Today i flew the last leg of the journey home. Wasn't without some minor problems... lost the alternator when a terminal broke off and upon landing at International Peace Gardens for customs the nose wheel went flat. No services there so i had to do some scrambling to get on the way again. Whew!
Here's how i got to this point. As my last post pointed out March 15 was agreed upon to be "delivery" day : Didn't happen that wednesday due to issues with the plane they were working on ahead of mine (C340). Josh asked if it would be ok to put it off till the following monday and then i agreed to wednesday as i was in contact with that owner. So ... I called monday to confirm my airline ticket date with Josh but got no return call. Tried him again in the afternoon and again tuesday morning with no response. So i jumped in the truck and flew to Denver Tuesday afternoon. Arriving at FWF i was greeted with a crankshaft standing on the build stand and the aircraft, as Bill said above, was inside!
Hey progress!! Not exactly as promised but i saw progress for the first time.
Well to make a long story ... I announced that I was there till it was airworthy and set about keeping busy and getting comfortable with the place. Personally took on the job of cleaning up the firewall and inside the cowlings to make a neat appearance. Every day i'd stick my nose in the build shop doors to see how the construction was going and was pleasantly greeted and made conversation with the Mechanics. Overall i was impressed with the expertise that Tom, Glen, Frank and Kevin have. These guys are not the problem with this shop at all. The build took 6 buisness days!!! Amazing how this went together. It could have been quicker but there were several delays when parts didn't show up as promised (the Alternator took 5 days of Josh saying it'd "be here tomorrow".)
I arrived on March 20th and the engine (fully installed) was flown out on April 4th!
In summary:
I "won" this overhaul "at cost"... Supposedly this was to generate work for a slack time and improve buisness with word of mouth advertising all while the economy is in a hole. Don't think this really panned out as management planned?
The cost of the work performed is still not clear and defined. We had a contract and discussions of what was to happen but almost 8 months in the process and a scramble for parts to complete... it was just a piece of paper. At no time did i feel informed about the progress or issues found with my project! The statement has one lump sum for labor based off the original contract... i paid just to get out as fast as i could (without lawyers fees). I did get a little less than 10% off by negotiating with Josh over the troubles i had with them but in the end the quotes i got from other shops are not that much out of line.
All in all i'm satisfied with the finished product now that i've flow it for 6 hours. CHT's have come down to very nice levels and it is running smooth and powerful. NO LEAKS whatsoever and its used 1 quart of oil. Wires and hoses are all new and tidy (one mishap with the alt terminal but nobodys perfect) ... And i looks good
Will i go back? NO.
Warranty: Self administered with the suppliers- Labor $$$
Questions? feel free to ask.