{"id":2555,"date":"2016-12-29T12:17:32","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T17:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/volareproducts.com\/blog\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2016-12-29T12:17:32","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T17:17:32","slug":"leaving-2016-and-heading-into-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/volareproducts.com\/new2024\/leaving-2016-and-heading-into-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving 2016 and Heading Into 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wow, another year gone by.\u00a0 I tell you what – there were so many times in 2016 that I was on the flying field and just felt tremendous joy and appreciation for the time that was that moment.\u00a0 2016 was one of my best years of flying – not because of wins (I did that some) and not because of the business – but just because I was doing what I enjoy and doing it with friends that enjoy the same thing.\u00a0 We braved the gales of the 2016 FAC Nats and we flew in the perfect days in September when Jack Moses was smilin’ down on us and we enjoyed all of the times in between.<\/p>\n

I spent 35 years working for The Man and adopted the mantra “work to live, not live to work”.\u00a0 I was able to cut loose from that in July and I now spend my days working my business and working my hobby and as I told my brother this week “the lines between the two are very gray and blurry”.\u00a0 But I also still retain that mantra and my business is what allows me to pursue my hobby and allows me to share it all with all of you.<\/p>\n

I try to keep my prices reasonable – even “cheap” in some cases.\u00a0 The items I buy and resell are offered in my shop at the going rate, or even below, in some cases.\u00a0 My short kits are one of those items that are “cheap” – yes, I make a profit on them, if you only consider the cost of raw materials.\u00a0 People might not realize all of the development and engineering that goes into these products; probably somewhere between 40 and 100 hours per plan (probably more).\u00a0 The hardware items – well, now you’ve got two people working on them – me and my dad – our labor is free.\u00a0 Just consider that next time you pick up something from a hobby manufacturer and wonder if it is over-priced.\u00a0\u00a0 No one is going to get rich selling Free Flight supplies and no free-flighter could afford to pay the “real” costs.<\/p>\n

So, what did the business do in 2016?\u00a0 Well, I was surprised when I just did a tally – 16 short kits, two new hardware products, and one back in production.\u00a0 Here are the kits:\u00a0 Old Timers:<\/strong>\u00a0 Pacific Ace jr, King Harry, the Shaft, the Wanderer, Peanut:<\/strong>\u00a0 Found Centennial, Dime Scale:<\/strong>\u00a0 Kokusai Ta-Go, Martin MO-1, Scale:<\/strong>\u00a0 Elmendorf Special, Vega Starliner, NoCal:<\/strong> Fairey Barracuda, Turbo Cessna 195, Jet Cat:<\/strong>\u00a0 U2, T-37 Tweet, Pep Reproductions:<\/strong>\u00a0 P-47, Sturmovik, PBY.\u00a0 The hardware:<\/strong> Torque Meters for the Morrill Sidewinder and the Rees Scale Winder – and we have the Scale Winder back in production.\u00a0 That’s a lot of stuff!<\/p>\n

First up for 2017:\u00a0 I bought a replacement tube for the laser cutter – I’ve been having growing issues cutting, especially plywood.\u00a0 It was delivered this week.\u00a0 I systematically studied how to replace it and then moved the cutter and started disassembly.\u00a0 When I got the tube out, I took a look at the business end of the old tube (see the photo below).\u00a0 On the left, is the “before” and the right is the “after” – I found that there was residue on the tube (this is where the laser beam comes out).\u00a0 I assume that since the tube sits in the smoky environment, some of this smoke gets very close to this business end of the tube and gets burnt on to that surface.\u00a0 I cleaned it and re-installed the old tube.\u00a0 The cut is nearly how it was when brand new.\u00a0 I put the brand new tube on the shelf for later – they do go bad, but my old one still has life left in it.\u00a0 Maybe what I really need is a better exhaust system.<\/p>\n

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Here are the kits that I am currently working on for 2017:<\/p>\n

95% ready to go:<\/p>\n