Finally got the Quickbuild kit today. It took 16 weeks going from South Africa to Hamburg, switching boats, then coming to Oakland. I estimate that it was on the water for about 7 or 8 of those 16 weeks. It got through customs at Oakland just as I was going on vacation, so it had to sit another week. It was quite the challenge getting it out of the shipping container. Many of the screws broke off, so we ended up using pry bars and hammers in addition to screw guns to get everything out.

It probably would have been easier to have it delivered directly to my house, but since I didn't know how big the container would be or what equipment would be needed to unload it, I had it go to my former place of work, Unique Elevator Interiors. The folks there helped me unload it, put it on a flatbed stake truck, and bring it to my house (it took two trips). So now, I have a fuselage in my garage, two wings in storage, and a bunch of really big boxes. The plane is taking a lot more space than I thought, and the wings are less-than-easy to work with. They are up on an upside-down "u" shaped stand that is not stable, so I had to tie them to the ceiling. Next step is to build a wing stand, then do the inventory check....

I gotta say, it is pretty inspiring to step into my garage and see the plane sitting there. Now I am really looking forward to getting it going!