Mike James
Posts: 2476
Joined: 1/19/2002
From: Anchorage,
AK, USA
Status: offline
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Hello everybody,
A little background is necessary, so you'll understand this announcement...
Until 2002, I was doing these model-related things, including my web site, as an independent designer and builder, and doing occasional outside projects. Since then, trying to do the modeling business full-time, I've had two very bad run-ins with "manufacturers" who not only harmed me financially, but in one case, actually stole most of my tools, and a couple of my plugs. One was in a foreign country, and was pretty dramatic.
During the last of those two experiences, I became friends with a person who very generously helped me survive. Later, we decided to give the manufacturing of these models a go, and have been working on that since August of 2004. I won't identify him here, to respect his privacy, and will leave it to him whether he wants to be involved in the public news about this. He funded the operation, and (since my tools were stolen) also offered the use of his shop, and a place to stay etc. I did all the model-related work and web site work. Keep in mind that I have lost money continuously on this for 3 1/2 years now, barely surviving, in the hopes that I could make it work.
You'll notice in the online article ( http://homepage.mac.com/mikejames/nextcraft_site/j47_sportjet01.html ) that we switched concepts part-way through the project, from the idea of a fiberglass fuselage with foam wings and tail parts, to a completely-molded, all-composite design. This made the project take longer than expected, and while it didn't raise our materials cost too much, the mandatory wait times for epoxy curing and vacuum bagging has increased the labor costs. Having now looked at the money spent to far, as well as our predictions on what we could sell the model for, and it's profit-per-kit, we find that we simply can't produce the kit at this time. We would have to sell the kit with foam parts for at least $600, and the "deluxe" all-molded kit would be close to $1000, to make any kind of profit, and we have assumed that this price was too high for the market we were aiming at. While there's been discussion of the development of a turbine version, which could be sold at competitive turbine prices, none of this work can happen until I repay the investment, since my partner is holding on to all the plugs and molds. He has spent a lot of money, and it's for his security, rightfully so. So, in lieu of continuing, I have moved back home to Anchorage. (My email addresses and web site will all remain active.)
My partner still intends to test-fly the prototype, but not until late May, just before the Joe Nall event. I hope he will have good results, and that he will get both still photos and video. Until I've paid back the investment on this airplane, he has ownership of the projects, to protect his investment. Let me be clear about what this means. This person is not "screwing me", and we are not "fighting". It's simply that with only one set of molds at this time, and the prohibitive labor costs, we cannot continue to spend money. That means that the "Eliminator 2" and the King Air ( http://homepage.mac.com/mikejames/nextcraft_site/b200_construction01.html ) are both on hold indefinitely. For your information, no one has placed an advance order, and no one has given us any deposits or other funding. We didn't quite make it to that stage, and wouldn't have accepted any outside money until we knew we could in fact produce a proper product. No prospective customers will lose money.
I've moved back home to Anchorage, in the hopes of raising the money to pay back the investment, after which I can once again explore some kind of production of these kits. I have to pay this debt before I can start to rebuild a shop and accumulate the tools, so recovery will take a while. I'll will do my best, but am basically starting over from scratch, and can't begin to predict a "back in action" timeframe yet. I will continue to post new articles on my web site, and to contribute on the online forums, but will be out of the physical fabrication of models for a while.
As more information becomes available, you can depend on it that I'll let you know. Be aware that there are a LOT of people following these projects, and that until I get settled here, my internet access is somewhat limited. So if it gets too difficult to keep up with the email, I may have to resort to automated responses. This announcement describes everything I know at this time. For now, all I can do is cover my immediate survival, and start making new plans. Watch the "Latest News" page for updates, too, but as I said, it will take a while. I know this is disappointing news to many of you, as it is to me. If you can bear with me during my recovery, I hope you'll all become happy customers at some point. Thank you for your interest and support so far, and please keep your fingers crossed for me.
Take care, everyone, and happy flying.
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Mike James
RC Design and Building - www.nextcraft.com
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RE: "Eliminator 2" sport jet final assembly - 
RE: "Eliminator 2" sport jet final assembly - 
