TAF Support of Deficiency in the Kit

[kkim1972]

You builders all have encountered missing or wrong parts in your kit while building. In your blogs and youtube channels, you explained the TAF is quick to respond and agreed to supply or replace the items. Is it free shipping or you have to pay for the shipping and handling? Did you have it stated in your purchase contract?

[ibgarrett]

With a few thousand parts in the build, missing or wrong parts are sorta part of the game really.

The real trick is to do a very thorough inventory when your kit arrives, document it, get that list off to the folks in Torrence and then just keep good records on what is left to arrive.

The real trick if it's the WRONG part is to keep a keen eye on the build process vs. the instructions. If it looks wrong - it probably is wrong. I had one longeron which was clearly wrong because it was different than the rest of the parts and not a single rivet hole lined up. The hard part is when you have a part that is "mayyyyyybe" and you aren't sure. It's better to stop and ask questions at that time - either through the technical email address in SA or in Torrence.

As far as parts missing or replacement ones. If you find you are missing or wrong parts I haven't been charged for any shipping/handling. I try really hard to keep that to a minimum so no one is bearing any additional costs, but it's also the name of the game here as well. Stuff gets missed or done incorrectly and it needs to be corrected and they take care of you for that. I haven't had any parts I've damaged on my own yet (knock on wood) but I would think if I broke something I'd be on the hook for that - and honestly that's only fair.

btw - I like taking care of the folks who take care of me, so I have been known to send a trinket or two as a "thank you" for the extra work they put into taking care of my build.

[Cyrus]

I haven't had any parts I've damaged on my own yet (knock on wood) but I would think if I broke something I'd be on the hook for that - and honestly that's only fair.

Honestly, that's my position too, but I've yet to be charged for a part even when I've been very clear that I screwed it up and wanted to pay for it. I tried to pay for a few ribs, and they wouldn't hear of it. Maybe there isn't yet a system in place to charge builders outside of kits? I have no idea, but it was strange for them to not even be able to quote something, just put it in the mail.

[scout]

That is very nice of you to be so patient with them. And also very good of them to be so responsive to problems. But it would still be better if items were not missing to start with. Especially given the lead time and shipping times for items. In my business, we ship customers lots of parts and they expect all the parts to be there and they are not tolerate if the parts are not all there. So we make sure to make it perfect every time. So its definitely possible. If they added a QA role to the person that seals up the crates and had them verify the contents, something like that would help.

I currently already have one part missing. And yes, they put it on a boat. So it will take at least 4 months to get to me.

When something is missing, how long does it take to arrive from South Africa ? Hopefully they don't put it on a boat.

[lutorm]

But it would still be better if items were not missing to start with. Especially given the lead time and shipping times for items. In my business, we ship customers lots of parts and they expect all the parts to be there and they are not tolerate if the parts are not all there. So we make sure to make it perfect every time.

Obviously it would be better, and I'm sure they agree with that, too. From their side, though, they have a 10 month lead time, so they obviously have a sufficiently compelling product with what they are offering now. Their only competition is the RV-10, so if you think they have a better package you can take your business there. But it's not like there are a lot of alternatives.

[ibgarrett]

I haven't found the missing parts to be THAT big of a deal. Certainly if you have a major one stopping the process it's a bit more of a pinch and even a bigger deal if you only bought one phase of the build.

I bought the entire kit at once, so if I hit a stopping point, I'd just set that part aside and move onto the next one. At one point in time I was missing a forward rib for the horizontal stabilizer, two of the torque tubes for the wings, something for the elevator/trim tab and something else... that was so last year. The real trick is to make note of where the stopping point is with the given part, and keep moving forward.

[kkim1972]

Thx for sharing your positive experiences with TAF support. In the case where the parts have to cross the border, and customs clearance, anyone can share such experience?