The Revmaster 2300 is $1000.00 more than the AeroVee and comes assembled and "test run". A little research on the builders behalf should have revealed this early on, and the builder then made his choice on which option to go with.

I made my choice after much research and I went with the Hummel (yet to be flown.....jury is still out). Having said all that.........nobody wants to get "beat" on our purchase that we made in good faith.......I feel you pain.

Gordon.......Onex.......Hummel 2400

Area 51% wrote:While doing a dry-run assembly of the parts I actually have in my possession, I ran into an interesting interference. The top oil cooler adapter is not tall enough for the cooler to clear the bolt-boss holding the case halves together. Not wishing to bother Sonex with my petty problems, I'm planning on grinding away enough material on the case to allow the cooler to lie flat. Can someone measure the thickness of their cooler adapter and report back please. Mine would have to be about 1/16in thicker to allow clearance.

Anyone else run across this problem? Left unnoticed, it doesn't seem like it would take long to wear a hole through the cooler. At the very least, a leak at the seals seems probable.

Butt/Head-scratching never in short supply here @Area 51%

Grinding on a magnesium case is a good way to start an unstoppable fire. Be very careful. Go really slow. I'd mod the cooler or the adapter if at all possible.

No way I can see to modify the cooler. The adapter had some sort of "upgrade" I saw in the revisions or somewhere. Probably reduced the height to help clear the cowl.

Not to worry about grinding on the magnesium. I've abandoned that fine, flaw-free piece of artwork in favor of an aluminum unit.

Trying to stay politically correct here @Area 51%