RE: JetJoe OWNERS thread
Hi,
I have spent a couple of days going over the 'many' postings on Jet Joe Turbines.
I was not going to post as at the end of the day, it all comes down to how much you can afford and what you are prepared to put up with.
I do own a Jet Jet 1800 as well as a Jet Cat and PST-1600.
My JJ1800 is a newish one, just over a year old, I work out of Taiwan and was very - very close to going the cheapest route and buying direct from China, but I had done my home work and saw that people were having 'issues' on the turbines brought direct from JJ-China or from the old (2006 etc) overseas dealers.
I decided to go via Mark the Jet Joe U.S dealer, and to be honest I think this is why I do not have any of the issues that I have read. Mark is a first class guy, he set up and tested my turbine before shipping, packaged great and I got it quickly, communication etc was first class, it really was very nearly 'plug and play' with my turbine, just playing with the ECU settings was a head scratcher at times, but the engine has performed beyond what I was expecting to get out of it, yes it is a fraction down on pounds out the back end (just under 17 pounds) but thankfully I do not need full throttle specs to fly my bird.
Is the engine built to the same standards as Jet Cat, nope, sorry but there is a reason why Jet Cats and Wrens are so much more bloody expensive (too much in my humble opinion) but they are built in the states and Europe and have standards and research costs to recover and they really are in many many cases 'plug and play' with first class support and manuals to answer many many of the common questions the 'first timers' need answering quickly.
So as I said at the start, are Jet Joes a total 'non option' - no, that would be silly to say, but you have to go into them with your eyes open, I would only recommend buying one that Gabe or Mark (if buying from the U.S) have set up and ensured is 'working correctly' don't buy from Jet Joe China directly unless you really know about turbines and are prepared to 'tinker' to set up (which come on, is half the fun) - but if you are a 'first time turbiner' then I would recommend you save a little longer and go the Wren / Jet Cat etc route, I know this may loose some first timer jet flyers as the start up cost is much MUCH greater and the fear or slam dunking it on the first flight is maybe too much to handle, but you will be getting in most cases peace of mind the turbine will not be the reason for letting you down on the first flight because you did not know how to set it up correctly, but if you have got some stick time and know your way around a turbine and are not put off by maybe spending a little more time playing around with it, then Jet Joe is a valid 'other' option for those on a lower budget, the same types who enjoy building their own turbines etc.
Remember lads, we are all in this hobby for fun, regardless of what is under the bonnet, getting more 'turbiners' into this hobby is the objective, as it allows firms to build better products at cheaper prices which hopefully will be passed onto 'us' the end user.
Regards,
Gw