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Q -
How much can the factory do after
the Builder Assist Program?
A - The FAA's 51% rule defines what the major
assembly items the builder must accomplish to qualify. Thanks to recent
FAA mandates, items like the interior, paint, avionics, etc. are specialized
areas that can be contracted out without affecting the 51% rule. Express
Aircraft Company has designed our Builder Assist Program to where all the
builder HAS to put in is the 6 weeks of assembly, and the remaining completion
portions can be completed by us and still qualify for the 51% rule. If the
builder wants to finish his aircraft himself, that's perfectly fine. What
we offer is another alternative to homebuilding that provides factory quality
with significant time savings!
Q -
How much does it cost to build and complete an Express?
A -
Depending on how elaborate a builder wants their plane
(instruments, interior, paint, engine, etc), a home-built completed "Basic VFR"
version with a mid-time engine, basic interior, etc. can be done for as little
as $90,000 - $95,000. On the more elaborate side, with a full IFR color
moving map GPS panel, new engine, paint, prop and interior, and factory
finishing services one can figure on spending upwards of $200,000 for everything
(including the kit). In fact, a builder can spend up to $??? with the wide
assortment of "bells and whistles" available to
today's builders. Builder Assist participation and
factory finishing will obviously increase these costs, but decrease the building
time and enhance the finished quality. Typical Factory Finished customers
can expect to invest a total anywhere from $200,000 to over $250,000 for an
exceptionally well equipped and finished example. Still, when compared to
all other certified and kit built options, the Express still represents
the greatest value in aviation today!
Q - I want to
save money and keep the cost as low as possible?
A - Building a high performance aircraft is not an
inexpensive undertaking. Trying to save a few thousand dollars can add years to
the project schedule. If your goal is to having something to work on in the
garage for new few years, then by all means take a kit home, look for a used
engine and keep the panel as simple as possible.
If your goal is to get to a long distance cruiser
airplane in a reasonable time, use our Builder
Assist Program to get as much done in a short period as possible. Bring one
or two helpers who really are going to help. With the fixtures, technical
assistance and supplies included in the program it really is a bargain if you
take advantage of it. The biggest money waster we see is teams or individuals
who want to spend more time yakking than working. That's not to say we don't
have fun while working, but keep the hands moving!
After construction of the airframe in the Builder
Assist facility we offer very reasonably priced final finishing services. Again,
this work is not cheap, but you would spend many months doing in your garage
what we can accomplish in a few weeks.
You instrument panel will probably be the most
expensive part of your aircraft. Fortunately as an experimental class model you
can take advantage of very reasonably priced avionics, which are also the latest
and most capable products on the market. A full IFR glass panel with autopilot
is significantly less expensive than the steam gauge equivalent.
Q -
Is there a standard configuration you recommend?
A - The Continental
IOF-550 FADEC engine with a Blue Mountain EFIS/One and CNX80 in the panel is
very popular.
The FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control)
provides easier starting and better high altitude performance than the old-style
magneto engines. FADEC eliminates the mixture control for simplified operation.
Engine data (EGT, CHT and even percentage of power) are fed to the EFIS/One via
a serial data connection, reducing wiring and calibration during installation.
The EFIS/One replaces the vacuum instruments with a
large screen display panel that provides much more situational awareness
including a synthesized view out the windshield with terrain. The CNX80 is the
most capable WAAS-GPS/flight computer available and is approved for primary
navigation. The CNX80 can drive the Blue Mountain autopilot for super accurate
IFR approaches. Amazingly, this combination of hot ticket equipment is cheaper
than the steam gauge IFR panel it replaces.
Q -
How long does it take to build and complete an Express at the factory?
A - The Builder Assist Program is made up of three
sessions of two weeks apiece. Generally it takes about one month after receiving
an order to manufacture the composite parts required for the first session. A
minimum of two weeks is required between each session for preparation and factory
finishing tasks. The time line is listed below.
If two hard working people attend each of the Builder Assist
sessions and some factory finish work is performed between and during the
sessions you can finish airframe construction by the end of the third
session.
