Aloha from Hawaii

[lutorm]

Hi everyone,

Prospective TSi builder here. I've been aiming to build a Cozy Mk IV for a long time but hasn't managed to actually get started and after a sobering look at the probability of actually managing to complete such a project I'm changing direction to a kit instead. The Sling looks really nice and I'm very attracted to the efficiency and power/weight (if not the price tag) of the Rotax.

One question I had was this: we'll probably move from Hawaii to Sweden in a year or so. I'm toying with the idea of getting the kit before the move, because that way I would avoid the 25% sales tax in Sweden, and it probably would not significantly affect the moving cost assuming all our stuff still fits in a container. However, I don't have a good idea of how large the complete kit, as shipped, actually is. How many crates, etc? It would be a significant pain to have to deal with it, so I'm not sure it's actually worth it.

Are there distributors in Europe similarly to the airplane factory in CA that would ship the kit if I order to Sweden, or do non-US orders deal directly with South Africa?

[Cyrus]

Re Crate size - the quick build is an entire 20ft container.

[lutorm]

Re Crate size - the quick build is an entire 20ft container.

Yeah I should have specified I'd be getting a slow-build.

[PhilipRueker]

Welcome to the group.

Even with the slow build, the boxes alone will still likely fill at least half the container if you get all of them in one go.

[huzilulu]

Yes, an entire slow bluild with engine/prop/FF will be close to half a 20’ container… you also want to consider that if you haven’t placed the order yet it will take close to a year to be delivered to you and that may delay your shipment from the US to Europe also!

[Cyrus]

The other thought I had is that the shipping from Torrance to HI may be rather high. It may make more sense to chat with the factory about taking delivery in CA (maybe sales tax implications there too? Maybe in NV or AZ?) and shipping it directly to Sweden from there as other household goods.
This is something that TAF USA can likely help out with.

[lutorm]

Thanks for the responses all. I think the size of the kit is large enough that it doesn't make sense to go through the US, given the extra hassle required to coordinate this. I spoke to Frisian Air which is the European distributor and the cost difference appears to be about 30% when tax and shipping is considered. That's a lot of money but subtract from that the additional shipping from here to Sweden and the hassle of first storing the kit here and then in Sweden until I find a shop place, I might just eat that cost.

[lutorm]

Just put down my deposit on a TSi kit today! The process of locating somewhere to actually build it is ongoing. (The advantage of ordering a kit and then moving is that you can plan for your shop needs when looking for a house...

[lutorm]

By the way, I was also notified that the lead time on the Airmaster prop for the TSi is 14 months right now, so get your prop order in early!