Pl Lazulite-really cost of pattern kits

[Gray E Fowler]

Why are these kits so expensive? As a manufacturer of pattern kits I can 
offer some insight. Not long ago,1999 I paid $425 for a Prophecy kit. This 
kit was a wet layup, a couple of layers of fiberglass, and chin cover and 
belly cover of the same contruction, and the needed foam pieces for for 
wings/stab. Great plane good value. Now look at the construction of the 
kits everyone is getting now. Vacuum bagged  "A" sandwich fuses needing no 
additional formers, twice the area size of the older kit at about the same 
weight, primed-painted in the mold, preskinned wings and stab, carbon 
fiber, kevelar reinforcements. 
What this means is these kits require about twice the labor of the older 
kits, and for materials....I buy 1 square yard of fiberglass (like the old 
kits were made from) for $4-5/yd. The carbon fiber used on the CF-Aries 
and the up coming Symphony costs $75/yd-no kidding.
In addition, to these costs, to make these complex planes better and more 
accurrate, the use of 3-D CAD is really a necessity. You can do it by hand 
for hundreds and hundreds of hours or you can do it on the computer for 
thousands and thousands (and thousands) of dollars. Everyone wants 
preskinned wings and ARFS because they do not have time to build....same 
with us, so we opted for the 3-D CAD, and I assume so does Pl and ZN.
If you want to see what I mean by the 3D CAD go to the Aeroslave web site 
and click on the Symphony. 3-D CAD is great, but very expensive, and that 
has to be passed on to the consumer. 
Pl and ZN have alot of secondary cost issues because they are imported. 
Remove all that and you have about an $800-1200 kit, that is much more 
complex and has extras never offered on the $425 kit. 
As you can see, I still work a real job, manufacturing composite missiles 
and bombs (and loving it) for the pointed delivery to the bad guys, 
because I would starve on pattern planes alone. Most pattern suppliers are 
like Aeroslave...doing it because we thought it would be fun-it sure aint 
for the money....even with the expensive kits.

In opinionated summary...I think todays kits are a better value than 
yestedays kits.



Gray Fowler
Principal Chemical Engineer
Composites Engineering
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