Message-ID: <000301be67fa$cab1fde0$3213410c@ckrouse_ra.spk.hp.com>
Reply-To: "Curtis Krouse" <ckrouse@worldnet.att.net>
From: "Curtis Krouse" <ckrouse@worldnet.att.net>
To: <lancair.list@olsusa.com>
Subject: FINALLY!! I opened the crate.
Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 09:57:22 -0800
Mime-Version: 1.0

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Dear List,

I wanted to share this moment with all of you because I have posted a few
messages here in the past year and have found this forum as a valuable
resource.  I feel that it would be good to share this moment with all of
you.

I'm not sure that any of you remember from my posts, but the story goes like
this.  I ordered my SFB 320 kit last April.  The FBO that I fly out of had
some hangars that they were building and they were scheduled to be ready in
June, so I asked for my kit to be delivered in July.  I figured that one
month was plenty of time to get a hangar ready to build my plane.  When the
first week in July came around, Lancair delivered the crate right on
time......just like they promised.  I have had nothing but good experiences
with Lancair to date.  However, the hangar was still a patch of dirt.  This
was very frustrating to say the least.  To make a long story short.  The FBO
didn't finish their hangar project until this Feb.!!  Talk about one
frustrated individual!!!  I was fit to be tied.  But, I patiently waited
thinking that all good things will come to pass.  To even further exaserbate
the situation, once the hangars were ready, the local banks had no financing
programs to cover hangars.  So, I either had to be debt free..(yeah,
right)...or I had to have 30% down.  What a BUMMER!!

So....plan B.  I started to look to buy a shop.....at least that what I told
my real estate agent.  I didn't care what kind of shack was attached to it.
Last week I moved into my new home.....with an insulated 24x24 pole building
shop in the back.  Yesterday I moved my crate from the FBO to the shop and
started removing staples.  Eight months almost to the day after I took
delivery of my kit, I was finally removing those wonderful staples!!

I was racked with excitement and anticipation......anxious to see the inside
as soon as I could.  I wanted to feel the composite material.  As soon as
the first panel came off, I almost jumped with glee.  Alright...I
thought.....finally my dream of 15 years is coming to fruition!!  As the
panels started to be stacked against one wall of the shop I was very
impressed with the excellent packing methods that Lancair used to ship the
kit.  I started to wonder how long it took an engineer to come up with that
configuration and how many kits were sacrificed in the process of fine
tuning the packing method.  Man was I having a good time!

Then a most curious thing happened as I started to remove the contents and
stack them neatly on the floor.  A fear came over me.  It kept saying, "You
bit off more than you could chew this time buddy!".  I kept opening boxes
and removing the packing material.....and that little voice kept nagging at
me.  I wondered if this was typical of most kit builders after they started
to see the amount of parts and started to think that it just might take a
couple days just to get the inventory done.

I did have a good omen though.  I managed to cut a couple fingers on the
nails and staples.  For me this is a good omen.  That's why my nickname in
certain circles is "Blood".  I always seem to draw it when involved in
projects.

Today I have just the major four components to remove from the crate and the
inventory to start.  I am no longer holding onto that fear.  It has turned
into an anxious anticipation to start building.  My neck and shoulders are
sore as heck from breaking open that crate and removing the contents, but my
heart is soaring!

I am so looking forward to that first day when the tires grease the runway
and I taxi to the area where the Lancairs are tied down.......what a
glorious day that will be!!!

Regards,

Curtis Krouse N753K

[Save the plywood, Curtis... you're going to need it!  Congratulations!!!]