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1. Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:19:31 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

   Might be seeing the death pangs of the big kitplane manufacturer Van’s. Turns out having a bunch of parts made in the 3rd world doesn’t end up giving you a quality product, despite all the money saved. So the company is out a shit ton because of bum parts, and its future is looking iffy without some piles of cash to burn.

   If you guys like boomer drama, well, this won’t be juicy but it’s about what you’d expect. Old guy outsources work, the work is dogshit, and he ends up being unable to replace that busted stock. Complete self-own.

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:20:54 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     If you’re a contractor you’d better be paying attention to this point. A lot of guys haven’t updated prices in the last couple years

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:21:39 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     Boomers and their outsourcing, man. THey just can’t get enough of it.

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:22:57 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     oops, sucks to suck, niggo

     no refunds

     maybe you can barter w/ another old guy to see if you have enough parts to complete one of your planes tho

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:27:19 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     Love how everyone acts like “awww this poor guy he’s just unlucky” instead of “well duh, nigtard. You expanded too fast to meet temporary demand from bored old folks in lockdown, and you outsourced work to shitholes thinking it would all stay cheap forever”

     Van’s is well-intentioned but they had a cost increase in 2021, and back then I was telling people that they had to be losing money on their kits. The guys just kept on selling like it was 2005 though.

     Kinda funny that they LOVE bailouts now. I thought these old timers loved the “free market” in all its darwinian apathy?

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:29:49 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     This is like being optimistic about RV manufacturers (heh). Van’s has been thinking that pandemic surge demand would last forever, and now they’re stuck overextended, blowing money on garbage parts they need to replace across the fleet. You can only do so many things at once, and they’re figuring that out the hard way. Would have been better to just ride the wave, and maybe try to outsource to other manufacturers stateside who could actually maintain QC.

     Hobbyist companies like this are sad, because they don’t like “fleecing” customers, but sometimes you got to meet demand w/ a price increase.

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:32:34 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     Yeah, oh well, fold it up and let the phoenix rise, just like every other plane company at this point.

     “Piper” is like, the 3rd rehash of that old company, with pretty much zero heritage other than buying the trademark, type certs, and tooling. Mooney rose and fell a couple times before being put out of its misery. All these tiny sport aircraft builders are lucky to be 15 year projects.

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:36:41 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     Good example of hobbyists not really reorienting their mindset to a professional one. It would be cool to keep operating like it’s 1955 and you’re selling kits out the back of a magazine, but it’s not.

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:39:00 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • Rayfield

     @Rayfield I can’t quite tell if it’s even an issue. It sounds a bit like forum-based hysteria, where guys obsess over something and blow it out of proportion. Happens a lot w/ stuff like this. The story of a fringe case becomes the norm in customer minds, and then the entire thing balloons into a guaranteed worst-case scenario

   • Rayfield (rayfield@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:39:01 JST Rayfield

     in reply to
     @WashedOutGundamPilot I wonder if the heat from laser cutting is messing with the temper of the metal along the edges.
   • nobullyplz :antibully: (nobullyplz@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:40:13 JST nobullyplz :antibully:

     in reply to
     @WashedOutGundamPilot Step 1 of money making as a hobbyist: increase prices until your workload is manageable :catto:
     Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks likes this.
   • Rayfield (rayfield@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:46:57 JST Rayfield

     in reply to
     @WashedOutGundamPilot I actually just found a paper on this, it was mildly interesting. It sounds like while there is a difference it is within international acceptable limits, there is also a difference in where the fatigue crack begins and how it propagates.
     
     researchgate.net/publication/292709933_Laser_cutting_effects_on_aluminium_sheets_mechanical_properties
     
     Like you said though, probably not an issue. I know I'm guilty of exactly what you stated, it's easy to get hyperfocused on internet forums.
     Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks likes this.
   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:48:55 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • PhoxFriday

     @PhoxFriday But this isn’t specialized stuff. A van’s kit is just bent up sheet metal, it can be made anywhere. They don’t make the electronics, they don’t make the engine, don’t make the canopy, don’t make the prop, don’t even make the landing gear.

     They could have kept doing it here but they loved the idea of having them done for cheaper, and then they got their balls bitten on shipping. Now they get them extra chomped on quality, too!

   • PhoxFriday (phoxfriday@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 13:48:56 JST PhoxFriday

     in reply to
     @WashedOutGundamPilot The supply chain of tons of stuff still hasn't recovered from the whole lockdown BS. At this point it'll take a global economic crash or war (or both) to shift manufacturing back over here. No boomer run or publicly traded corp will ever do it willingly.
   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 14:00:04 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • touch fluffy tail

     @fluffy No, but I’ve delivered a handful. The factory built ones are fine little trainers, if I were making a flight school they would be strong contenders for a part 61 op. Low operating costs, and the glass means you can upcharge renters all day long.

     They have a dozen diff. models though, I haven’t dealt w/ the homebuilts. Supposedly very fun, particularly the aerobatics, but those don’t pass thru our hands when selling

   • touch fluffy tail (fluffy@social.handholding.io)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 14:00:10 JST touch fluffy tail

     in reply to
     do you have one of them?
   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 14:02:24 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     Posted in Jan2022.

     Bless their hearts….they’re retarded though. Only $375 when inflation is furiously cranking up and shipping costs soar? Come on man.

   • Radians (demonsixone@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 14:05:30 JST Radians

     in reply to

     • Rayfield
     @WashedOutGundamPilot @Rayfield Lasercutting aerospace alloy stuff isn't something you can just do on a basic machine because the surface oxide melting point is significantly higher than the base metal and if you don't account for this you get a huge heat affected zone.
   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Oct-2023 14:05:30 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • Rayfield
     • Radians

     @DemonSixOne @Rayfield Making sure the holes match up might have been more important to them. Quick builds are a huge draw in the game, because people don’t feel too confident in building an airplane for the first time. Having everything all nicely, neatly cut out so it mates up perfectly when friction-fit is a very good draw to the Van’s product.

     Seems like they just found its weak spot though.

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Wednesday, 06-Dec-2023 02:35:37 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     I take it back, the old man is doing the right thing and backing up his company. Respectable. Might wipe out everything but who knows. This entire market is selling to the 50+ crowd, only ones with dreams and money