JS615

LDM,,
I guess you have been to the factory in vietnam,,,,,??????????? Since you say the working conditions are the worse in the world, and people are working for nill wages,,,,!!!!!! I guess the factory owner is putting guns to peoples heads and forceing them to work for free,, or slaves,,,,???? Please explain..??? Im not trying to start a fight but im tired of hearing the same old bashing from those who probly have not ever owned a vmar or have not had one since the 90s,,, its always a friend or you saw one at the local rc field, and someone said something bad about it, so you come on here and start bashing??..... Hell, if i took every bad word i heard at the rc field about bad planes i could come on here everyday and bad mouth every single make and model in the the world!!!!!!
Again im not trying to start an argument! Just tell me how you know that the vmar factory is the worse in the world??????????????????

IronCross

I know from experiance that Vmar products are the worst I have ever had... Last one I bought was around 2003... From the funny wood it was built from, the warped parts, and the covering that prunned up and faded in the sun... It was the worst....

savage_x4.1

sorry to interupt but im tired of my nitro evader breaking and i want to sell it and buy a plane. i need help to find a ww2 plane that looks like the pictures on the front page and a cheap one it has to be gas though i have 240$
also what is the model called the one that tipacly has shark teeth painted on the front looks like the one on the front page

JS615

All my vmars have been purchased in the last year and a half,,, all 12 of them and there is no bad wood, i dont know what they used for wood back years ago but the balsa they use today is top grade.... period!!!!!

locolobot

You are asking for the P-40 from Hanger 9. It is a well built ARF and you will be very pleased with it. The retracts need stiffer wire on them if you fly from grass. Also, you will need to shim them forward a little toward the front of the wing. I used a 1/16 piece of metal on the rear of the retract servo to achieve that result. Happy flying

nowinkk

Anyone here flying phoenix scanner? Care to share your experience on this particular model as I am in the process of getting one.

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

I'll toss in my two cents worth on my one experience with Blackhorse ARFs.

I just finished up a Graupner Cub ARF, which is made by Blackhorse Models. The build quality is very good, with surprisingly nice wood. The control surfaces are pre-hinged and pinned for you. The covering looks like Ultracote, and was pretty well done. All windows were pre-installed nicely. The painted fiberglass cowl is nicely done and fits well. The overall parts fit is very good. The instructions were absolute crap (or maybe worse), but hey, if you can't figure out how a simple ARF goes together, then maybe you need a different hobby. The aft control surface pushrods are pre-installed and work well. No real complaints at all on workmanship, and I'm pretty picky.

There were only a few real downsides to this particular model. Among them were the wing struts and foam wheels, both of which were usable, but poorly executed IMO. I made my own struts from streamline aluminum tubing, and replaced the wheels with Dubro Cub units. Also, the vertical window frames are too wide to appear scale. I didn't change them, but it would have been easy for the manufacturer to make them look right. It doesn't affect the airplane other than aesthetics. I also modified the rudder to have a more scale shape. As is, it's much too pointed at the bottom rear. Strictly a personal preference. I used an aftermarket tail gear assembly for more scale appearance.

I made mine electric--an easy conversion. It is still waiting for its first flight, but I expect it to fly just like a Cub.

Rick

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

I have built and flown the Phoenix Seabee. It was very well made and was more pre-fabricated than most any other ARF I've put together to date. Based on my experience with the Seabee, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Phoenix ARF.

I have also seen a number of Black Horse and Seagull ARFs built and flown by friends and fellow club members. These planes also seem to be well-built and great flyers. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase products from either of those brands, either.

VMar is a bit of a mystery to me. They have some nice looking, reasonably priced designs. I like the fact that some of their planes are unique, like their low-wing Xtreme Stiks, that offer something a little different than the larger brand names. I've read all of the terrible comments about bad experiences with previous ARFs from VMar, and Richmond RC's poor reputation for supporting its products here in the U.S.

VMar does have a following here at RC Universe, however. Some folks report building and flying their ARFs and being happy with them. Some folks report the quality as having improved a lot over the last couple of years. Some of the older ARFs like the Ramrod have very good reputations here at RC Universe, and some of their cheapest ARFs like the Discovery .40 trainer also have sterling reputations.

If I found a particular ARF that VMar made that fit what I was looking for, and that particular ARF didn't have a bad reputation here at RC Universe, I'd be willing to spend the money on a VMar airframe so I could form my own opinion.

Interestingly enough, the VMax engines by VMar seem to enjoy a good reputation here at RC Universe. There haven't been a ton of reviews on them, but the comments I've read were almost all positive.

albsurfer

I have the TUCANO .40. It sold by TowerHobbies, Southeast RC, and others. The covering leaves a little to be desired. The surface of mine had minor wrinkles in the tail and nose area. The wrinkles have gotten worse and don't iron or come out with hot air. The plane went together easily. It flies great, easy to overcontrol. I have had about 10 deadsticks due to the inverted engine design. The plane came through all of them without any fuselage/wing damage. I finally have to buy a new nose gear, and will buy a new cowl for the reasons that follow. I just bought an OS 46 FX to put into it so I won't have engine idle problems. The stock engine mount is garbage, it barely fit my FOX .40, and wouldn't fit my ROYAL .46 when I changed engines. The cowl is butchered to death between those two operations, but the first thing that had to go was the removal of one of the two scale turbine exhausts in order to accomodate a muffler. I recommend using a pipe/muffler combo, or an in-cowl exhaust. I am looking into both for the OS. The factory engine mount does not use a standard pattern that fits any normal mounting holes. The holes on the top are closer together than the holes at the bottom. The distance between the top and bottom is more than a standard .40-60 ring or square engine mount. I think the 90-120 size might work. A few guys have filled in the old blind nut holes and drilled new ones to accomodate standard engine mounts. We have a guy at our airfield who threw away the cowling after he put a .51 in it because it was butchered so bad. Now he flies it with a .75. Even without the cowl, it is a speed demon and aerobat!!!

Delta3

I have been told that Black Horse, Seagull and Phoenix models come out of the same factory, the business is owned by 3 brothers who each wanted their own brand name. Don't know if it is correct or not but sounds plausible. Have had all of these brands and have no complaints. All represent pretty good value for money.

da Rock

If you do a Google on the three names BlackHorse and Seagull both produce finds on what appear to be dedicated retail websites for the brand.

The Black Horse website however has a banner about NEW ARRIVALS for Summer of 2006 !!!! Jump right on that before they're gone.....

The Seagull retail site does however look like it's got some "new" models. At least they're not familiar ones. I'm guessing they really are new or they're so old they've been forgotten. And they don't look like the familiar Phoenix ones.

The Google for Phoenix turns up Tower Hobbies. And they list the familiar ones that've been around for a couple of years.

BTC, the Seagull website did list most models as in stock but one or two as out of stock. It often happens that brands that go broke will leave the website active with all the models listed as out of stock. Guess it makes the owners feel better or something. So Seagull appears to be producing currently. And Tower shows Phoenix models in stock.