We are still riding on the boost from visting you & Wendy so the progress is
continuing.
It is sooooo good to have the biggest part of the tank job behind us, it's a big
psychological hurdle (and makes for a really long days work). Of course we have
not closed the tanks yet because our inspectors have to look into ALL the closed
sections before finishing them but other than worrying about leaks it won't be
as big a job to put the top on thank goodness.
I hate Proseal!!! <--- (Francine just dropped by to add her $.02!, other than
the Proseal thing she is doing great, complains she hasn't gotten enough time on
her Ninja this year though)
Pretty good hire for a QA inspector eh! Works for scraps and doesn't load you
up with paperwork. ;>)
Well, gotta knock it off for now, keep us up to date on your project.
Cheers,
Dave
Francine
Tanya (the QA inspector at www.elite583.cjb.net)
Rick Harper wrote:
--Lookin' good guys !
(I like your "QA" inspector ! :) )
Hope to have ours back in the air in a month or two :(
How's "The Boss" (Francine)
Rick & Wendy Harper
16 Tor Road
Dee Why
NSW 2099
Australia
Home (02) 9971 7889
Mobile 0416 041 007
-----Original Message-----
From: mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:mike.davis@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of David
Ricker
Sent: Thursday, 16 October 2003 10:57 AM
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: Builders Manuals- was Flaperon Control Roof Hanger on Rebel
Rick
Gotta agree with you (and Van), with better attention to the customers needs
like manual accuracy and more responsive tech support combined with perhaps
a
bit more active marketing I think MAM could be turning out 3 or 4 times the
production with increased economies of scale so the product could be an even
better value proposition. The way I heard Van said it was that if MAM got
serious they were the only real competition he would be worried about, even
for
the type of aircraft Van sells.
I really get the impression Murphy enjoys designing planes but is not so
enthusiastic about the "small" details of the production. That said, I am
looking forward to getting the Elite in the air, compared to the other
options
it (Rebels) is still the winner.
Dave
www.Elite583.cjb.net - Wet wing #2 sealed this weekend.......looking
forward
to flaps & ailerons!
Rick Harper wrote:
IG'day from "Down Under "Roger & Bruce ...
Wendy & I built Kit R541 (flying , some 2 1/2 years now) ... and the moreRVfly our Rebel & then fly in "utha planes", the more I appreciate our Rebel
... it's a GREAT plane, an I wouldn't even consider "swapping" it for anof6 or similar !!! (though I've flown in many)
BUT .....
I voiced the very same concerns when we were building 541 .... I offered
several very well meant ideas to Murphy ...things like " an optional setaphotographs of each stage" ... (at extra cost to the builder ... so it
wasn't an extra financial burden on Murphy).
I figured that if a picture is worth a thousand words .... Then it's worthit",MILLION words when you are building a plane from plans etc .... Never even
got a reply from MAM ! ... not so much as a "thanks", "we'll look intothe"your idea sucks", or even "get lost" !!!
Such a shame, when you can see a great product go wanting through a severe
lack of marketing and / or support.
A good friend, Jon Johanson (the Ozzy who has now flown his RV4 aroundmoreworld 3 times)
Said to me once , that "Vans' considers the only plane on the market that
rivals his RV series for value for money is the Rebel" !
It could be a far greater identity than it is now ... only wanting forMAMenthusiastic & efficient marketing & support :(
I just went half way 'round the world to attended Oshkosh and was VERY
disappointed at the
Level of presence of our brand of aircraft or the numbers who attended .writtenonly had the new single seater JDM 8 & later (in a far distant spot on the
field) was the Super Rebel , which arrived with the new V6 Rotax engine in
it ... and it seemed to be more showcasing the Rotax than the plane ... (
and we only found 2 Rebels who flew in ... and one of them came down from
Canada !)
Rick & Wendy Harper
16 Tor Road
Dee Why
NSW 2099
Australia
Home (02) 9971 7889
Mobile 0416 041 007
-----Original Message-----
From: mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:mike.davis@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of
rognal@dcsol.com
Sent: Monday, 13 October 2003 10:50 PM
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com
Subject: Builders Manuals- was Flaperon Control Roof Hanger on Rebel
Bruce,
I'm sorry Bruce, but I'm not going to accept that kind of reasoning. I am
the
consumer. I have paid a large sum of money for a product that the
manufacturer claims to be easy for the novice builder to assemble. That
large
sum of money includes a builder's manual. While I expect to have questions
during the building process, I also expect to have a builder's manual that
is
correct, up to date as of the date of my kit purchase, and which istowell enough that if I, as a novice builder, follow the directions, I won't
later have to go back and rebuild a part. 686 Rebels were purchased priorofmine. The 'bugs' in the manual should have been worked out by the time I
purchased #687.
In the October 2003 issue of Custom Planes magazine there is an article by
Steve Whitson about a Murphy Elite built by Michael Tohikian. This article
is/was posted to the Murphy website. One sentence in this article states
"His
one complaint was about the plans and instruction booklets, which Tohikian
said had a lot of mistakes".
I wonder if there were any potential buyer's of Murphy kits that changed
their minds when they read that statement? What could the monetary loss to
MAM have been? Would the loss of a single kit sale have covered the costcertainlyproviding an adequate builder's manual?
When I read that statement, I thought that's exactly right! I canIrelate to that! I even fired off an email to the editor of Custom Planes.betexplained I was a builder and that I thought the Rebel was possibly the
perfect kit aircraft, were it not for the builder's manual. I still think
that.
I can't help but believe that, in this day and age of computers, digital
cameras, read/write compact discs, the internet, etc. that quick and easy
updates and revisions to the builder's manual couldn't be made and
distributed in a timely manner. Not every builder has a computer, but I*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*the majority do.
Darryl Murphy needs to be concerned with R&D and developing new products.
But
he also has to invest in his builder's. After all, 'word of mouth'
advertising is a powerful medium. Especially these days. This list can be
viewed by anyone with internet access anywhere in the the world. And how
many
times have complaints been made here about the builder's manual?
Anyway, I think I'm up to 4 cents worth so I'll stop now.
Roger Hoffman #687R
Eugene, OR USA!
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--
David A. Ricker
Fall River, Nova Scotia
Canada
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Canada
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