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Just wanted to give everyone an update of my conversation with Ron Selewach from Sidewinder.
I asked Ron if I could share what he & I discussed, and he gave his blessing, so here it goes.
First let me say, we can all be arm chair quarterbacks on this project and tell them they did this wrong or that wrong, that is not the intent of this post. This is to give everyone an update on where this project is at. If it starts to go south I may delete the thread. Let’s try and keep it as positive as possible.
Sidewinder began setting up machining production for 20 engines based on what they thought they would sell, so they upped it by 25% and planned on building 25 for the next run. They quickly realized they had underestimated the sales/demand as the orders started coming in faster than anticipated. This was while they were ordering castings, gears, and the few other parts they don’t make in-house. (We can all speculate what caused this demand but it’s not important to this update)
A big part of the cost for these type of projects is the set up for machining, as most of us probably know. Once a setup is made, the procedure needs to be completed for all parts on that run before the next part is set up, and so on and so on. That is why they made the decision to stop and restart with 50 engines instead of the original forecast of 25.
Because of the time restraint they were under, they didn’t have enough time to transfer all of the machining operations to Jesel that was intended to go there, as they did not want to hold it up even longer. They have been working non-stop and are nearing the end of the machining phase. They did rely on Jesel to help on a few of the projects that had already been transferred to them.
Everyone that has an engine on order will be receiving theirs and there will be a few engines left over for inventory based on the current sales. Following the run of 50, they will begin another run so that they can have motors in inventory ready for immediate purchase, they will be in a continuous production mode going forward.
Gears for the lower units were another issue. They had to find a new manufacturer and that put them behind. They have not received the gears yet, but they are scheduled to arrive any day. With this change they should get a much quicker response from the vendor that produces a quality product. They feel once they have the gears the assembly of the lower units should go very quickly for both the Sidewinder and J/A lower units.
They believe they are through all the start-up challenges, have a stable design, vendors that produce a quality product that are responsive to their needs. They also feels going forward that Jesel will provide quicker machining capabilities and more flexibility in manufacturing.
So now the part everyone is waiting for, a date when the motors will be available. Ron understands that this is what many of us want. I can understand his reluctance to do so now after having a conversation with him. He wants to be confident they can meet that date, so therefore he is unwilling to do so at this time but feels they are close.
They feel all of the machining is close to being done and when it is, Sidewinder plans on reaching out to those with engines on order with a date. They feel they can get the 50 engines out very quickly once this occurs.
There was a lot more to our conversation, but I feel this gives at least an update of where they are at.
Hopefully I’ve captured the conversation as accurate as possible and if I have not please someone correct me as I did not intend to do so.
I asked Ron if I could share what he & I discussed, and he gave his blessing, so here it goes.
First let me say, we can all be arm chair quarterbacks on this project and tell them they did this wrong or that wrong, that is not the intent of this post. This is to give everyone an update on where this project is at. If it starts to go south I may delete the thread. Let’s try and keep it as positive as possible.
Sidewinder began setting up machining production for 20 engines based on what they thought they would sell, so they upped it by 25% and planned on building 25 for the next run. They quickly realized they had underestimated the sales/demand as the orders started coming in faster than anticipated. This was while they were ordering castings, gears, and the few other parts they don’t make in-house. (We can all speculate what caused this demand but it’s not important to this update)
A big part of the cost for these type of projects is the set up for machining, as most of us probably know. Once a setup is made, the procedure needs to be completed for all parts on that run before the next part is set up, and so on and so on. That is why they made the decision to stop and restart with 50 engines instead of the original forecast of 25.
Because of the time restraint they were under, they didn’t have enough time to transfer all of the machining operations to Jesel that was intended to go there, as they did not want to hold it up even longer. They have been working non-stop and are nearing the end of the machining phase. They did rely on Jesel to help on a few of the projects that had already been transferred to them.
Everyone that has an engine on order will be receiving theirs and there will be a few engines left over for inventory based on the current sales. Following the run of 50, they will begin another run so that they can have motors in inventory ready for immediate purchase, they will be in a continuous production mode going forward.
Gears for the lower units were another issue. They had to find a new manufacturer and that put them behind. They have not received the gears yet, but they are scheduled to arrive any day. With this change they should get a much quicker response from the vendor that produces a quality product. They feel once they have the gears the assembly of the lower units should go very quickly for both the Sidewinder and J/A lower units.
They believe they are through all the start-up challenges, have a stable design, vendors that produce a quality product that are responsive to their needs. They also feels going forward that Jesel will provide quicker machining capabilities and more flexibility in manufacturing.
So now the part everyone is waiting for, a date when the motors will be available. Ron understands that this is what many of us want. I can understand his reluctance to do so now after having a conversation with him. He wants to be confident they can meet that date, so therefore he is unwilling to do so at this time but feels they are close.
They feel all of the machining is close to being done and when it is, Sidewinder plans on reaching out to those with engines on order with a date. They feel they can get the 50 engines out very quickly once this occurs.
There was a lot more to our conversation, but I feel this gives at least an update of where they are at.
Hopefully I’ve captured the conversation as accurate as possible and if I have not please someone correct me as I did not intend to do so.
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