Kit Ordering and Shipping Details and Policies
The following terms and policies apply to all orders for Van’s Aircraft RV kits.
NEW KIT ORDERS – REQUIREMENTS
All kit orders must be received on the current version of the applicable kit order form. These order forms are located at www.vansaircraft.com/order-a-kit.
Each new RV kit is assigned a Serial Number after the order is received. The serial number is assigned with the first kit ordered and is used for that airplane. If you’ve purchased a used kit, you must complete the transfer of ownership process in order to purchase additional kits to complete the airplane.
Important: Van’s requires a signed Waiver and Release of Liability Agreement before we will ship your kit(s). Any customer who does not sign the agreement will not be sold a Van’s Aircraft kit product or aircraft parts, and will not be able to receive the documentation necessary to satisfy the FAA’s requirements at time of registration.
NO COMBINING OF KIT ORDERS/SHIPMENTS
Due to high volume and limited warehouse storage space, for shipments bound to destinations in North America, we cannot and will not hold crated/ready-to-ship kits in our warehouse while waiting for another kit order to combine it with. We will ship each kit to you as soon as it is ready to ship. In the event two kits happen to align time-wise, we may end up shipping them together but we will not be able to intentionally plan combined shipments. Please plan accordingly. For overseas customers, we will do what we can to try to combine shipments, within reason, and minimize the high associated shipping costs.
MAKING DEPOSITS AND FINAL PAYMENTS
Unless you are advised specifically otherwise, each kit order must be confirmed by making a deposit of 25% of the total kit order amount calculated on the form. The deposit is calculated before subtractions are made. So, if you are removing items from your kit order the subtraction credits will be applied to the balance due after the deposit. Your deposit must be received before we will assign a factory production “place in line.” The “place in line” is assigned to you as an individual and may not be transferred (given or sold) to another person.
The balance on your kit order must be received before we can schedule the crating of your kit. If you delay your payment of the balance due, you may lose your priority and crating date because we will have to assign that kit and delivery slot to the next customer in line who has paid. If this occurs, your kit delivery will be delayed significantly, perhaps by many months, so please ensure any balances due reach Van’s by the communicated due date.
Kit deposits and balance payments can be made quickly and securely via Visa, MasterCard, or Discover at www.vansaircraft.com/makeapayment with the exception of certain kits for which the balance cannot be paid by credit card, as listed below. You may also pay your deposit or balance due via check or bank wire transfer.
For the below kits, 25% of the order price (the deposit) may be charged to a credit card at the time the depost. The remaining balance for these items must be paid via check or bank transfer:
- RV-12/12iS avionics kits
- RV-12/12iS powerplant kits
- Lycoming engines
CANCELLATIONS
If you cancel a kit order, Van’s will retain $500 of your deposit for each kit and refund the rest. The retained amount will be available for you for 12 months following the cancellation date, and you may apply that amount to any Van’s kit order until the 12-month period expires. Retained deposit funds may be applied toward another kit, and may not be applied toward parts or non-kit orders. After 12 months, any unused retained funds will become the property of Van’s Aircraft and forfeited by the customer.
If you choose to cancel your order, you may not transfer (sell or give) your order to another person. When orders are canceled, Van’s moves each customer remaining in the order queue up accordingly. New customer orders require the completion and submission of a new order form and are placed in the queue using the new order date. If you decide to sell your kit to another person after you take delivery of the kit(s) from us, you may of course do so. Van’s will not transfer your order or “place in line” to another person.
All cancellations must be made in writing (either via email or on paper). Verbal cancellations cannot be accepted.
ORDER CHANGES AND LOCK DATE
Any changes (deletions or additions) to the contents of your kit order MUST be made in writing and must be made before the final payment date for the kit. Once the kit’s final payment has been received and assigned to our crating team’s schedule, the order is considered “locked” and cannot be modified. If you need to order additional items after that point, the new items will be recorded as a separate order and will ship separately.
Individual parts that are deleted from your kit order are not credited at our full catalog price, because when you order a kit each individual part is priced lower as part of a discounted package. Therefore, we will issue a credit that reflects the package-discounted price of each part.
Important: RV-12/12iS kit deletions will control and limit the way your kit can be registered. Any deviation from the established plans will force us to treat the kit as EAB rather than E-LSA, and we will issue all relevant paperwork accordingly. In order to register your RV-12 as an ELSA, you must buy all of your kits/components from Van’s due to the way the ELSA registration and certification process works.
CONFIRMATION
We will ask you to review and confirm your order is correct as part of the process of receiving your final kit payment. No changes are allowed after that point.