Then there is final assembly, bodywork, primer
paint, engine and avionics installation as listed. This assumes all the parts have been procured
with adequate lead time and the control panel
built in parallel to the airframe work.
A twenty five hour flight test can take from two to four weeks
depending on weather and pilot availability. After flight test final wing
fairings are installed, the interior put in and then the exterior painted.
Careful scheduling, preparing the panel and upholstering the seats in parallel
with other tasks will minimize the overall time line.
|
Place Order |
Day 1 |
|
Start 1st Builder Assist Session |
Day 30 |
|
End 1st BA |
Day 45 |
|
Start 2nd Builder Assist Session |
Day 60 |
|
End 2nd BA |
Day 75 |
|
Start 3rd Builder Assist Session |
Day 90 |
|
End 3rd BA - Completed Airframe |
Day 105 |
|
Bodywork and Primer |
Day 135 |
|
Installation of Wings, Glass, Doors,
Landing Gear and Control Surfaces |
Day 170 |
|
Installation of Engine, Instrument Panel
and Cowl |
Day 215 |
|
Run Up & Ground Test |
Day 230 - 8 months |
|
Ready for Test Flight, Interior
Installation, Wing Fairings and Paint |
Q -
Can I bring a helper for the Builder Assist Program?
A - The Builder Assist Program is a lot of work. That's a
huge advantage because you can stay focused and accomplish much more in a short
time than you can in your garage.
To take advantage of all the Builder Assist Program
has to offer a helper is a big plus. The price is the same, it's your shop time
so make the most of it.
We have noticed that husband and wife teams,
especially if both spouses are excited about flying, accomplish the most in
their sessions. There is a lot of fiberglass work and our staff will teach you
quickly how to do it. Since you are working with fabric, wives often do a better
job than the husband at taping seams. Husbands generally are better at the
sanding, shaping and fitting tasks.
Bring two helpers and get the most bang for your
buck and spell each other to spread the work around.
While families are welcome, younger children tend to
be a distraction. They usually are not up for a ten hour work day. They get
bored, then Mom gets tied up taking care of the kids while Dad has to go it
alone.
Q - What if
I brought my whole EAA chapter can we finish the airframe in one Builder Assist
session?
A - The Builder Assist Program is an educational
program structured around an individual or very small team working on one area
of the aircraft at a time. Too many people and too many tasks going at once lead
to mistakes and rework. We already compressed what the usual garage builder does
in two or three years down to six weeks. Let's not push it.
Q - I'm a rather tall
individual, will I be comfortable in the Express?
A - Absolutely!
One of the greatest qualities the Express offers is it's spacious
cabin area, easily accommodating pilots and
passengers in excess of 6'-4". For those taller individuals, the
Express' seating arrangement and set up can usually be modified to comfortably
suit their specific needs. In addition, the wide cabin offers plenty of
shoulder room for overall comfort. All in all, the Express is truly one of
the most comfortable aircraft available today.
Q -
What are the CG loading
limits in the Express?
A - In
addition to a huge cabin area, the Express boasts one of the largest CG (center
of gravity) envelopes found in any airplane. The design CG limits are from
15% MAC to 40% MAC, allowing one to load the aircraft in almost any possible
configuration. With a full 140 gallons of fuel, the Express can easily
fit 4 - 200 lb people plus more than 100 lbs of baggage and not begin to approach the aft
CG limit. Try doing that in a Bonanza!
Q -
How much room & experience is
required to build an Express?
A - Most people are surprised to learn that the Express can be built
in a typical 2 car garage. With the exception of final assembly (normally
done at an airport hangar), this is all the space necessary for building the
plane. Since many critical components are prefabricated at the factory,
building a composite aircraft today is not near the task it was just a few years
ago. In fact, it can be compared to building a plastic model airplane.
Learning to laminate fiberglass components together is typically the one task
that takes a builder some time to familiarize themselves with, but beyond that,
the Express can be completed with a minimal amount of special tools, knowledge
and ability. Our detailed construction manual makes the job even easier!
