New customer assembly center touts
reduced assembly times
Renewed interest in the Glasair designs coupled with an
enthusiastic response to the new Sportsman 2+2 has led to some
significant improvements at the factory where these popular kits
are produced. 12,000 square feet have been added to kit
production facilities and the customer service areas.
Additional employees have been hired to accommodate accelerating
orders and increased customer service needs.
The most notable expansion at New Glasair is the development of
a new Customer Assembly Center (CAC) which, upon its announcement,
is already booked through the end of 2004. What is unique
about New Glastar’s CAC is that it is designed to educate
customers about the assembly and maintenance of their aircraft
while allowing them to utilize precision factory jigs and tooling
to assemble their airframe and install their firewall forward
components, all in a very short period of time.
In only two weeks at the factory, customers assemble all
structural components in the airframe, leaving little more than
some fairings, windows, upholstery and paint. In addition,
all firewall aft fuel and control systems are in place, and the
wings are completely closed up and mated with all of the fuselage
systems.
Customers who opt for a third week at the factory CAC can expect
to complete virtually everything from the firewall forward, except
for minor items such as optional monitoring instruments, final
connection of control cables and cowl paint.
Once the customer takes his project home he will have an
estimated three to six months of part time work required prior to
flying the aircraft.
“The object is to meet the FAA requirements while
expediting the assembly process so our customers can get to the
flight line as quickly as is humanly possible,” said New
Glastar president Mikael Via. “There truly isn’t
another program like this. The three weeks are very intense,
but the customer learns about his aircraft, has a lot of fun, and,
in three short weeks leaves with an aircraft almost ready for taxi
tests!”
Orders for Glasairs and Sportsmans have been escalating over the
past year, creating a backlog that has necessitated extra staff and
space for new tooling. “It’s still a lean
company,” said Via, “and we’re stretching to
satisfy demand in reasonable timeframes, but we all feel a sense of
excitement for the growth brought on by the versatile performance
of the designs, the factory support, and the incredible praise from
people who’ve completed and flown their aircraft.”