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Hello All
I sent this last month thinking some of you going to sun and fun might avail
yourselves of this opportunity but I think it got lost in cyberspace. If I’
m repeating myself I apologize.
I bought my IVP; I did not build it. It was build by a professional. Even
if I could legally work on my airplane it would be hard to find the time to
do so. I do the little stuff but for the most part I get others to fix it.
My local shop can fix the normal engine stuff up to a point but is lost on
the airframe and uncomfortable with some of the issue that come up on a
sophisticated aircraft for which there is no service manual. For the
airframe I have used quite a number of shops (both east and west coast) to
do work. Mostly they have been build shops – ones who specialize in
building IVP’s for others. I have had so-so results. They are set up to
build airplanes not to repair them and as a result they have typically
promised a long lead time and then delivered even later than promised.
Sometimes the squalks aren'nt fixed and often some things are fixed and new
things are broken. Also they’re not that good at the
engine/electrical/mechanical part of the plane. They’re good guys but the
repair business is very different from the build business.
Enter Semloh Aviation at Massey Ranch airport (x50) south of Daytona Beach.
It’s run by Arnold Holmes (386-206-6015). It is a true repair shop and
specializes in Lancairs. Arnold is an A&P and is competent on all aspects
of the aircraft. He knows composites having worked with Burt Rutan and Adam
Aircraft. He fixed a fuel leak of mine the others failed on many times. He
’s finished a number of ill-started Lancairs. The great bonus is he also
good at the other parts of the airplane, including engines and electrical.
He is just starting his avionics shop. My engine (and airplane for that
matter) has never been better. He’s gotten all the systems working as they
never have before. Further, he’s fixed a lot of other irksome airframe
problems which were caused by others when they “fixed” stuff. He did my
annual this year in record time and there’s more good news: He gets it done
on time. I’ve left it with him ( I drop It off and rent a car) for a week
or so at a time and the work’s been done when he said it would be. And it’s
been done properly. I was delightfully surprised. He’s not cheap. He’s
reasonably priced and you get what you pay for. He stands behind his work.
As you can tell I am so far very impressed. I have no business relationship
with him by the way.
For those of you looking for someone who understands the whole Lancair
aircraft I highly recommend Arnold and his team at Semloh Aviation. All the
best.
Bob Evans
LIVP N4TQ
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