Finish Kit Inventory Complete - Deletions/Additions Breakdown

It's been an exciting couple days of inventorying the finish kit and ordering parts! First things first, a picture of the sorted finish kit parts (along with a few doodads from previous kits):

When this rack is empty, the plane is done! The plane isn't done.

The main wheel pants and prop spinner, or as I like to call them, "fancy hats".

Unpacking and sorting was fairly painless, and there were no errors, even with all the additions and deletions I had requested. Speaking of which, I should probably do a quick writeup of what was modified from the standard kit, and what third-party parts I'll be replacing the deletions with. First, here is the list I sent to Van's to modify my finish kit order. I tried to research as best as I could by reading through a number of other build log sites and emailed a few folks who've built -10's, and decided on the list of things that I wanted to modify as follows:

• Deleted tires and tubes
• (-) U 15x 6.0-6 (x2)
• (-) U 15x 6.0-6IT (x2)
• (-) U 5:00x5-6 (x1)
• (-) U 5:00x5-6IT (x1)
• Deleted main wheels and brakes
• (-) U-00011 (x1)
• Deleted nose wheel and axle
• (-) NW501.25 (x1) nosewheel
• (-) U-1009 (x1) axle
• Deleted intersection fairings
• (-) U-1019-L (x1) lower L intersection fairing
• (-) U-1019-R (x1) lower R intersection fairing
• (-) U-1020-L (x1) upper L intersection fairing
• (-) U-1020-R (x1) upper R intersection fairing
• Deleted windows
• (-) C-1003-L (x1) L door window
• (-) C-1003-R (x1) R door window
• (Windshield and side windows already deleted from fuselage kit)
• Modified door components
• (-) C-1016 (x2) door strut
• (-) WD-1023-PC (x2) strut bracket
• (+) C-1016HD (x2) heavy duty strut
• (-) C-1021 (x1) safety latch doubler angle
• (-) BAG-542 (x1) safety latch hardware
• (-) BAG-543 (x1) safety latch hardware
• I also added a few firewall-forward components, because I won't be buying the full FWF kit
• (+) VA-168 (x1) sender mount
• (+) VA-133 (x1) oil pressure hose
• (+) BAF-IO-540 (x1) baffle kit IO-540
• (+) VA-187 (x1) flanged duct
• (+) FAB-360/540 (x1) filtered air box
• (+) VA-182-PC KIT (x1) throttle/mixture bracket kit

With those modifications, the following items were then purchased from the following vendors:

• VansAircraftTires.com
• RV-10 New Builder tire/tube package (incl Desser retread tires and tubes, 2 main 1 nose)
• Cee Bailey windshield, door windows, side windows package
• MATCO Mfg
• WHLWI600XLT-2 (x2) Wheel/Brake assembly, each
• WHLNW511.25 (x1) Nose wheel
• WHLAXLE24 (x1) Nose wheel axle
• WHLA24SPKIT (x1) Nose wheel axle spacer
• WHLARV10SL (x2) Rear spacer for wheel/brake installation
• MSCTRA1.5 (x2) Washer for wheel/brake new installation
• PlaneAround
• NEW180 (x1) 180-degree 3rd safety latch kit, new door
• DS2 (x1) Door strut attach brackets, pair
• RV10DPG (x1) RV-10 SS angled door pins w/ delrin pin
• WFSPCR (x1) Wheel fairing bracket spacers, pair
• Aerosport Products
• RV10030 (x1) RV-10 interior door handle kit, med gray
• RV10051 (x1) RV-10 low profile exterior door handle kit
• RV10048 (x1) RV-10 seat lever kit
• RV10005 (x1) RV-10 cowl pin cover
• Rvbits.com
• RV-10 Intersection fairings, set of 4

One kind of funny thing that happened with my Matco order, I didn't realize the wheel/brake assemblies were sold individually (to my defense, the part number ends in "-2" and it would be expected to sell in pairs, so I made an assumption). So, I ordered just one main wheel. Quick to notice my error, a representative from Matco sent me the following email:

"Two units would be required."

I had to laugh for a good minute at the polite yet to-the-point wording of the message. My mistake! I wrote back and modified my order accordingly. Thanks to Matco for catching the error and preventing an even more embarrassing situation later on!

So the big question I always had and never really got a good answer for until I did this all myself was, how much do all these "upgrades" cost? Well, I decided not to post individual part-by-part dollar amounts of everything here because prices tend to change over time, but I'll try and list off the general, rounded costs of each upgrade (excluding other costs such as shipping), and the rationale behind each:

• Desser tires instead of new from Van's (delete $300, add $350 = +$50): The Desser retread tires come highly recommended from those who use them. It turns out that a retreaded tire in the aircraft world for some reason is actually held to a higher standard than a factory-new tire and they are reported to last quite a bit longer. Also, they are apparently a bit "meatier", which is important for the first installation because the wheel pants will need to be trimmed around them, and you want to have the fairings give ample clearance for them.
• Matco nosewheel/axle  instead of Van's (delete $125, add $220 = +$95): This is arguably the most important upgrade, according to most current RV-10 owners. The wheel Van's ships is slightly under-sized for this application, and the axle is of a poor design, causing it to rotate against the fork and cause premature wear and damage. The Matco parts seem to resolve the issue and provide trouble-free operation. There is a plethora of information on the internet about the RV-10 nose wheel issues and the Matco fix.
• Matco main wheels/brakes instead of Cleveland from Van's (delete $775, add $950 = +$175): The Matco wheel and brake option provides a better design and increased braking ability, which is extra important on planes like the RV-10 with a castering nosewheel that must be at least partially steered with the brakes, especially at low speeds. I've spoken to a number of RV-10 owners including one right here in Cedar Rapids who highly recommended this modification.
• Intersection fairings from Rvbits (delete $100, add $175 = +$75): These intersection fairings are reported to be much higher quality and easier to install than the standard Van's ones. To be honest it was sort of an impulse purchase, "all the cool kids were doing it" so I said it's 75 bucks why the heck not.
• Door modifications (delete $75, add $1300 = +$1225): This one is a whopper for sure. But, there are a number of improvements here to what many say is one of the best modifications to make. The 3rd latch system provides an insurance policy against accidental improper latching of the door. With the standard door, it is possible to only partially latch the door shut, and unknowingly attempt to take off with the door half open. Upon takeoff, there is enough flex and load for the door to rip off the airplane and potentially cause a very bad accident. A number of doors have flown off over the years in this way, and thankfully no accidents have occurred from them. This improved latch system ensures this won't happen, and also adds a few nice things like flush (and lockable) handles, stronger lift support, and nice-looking trim on the inside.
• Window replacement with Cee Bailey (delete $730 between fuse&finish kits, add $1500 = +$770): Ok, this one I'm kind of starting to get a bit of buyer's remorse on. I became convinced with Cee Bailey's sales pitch on the better fit and ease of installation when compared to Van's windows. Other builder agree these are nicer windows and they are easier to install, but I'm not 100% sure I can justify the more-than-double price tag. Oh well, I made that decision early this year with the fuse kit order and I'm going to stick with it. I'm sure they will be nice, and who knows, once I actually get them installed maybe I'll be able to appreciate the difference a bit more.

That's basically it for "Finish Kit Stuff" for now. If you have any comments or questions on what I did with my order modifications above, feel free to shoot me a message or leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! I also may come back and update the above with some commentary once I actually get the stuff put together.