Q - Are original Express components
usable with your new kits?
A -
Since re-introducing the Express kits in 1998, we have made an
effort to insure that our upgraded components are compatible and usable with pre-existing
kits builders may have had for many years. However as the Series 2000
design has evolved there is less and less commonality between the latest kit and
previous kits. We still have some older parts available and some builders have
adapted the current parts to an older kit. If a builder of an older kit
needs parts, we recommend you contact us
directly to determine the compatibility of particular components.
Q - What are the
differences between the current kit and previous kits?
A - The biggest difference is the design of the wing. The
original wing was very thin and had the wing skins meet at the leading edge.
Fuel capacity was about 70 gallons. A second design of the wing featured a
separate leading edge for easier construction, but the fuel capacity was still
about 90 gallons. The most recently introduced wing design (early 2003) has a
thicker spar for much higher gross weight and the fuel capacity is increased to
140 gallons for the standard configuration. Though the wing is thicker, it
actually has lower drag than any of the previous wing designs. See the
Airfoil Drag
Analysis.
The landing gear has evolved through fiberglass and
steel legs to the current very strong spring aluminum gear that puts the
fuselage a bit higher off the ground. The new gear attached to the new wing is
much more robust for higher gross weight. The higher ground clearance allows for
a larger prop for the bigger engines. The new gear legs have the brake lines
internal to reduce drag.
The earliest fuselage had only one passenger door
and no baggage door. Over the years the design as changed to add a second
passenger door (one one each side) and a baggage door on the left side. The
earliest fuselage also had a smaller tail with a small horizontal stabilizer
placed half way up the vertical stabilizer, which was known at the cruciform or
CT tail. The Series 2000 kits have the larger horizontal stabilizer to handle
larger engines and higher gross weight.
The horizontal stabilizer is located in the traditional place at the base of the
vertical stabilizer.
Q - Why should I purchase a new kit verses the old Wheeler kit I found at a
bargain price?
The older kits, known as the 3/5th's kit,
were not complete. The upper part of the fuselage was not available or included
in these kits. Express Aircraft Company LLC no longer supplies upper fuselage
kits as they are not a cost effective way to complete an aircraft. Experience
has been that customers end up spending more money with an old kit by the time
they get all the parts than they would with a complete modern kit. Keep in mind
these 3/5th's kits are 15 years old, usually have passed through several hands,
and probably were not complete to start with. Often the metal parts are rusty
and the composite skins warped from standing. Obviously the supplies that come
with the old kits, such as resin, catalyst and gloves are out of date and not
useable.
The older kit is much more difficult and time
consuming to construct. The Series 2000FT kit comes only as a fast build
configuration with the wing spar and ribs in place ready to tape, saving a huge
amount of your time. The new kit also results in a more capable aircraft with
higher gross, more fuel and more payload.
Q -
Is it all really Made in the USA?
A - All of the composite components are made in the
Express factory on molds owned by Express and by Express employees. The
materials come from USA manufacturers and are the finest fiberglass cloth
and vinyl-ester resin available. Even the 2-core-2 flat stock used for ribs is
manufactured in Our Factory to ensure quality and identical materials for
bonding compatibility.
Some of the
metal components are made in the machine shop in the main Express facility at
the Olympia Airport. Most of the metal parts are made by local machine shops, on the latest CNC
mills. Push-pull tubes and other control mechanisms are made of aircraft grade
4130 normalized (heat treated for strength) steel. Hinges are milled from
6061-T6 aluminum with bronze inserts for
smooth operation. Our welding is done by an Aircraft
Certified Welder. Critical parts are hardened by an
Aerospace Certified Heat Treater.
The Pacific Northwest is home to much of the world's
aircraft building, including the massive Boeing airliner plants. There are many employees and
component manufacturers available to produce the highest quality parts
available. Most of our competitors use parts made by overseas suppliers, many in
third world countries where the manufacturing methods and quality control may
not be up to aerospace standards.
The only component that is not US made is
the Linak flap motor from Denmark.
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