Over the last few months, including Visalia, I've had several people ask me what I have changed on the Hoopes Wiring Harnesses and why they are now failing on the Icon.
With the most recent post (below) I thought that I should clear up any confusion regarding my involvement with the Icon harnesses.
When Don Peters was preparing to build the first molded Image 2meter sailplanes, several years ago, he contacted me and asked me to develop and supply him Hoopes Wiring Harnesses for the Image, which I did. A year or two later, he informed me that he was working on a new open class plane, the Icon, and also wanted me to create and supply a harness for that as well.
I've supplied all of the harnesses to Don Peters up until a year ago. Abruptly, Don indicated that he was raising the price of the Icon and wanted to install a harness that made connection when the wing was mounted. Although I offer such a harness for many of the molded three-piece, saddle-mounted winged sailplanes that I support, he apparently wanted to look elsewhere.
I assumed that Don was either assembling the harnesses himself or enlisting a hobbyist to do so, as indicated by Simon's email below.
Hoopes Harnesses continues to supply harnesses that are still built with commercial/industrial grade components, using industrial practices (preparation, documentation, soldering, pneumatic and automated crimping equipment) and thoroughly tested for shorts and breaks with industrial, computerized cable testing equipment. I have access to this equipment through a wireless development company that I own.
Hoopes Designs has shipped more than 3,000 harnesses over the last decade, supporting 65+ different planes and configurations. We have supplied harnesses ranging from Open to ARF, handlaunch to cross country, slope to record setting DS, gas to turbine, IMAC to pattern and bunches of truly weird stuff (i.e. scale, flying wings, canard, Northrop Primary, DARPA funded UAVs, etc.). Hoopes Wing Harnesses have found their way into planes competing on a world class level all the way to a lowly sloper flying in a rarely visited corner of the world.
Hoopes Harness prices have remained the same for more than four years. Hoopes Designs is committed to building and supplying high quality, commercial grade harnesses. Why else would we continue to support the NATS, LSF, SWC, Visalia, Soar Utah, Davenport, etc.? We've not changed anything, compromised anything, we're not leaving, we're here to stay.
I know that Don Peters' website (http://www.mapleleafdesign.com/) still states (as of today) that both the Image and the Icon sailplanes are delivered with Hoopes Harnesses, but they are not. So if you've lost an Icon or Image to apparent harness failure or are experiencing electrical harness problems with the newer harness, please contact Don Peters or Simon van Leeuwen directly as I have no involvement.
Of course, if you want the former harness or any of its components or the auto-docking version that I offer for the Icon, or the Image harness, they are always available.
BTW, this is not a stab at the Icon, I've got three of them and they're not for sale ;-) I just want to make it clear that I have not changed anything to compromise the quality of Hoopes Wiring Harnesses and I am sorry for any confusion over my product and what MapleLeaf is currently shipping.
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Sounded pretty cool until I saw this:====================================================================================
> Hoopes wing connectors.......
Seems there's a new Sheriff in town when it comes to wing wiring:
> There is are significant differences between Tom Hoopes sailplane
> systems and what I custom-build for large scale aerobatic aircraft.
>
> The differences were significant enough that I am now the exclusive
> supplier of "true" plug-and-play sailplane harnesses for the Icon and
> Image produced by Don at Maple Leaf Design...
> Simon Van Leeuwen
> Radius Systems
> Cogito Ergo Zoom
I haven't seen these new harnesses, but if they are an improvement on the
Hoopes harness (which I have been using very successfully for a long time),
that would be something.
------ Hoopes Designs -----
"Taking the hassle out of wing wiring harnesses"
<http://www.hoopesdesigns.com>
