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Engine Delivery Accuracy from Final Payment

Mark Dickens

Mark Dickens

Well Known Member
Patron
I sent Van's my final engine payment today. Targeted ship date is June 25...can't wait to see how close Lycoming gets to that date :LOL:

I'll probably check in with them in about a week to see if they know anything at all about my order...that ought to be educational
 
Mark Dickens said:
I sent Van's my final engine payment today. Targeted ship date is June 25...can't wait to see how close Lycoming gets to that date :LOL:

I'll probably check in with them in about a week to see if they know anything at all about my order...that ought to be educational
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I’m
Mark Dickens said:
I sent Van's my final engine payment today. Targeted ship date is June 25...can't wait to see how close Lycoming gets to that date :LOL:

I'll probably check in with them in about a week to see if they know anything at all about my order...that ought to be educational
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Did you get a request for final payment? My engine is scheduled for May 15, 2026 but have not received a request for final payment.
 
aguiraf said:
I’m

Did you get a request for final payment? My engine is scheduled for May 15, 2026 but have not received a request for final payment.
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Yes, I did at the beginning of April and I sent the payment in on the website on April 24th. They haven't taken the payment yet and I've heard that accounting is way behind...
 
Mark Dickens said:
Yes, I did at the beginning of April and I sent the payment in on the website on April 24th. They haven't taken the payment yet and I've heard that accounting is way behind...
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Sure seems like it. When I sent my final RV-15 wing kit payment back in February (for a March delivery which still hasn't happened), there was supposed to be an acknowledgment of receipt. Despite several requests, I still haven't gotten one. Hopefully this means Van's has been overwhelmed with orders and payments.
 
I have been assured that the issue is accounting being behind and that the ship date (6/25) hasn't been affected. This has come from two different people who seem to know what they are talking about, so I am taking it on faith that give or take a few days, I should have the engine in early July at the latest...we will see!
 
With the recent delays in registration, I decided to jump on getting the plane registered, but to do that you need the engine serial number for the 8050-88 form...so I asked Vans to contact Lycoming and see if a serial number had been assigned to my engine. Lo and behold, it has! The first concrete bit of evidence for the existence of the engine. Others may want to do this for the same reason. :)
 
My 6/26 projected ship date hasn't changed since March.
I called Accounting yesterday morning & left a message; last night I saw an email apologizing for delay, requesting final payment, and confirming shipping address.
I'm more than curious to see when it lands.
 
I got another one of those emails telling me that "the moment you've been waiting for it almost here!". It goes on to say that the shipping date is early June and that they need my final payment asap! So, I forward that to the kit sales email and am told that the date they have is July 2...I don't know why they bother sending these emails out. They're complete BS :mad:
 
I received similar email for final payment and an apology for the delay due to “errors “. Final payment immediately sent since it had to be there within 5 days!!. Kit status show shipping date 5/22/2026. I won’t believe it until it gets to my house and sits in my shop. Fingers crossed 🤞
 
The kit status pages (at least mine) is out of date...still shows 6/25 as targeted shipping, but I was told that the date they had about 10 days ago was 7/2...they aren't updating the status page on a timely basis.
 
Mark: just confirmed my ship date 6/26; I’m watching yours closely🤞
 
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I made final payment and later was asked for final payment! This was 2 years ago and it did get sorted.
 
aguiraf said:
You are absolutely correct. This was the first time he answered the phone in months. I have never received a call back from him from messages left on his answering machine.
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I visited Lycoming at Williamsport, PA yesterday June 9. It was an unannounced visit since I was on my way to Vermont to attend a MOA BMW Motorcycle rally. I touched my engine, it is just about finished and should be at my home end of next week. It was the happiest day Ihad in a while. So, it will be shipped about a month later than the date posted in Kit Portal. 😊👏👏👏
 
Another data point-

4/27/23 - Thunderbolt 390 ordered
8/17/26 - Current estimated ship date
6/18/26 - Final payment request
6/25/26 - Final payment made
 
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bertschb said:
Another data point-

4/27/23 - Thunderbolt 390 ordered
8/17/26 - Current estimated ship date
6/18/26 - Final payment request
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Hope they hold to it Brian..... Good luck with the FWF stuff (should have said have fun)
 
390TB ordered 11/22
Initial del date 1/26
Revised to 3/26
Revised to 6/2/26 and final payment made 5/1/26
Crickets
Phone call last week to Vans. Maybe last week of June? No conviction in her voice.
If I could get all my money back I would tell them to pound sand.
Never again

Greg Beckner
 
After telling me for weeks that the targeted ship date is July 2, they finally updated my kit status page to reflect that, so I hope that will reflect reality. I'm nervous though.

Sounds like the Thunderbolt pipeline is "all stove up"...
 
My mistake I think was not settling for a vanilla 390. But this is my last build, and I wanted it to be perfect. By now maybe there is developing a pretty good pipeline of used 390's that you could overhaul yourself. Or use an angle valve 360 or Titan or any of a number of other engine builders. But do not put your faith in Lycoming. Just my experience. YMMV.

Greg Beckner(also a doc)

RV14A N557GB build, flown and sold (bad dog)
RV8 N387LB, out of phase one and at the paint shop
RV12is built as part of high school stem project
RV14 waiting on Lycoming...........
 
Imagine47 said:
My mistake I think was not settling for a vanilla 390. But this is my last build, and I wanted it to be perfect. By now maybe there is developing a pretty good pipeline of used 390's that you could overhaul yourself. Or use an angle valve 360 or Titan or any of a number of other engine builders. But do not put your faith in Lycoming. Just my experience. YMMV.

Greg Beckner(also a doc)

RV14A N557GB build, flown and sold (bad dog)
RV8 N387LB, out of phase one and at the paint shop
RV12is built as part of high school stem project
RV14 waiting on Lycoming...........
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Titan's deliveries have sped up significantly in recent years. They are also flexible if you are not quite ready for the engine. Their online build tool is cool, too. https://continental.aero/titan-engine-builder/
 
Airzen said:
Does anyone know why it takes ~2 years now to get an engine? Is it parts/kit availability? Manpower? Or something else?
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The primary factor is the availability of raw material. Engine manufacturers machine the vast majority of the parts in-house; however, they rely on suppliers for castings and forgings. Some suppliers tend to fall behind on deliveries or decide that aviation manufacturing is too much of a burden and exit the business. Even after receiving said material, it can have manufacturing defects, making it unsuitable for further processing.
While all this is happening, orders are still coming in, creating a bigger backlog. This leads to further delays.
 
AircooledDreams said:
Titan's deliveries have sped up significantly in recent years. They are also flexible if you are not quite ready for the engine. Their online build tool is cool, too. https://continental.aero/titan-engine-builder/
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I placed my order for a Titan 370 in March of '25. I got a call on 5/31/26 saying it would be in production in a week or two and confirmed colors and other specs....I haven't heard anything since....
 
I imagine it takes longer than 2 weeks to build an engine.
So if it went into production on June 14th you could expect it back end of July?
 
I just took delivery of my engine and while there took the tour. It seems that Lycoming is still trying to recover from the Covid fiasco. When Covid hit they anticipated a slow down in sales and cut back on their supply orders. Unfortunately just the opposite happened and demand exploded. They are still installing new C&C machines to help catch up on pistons and cylinders. It seems like there new order cycles are improving.
 
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