KIT PRODUCTION LEAD TIMES
Estimated kit lead times are updated regularly on our website and change regularly based on supply chain delays, the current volume of orders, and a variety of other factors that fluctuate over time.
CRATING
The crating date range that we communicate to you represents the estimated timeframe when we believe your will be added to our crating team’s work queue – and it is not the same as the shipping date. It can sometimes take several weeks for a kit to ship after the crating date depending on volume, shipping company schedules and availability, etc.
Table: Weight and Dimensions of Crated Items (PDF)
USE OF CUSTOMER-PROVIDED INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDER
Should international customers choose to use their own freight forwarder instead of a Van’s standard/approved freight forwarding company, we will add a $500 administrative fee to your kit order for each shipment we arrange through your freight forwarder.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIPPING TO CANADA
Canadian customers must provide their broker information to Van’s Aircraft prior to the crating date.
KIT SHIPPING
We endeavor to find the most cost-effective and reliable freight shipping arrangements for each kit within the USA and the rest of the world. Some of our smaller, boxed kits may ship by FedEx or UPS while the larger kits ship by truck, air, or sea freight. Our Kit Department determines and selects the best option for each shipment, considering the type of kit being shipped, cost, and the freight company’s customer service history. We have negotiated significant discounts with certain freight carriers that we pass on to the customer. Depending on the carrier chosen, shipping may be either Prepaid (you pay Van’s upfront before the carrier picks up the shipment) or Collect (you pay the shipping charges when the kit(s) arrive at your delivery destination).
You will receive a Bill of Lading or other appropriate shipping documents when we ship your kit, which is typically sent via email from the shipping company. This document will indicate whether that shipment is Prepaid or Collect. The freight carrier will contact you to make delivery and payment arrangements as needed when the freight items arrive at the closest terminal or depot, and before they deliver to your address. Be sure to watch your email and answer your phone to avoid delays.
REQUESTS TO DELAY KIT DELIVERY
When you order a kit, you agree and understand that you will have to take delivery of the kit(s) as soon as they become available. Van’s will not store your kits for you, and they must ship when ready. You may not order kits or products today for delivery later than when they are ready to ship, and we will not accept orders at today’s prices for delivery in a timeframe that is later than our reasonably estimated timeframe – You must take delivery as soon as it is ready to ship. Should you choose to delay the delivery of your kit from the originally scheduled timeframe and priority on our customer order list, we will modify your kit price to the price effective on the date of the change, and we will reallocate your kit delivery slot for the next customer in our queue. We will change your kit delivery to a future kit manufacturing batch/slot and communicate the price and approximate estimated crating timeframe to you. Note that due to inflationary costs, customer-initiated delays to kit shipments that depart from the original kit’s order timeframes will result in a price change to the current price of the kits/items on order.
NO THIRD-PARTY SHIPMENTS
Note that due to stringent shipping regulations and logistical considerations, we can only ship packages and parts that are purchased from Van’s Aircraft. We cannot combine shipments from other vendors or sources. Packages delivered to our facility that are not purchased through Van’s Aircraft will be returned to the sender.
DELIVERY
It is the responsibility of the person receiving the freight to arrange a way to offload crates from the truck when they arrive. The freight company might be able to help, but you should not assume that will be the case, as they typically don’t carry forklifts or dollies. You can also optionally request “lift-gate” service for an additional cost through most freight companies, but note that even if you request it not all freight terminals can deliver using a lift-gate truck. Be aware that crated Quickbuild kits are large and heavy, and require a forklift or a significant number of strong people to help offload.
DAMAGE
If you see ANY signs of shipping damage to your crates you MUST note it on the delivery receipt. If the delivery receipt is a hand-held computer, write/enter the word DAMAGE as well as your name. Take photos immediately and report the damage to kits@vansaircraft.com right away. Check the contents as soon as possible and contact Van’s with the part numbers and digital photos of any damaged parts that will need to be replaced. We will assist you in communicating with the freight company if a damage claim is necessary. Van’s Aircraft is not responsible for damaged freight, but we certainly will assist you through the claim process.
For damaged shipments received via United Parcel Service, and/or Federal Express, please contact the shipping department at Van’s Aircraft immediately via email at shipping@vansaircraft.com.
WILL CALLS
Will calls can be arranged with our kit department if you let us know far enough ahead of time. We cannot offer unplanned will-call pickups. To ensure your will-call appointment goes smoothly, is important that you review our Will-Call policy, which you can view at this link. We must schedule the will-call date and time with our crating department in advance, and set a planned date for your visit to the factory to pick up your kit.
