I'm an ex-RAF pilot who knows plenty of people who had to try to keep these badly built heaps in one piece. I wouldn't fly one if it was given to me.
One simple example: my father in law (who had the misfortune to work int he structures bay at Linton on Ouse) was repairing main spars on aircraft that had done just 400 hours. He was an aircraft engineer for 40 years+ and said it was the most appallingly badly assembled aeroplane he'd ever seen. Enough said for me!
Originally Posted by
IO540
Are these figures right? That is utterly unbelievable. My 13 year old who builds model planes, without drawings, would have got the airframe lengths within a few mm. A 200mm variation on an airframe which is GA-sized points to an astonishing Fawlty Towers operation.
I don't know about 200mm, but my father in law did find one with a significant difference in length between the left wing and the right. Not surprisingly, they never could get that one rigged properly for straight and level flight!