mandm
Avionics Upgrade
Flew into Vero Beach to attend the Piper factory tour. I really enjoyed this. A couple months ago I emailed Piper to schedule the tour, I believe they offer tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 10am. I flew into Vero Beach and upon calling tower I was told I’d be number 8 to land, it’s busy. Upon landing, I parked at Sun Aviation and the staff drove us on a golf cart to Piper. We checked in and the tour consisted of 8 people and 1 tour guide.
The tour guide walked us through the tour with much excitement showing us the fabrication process from raw materials into parts, then onto the warehouse, 3D printing, bonding and assembly. We got a quick glimpse at some painters and primed parts along with fiberglass and moulding. There was a ton of people sanding parts too.
It was a pretty cool experience and I definitely recommend it. The tour was roughly 2 hours. It was unique to see each station with their small designated task and how they all add up to building an airplane. It seemed like a relaxed job, perhaps if you were into knitting, people were definitely taking their time and focused on their work. It was not busy or overwhelming like I imagine a car factory would be.
After the tour, we grabbed lunch at the restaurant on the field and then proceeded to fly back to Miami. The FBO didn’t charge anything and I wasn’t sure if that was for Piper factory tour guests or the restaurant. But the restaurant will definitely waive any fees in a single engine piston.
No photos were allowed on the tour.
The tour guide walked us through the tour with much excitement showing us the fabrication process from raw materials into parts, then onto the warehouse, 3D printing, bonding and assembly. We got a quick glimpse at some painters and primed parts along with fiberglass and moulding. There was a ton of people sanding parts too.
It was a pretty cool experience and I definitely recommend it. The tour was roughly 2 hours. It was unique to see each station with their small designated task and how they all add up to building an airplane. It seemed like a relaxed job, perhaps if you were into knitting, people were definitely taking their time and focused on their work. It was not busy or overwhelming like I imagine a car factory would be.
After the tour, we grabbed lunch at the restaurant on the field and then proceeded to fly back to Miami. The FBO didn’t charge anything and I wasn’t sure if that was for Piper factory tour guests or the restaurant. But the restaurant will definitely waive any fees in a single engine piston.
No photos were allowed on the tour.
