Folks:
While relaxing in our B&B room in Florence prior to going out to dinner, I ran across a Barnstormers advertisement by David Hanson of Warren, Ohio, for composite canard build / assistance services (he has, he claims, 17 years of "experiance"). I felt ethically obligated to issue a warning.
I know of at least two aircraft that Mr. Hanson has built/refurbished that have had major issues with them. One is his personal SQ2K, which I examined personally in Chino, CA in February. Just to be open, here's the list of issues I found with the SQ2K N440DH, NOT in severity order:
- Loose center firewall belcrank
- Wing TE thickness & separation
- High Friction in elevator
- Heavy wings (120 lb each)
- Cut center spar near bolt holes - almost 1/2 missing
- Rudder cable rub on push rod
- Terrible workmanship
- Baffling wrong direction
- Door fit - they don’t
- Winglet TE separation
- NG-6 not captured
- Bolts / nuts wrong and wrong length
- Brake Master Cylinders’s cantilevered
- Canard glassed in
- Fuel vent inside cabin
- Very heavy - 1460 lb
- Logs thin (and misleading)
I made it very clear to the owner that this plane should not be flown and I would NEVER sign off a CI on it. I know of at least two other A&P's that have examined this plane that say essentially the same thing.
Now, I'll state outright that NO plane is perfect - EVERY plane, including my own, will have some issues with it that some A&P's might find to be issues to be addressed at some point. But there are at least 3 -5 items listed above that indicate to me that Mr. Hanson does not understand the required safety aspects of these aircraft, or worse, that he does and doesn't care. I do not know which of these is the case, but it doesn't matter for the people that use his services - either way, there are safety related problems.
Mr. Hanson has a "signature" paint scheme that he uses on any plane he's had a hand in refinishing - it makes it relatively easy to recognize at least that part of his work.
For anyone looking for composite builder assistance, part purchase, or modification help, Caveat Emptor.
