Importing RV kits into the UK takes a bit of
planning, especially if you want to minimise the expense for the large quick
build kits. I decided to order my QB Fuselage, QB Wings and Finish Kits all
at once in December to beat the usual 1st Jan price increases. I also
decided I'd try, successfully as it turned out, to seek out other UK RV
builders to share the cost of ocean freight container shipping. The UK RV
Forum (
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rvsqn/ ) made this possible. Basically,
the more full the container, the lower the shipping cost per person.
So, including myself, I ended up with a group of seven people
and enough kits to completely fill a 40ft container. I even had to turn away
a few people as there was no room left. The container shipped with kits
worth over US$120,000 with:
3x RV-7 Quick Build Fuselage
3x RV-7 Quick Build Wings
2x RV-7 Tip-Up Finish Kit
1x RV-7 Slider Finish Kit
1x RV-7 Slow Build Wings (2 crates)
1x RV-8 Quick Build Wings (2 crates)
1x RV-9 Slow Build Wings (2 crates)
1x RV-9 Pre-Built Fuel Tanks
1x RV-9 Quick Build Wings (2 crates)
1x RV-9 Slow Build Fuselage
1x RV-9 Slider Finish Kit
I took on the job of co-ordinating all this. It was a fair
amount of work but well worthwhile. The end result was that shipping costs
for my Fuselage/Wings/Finish Kits was about the same as some people have
paid just for shipping a Finish Kit to the UK. Container costs were shared
on the basis of the average of ratios for weight, volume and value.
Barb at Van's was very helpful in the early days of
setting up the group. Just knowing how much can be fitted in a container can
be a bit of a challenge so the list above may be useful to others.
The UK importation paperwork was sorted out by Jon & Rob
at Big Misters, for which many thanks.
The trucking firm, Richmon, that delivered the kits to my
door also provided an excellent service.
