AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
#51
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
ORIGINAL: ckangaroo70
I see alot of threads on here asking folks about their favorites. Whats your favorite Trainer? Or what is the best Sport Plane? Or which is best put together? etc. etc. What I really want to know is what Planes do you want to stay away from at all cost? In other words, what is the worst Plane you have ever flown, or which one was so bad that you just put it back in the box, and took it back to try and get your money back because it was crap! I know this may stir up a stink, but I would really like to know so I can stay clear of the lemons.
I see alot of threads on here asking folks about their favorites. Whats your favorite Trainer? Or what is the best Sport Plane? Or which is best put together? etc. etc. What I really want to know is what Planes do you want to stay away from at all cost? In other words, what is the worst Plane you have ever flown, or which one was so bad that you just put it back in the box, and took it back to try and get your money back because it was crap! I know this may stir up a stink, but I would really like to know so I can stay clear of the lemons.
Bottom three brands of ARFs based on poor consistancy of their product, inferior materials, and overall appearance...V-Mar, Global/ModelTech, Thunder Tiger...
Top three brands of ARFs based on value, materials, and appearance...World Models, Seagull, Phoenix... if you can spend more then go to Goldberg, Hangar 9, and Great Planes...
Just my opinion, please don't take it personally if I have offended anyone...
#54
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
From alot of post I have read, I think a false presumption exist that a Kit Built Plane is better than an ARF. In my opinion this presumption would only be true if all Kits were put together by expert builders who have an eye for detail, and lots of patience. I agree that there are great benefits to building your own airplane like learning skills to be able to repair your own Plane, and some People just get great Satisfaction out of Building there own Plane, but ARF's can be very well put together also, and equally rewarding to own and fly. The whole purpose of this thread is to weed out the well built ARF's from the Not so well built ARF's. I have seen ARF's that would equal any Professionaly Built Kit in Quallity, and performance. The big differences are that you can only Blame yourself if your Kit Plane turns out and Fly's like crap(Which some people still try to Blame the Manufacturer for there lack of building and covering skills), but the Quallity and performance of an ARF rest solely with the Manufacturer if all instructions are followed to a "T". If you fail to follow the Manufacturers instructions for assembly then once again the flight performance rest with the one who assembled it, and not the Manufacturer. The very BIG benefit that I like about kit planes is the set of plans that come with them. If you are an avid scratch builder you can turn out as many planes as you want off a good set of plans, plus with plans is makes repairing so much easier. ARF's are great for people with plenty of cash who can just replace a wrecked Model, and great for those Flyers who would never be able to find the time to sit at the table and build. Both have there good and bad points, but one thing that is truly good is that Modelers have a Choice to buy what works best for them.
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, now if I could just find time to assemble my ARF after driving an hour each way to work, putting in a 9 hour day, and doing the "must-do's" around the house when I get home. If I wind up having to do 15 - 20 hours of "corrective surgery" and covering repair to a plane that is supposedly "ARF" I don't get much flying in. I wish the manufacturers would just QC the heck out of the plane and use a GOOD covering that you can actually purchase from your local hobby store in case you do have to do some of those inevitable repairs. I would gladly, no, make that extatically pay 50-75 dollars more for my ARF and actually be able to assemble it in the 15-30 hours that the manufacturer claims I can do it in.
#56
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like I said, hopefully this thread will weed out some of those misadvertised, and poor quallity ARF's. We find out which ones are a consistant problem, and stay clear of those. The ones that are left that nobody has complained about to much should be considered as good buys, and your odds of getting a bad one much less. If you decide to buy one that you have read many complaints about, then you should'nt be shocked when you yourself get a bad one. If you do your homework on a Plane and find that most people have really enjoyed it, and have had little problems, then you can be shocked if you get a bad one. The good side of this is that most company's that make Great Airplanes will also have great Customer Service. The ones that make the bad ones, you may be lucky to even find a phone number for.
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
hi this is realy realy good question my friend . End y have only 1 answer ALL THE PLANES ARF ARE FROM : CHINA,COREA,VIETNAM, ETC THEY ARE REALY CHEAP , THEY USE HOT GLUE TO MAKE THIS FAST BUT THEY
THEY ARE REALY BAD THEY LOOKS GOOD BUT THEY ARE BIG BUT YOU HAVE LOTS OF PROBLEMS END AFTER YOU CRAHS
YOU GO END BUY AND OTHERONE BECOUSE ARE CHEAP
thas why y recommend kits, fiberglass , custom made
fiberglass is not easy to fix
DO NOT BUY CHEAPS ARF THIS IS EXPENSIVE !
THEY ARE REALY BAD THEY LOOKS GOOD BUT THEY ARE BIG BUT YOU HAVE LOTS OF PROBLEMS END AFTER YOU CRAHS
YOU GO END BUY AND OTHERONE BECOUSE ARE CHEAP
thas why y recommend kits, fiberglass , custom made
fiberglass is not easy to fix
DO NOT BUY CHEAPS ARF THIS IS EXPENSIVE !
#58
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
[quote]ORIGINAL: Cyclic Hardover
Thunder Tiger is notorious for bad covering material and hotglue in the important areas.
I have seen the Thunder Tiger Name show up in many different post within this thread. Is there anyone that can defend the Thunder Tiger ARF's, or are they all pretty much "ARF's TO AVOID AT ALL COST"!
Thunder Tiger is notorious for bad covering material and hotglue in the important areas.
I have seen the Thunder Tiger Name show up in many different post within this thread. Is there anyone that can defend the Thunder Tiger ARF's, or are they all pretty much "ARF's TO AVOID AT ALL COST"!
#59
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
I own one of these personally, but unfortunatly for me I see that VMAR has been mentioned as "Bad" within this thread several times also. I have the VMAR Aero Subaru .40 with a Magnum 52 4 stroke on it. I will defend the one I have, and say that I am satisfied with the Plane for the price I gave, but it is not the niceset in my Hangar. Did I buy the only descent one, or should all Vmars be avoided like the plague and put on the list of "ARF's TO AVOID AT ALL COST"? Maybe I should have done my homework a little better before I took the gamble on the one I bought.
ORIGINAL: quint-rcu
I can't believe that no one has mentioned the VMAR ARFs from Richmond RC. Cheap, gummy wood bad joints horrible coverings (the new stuff is no better) and soft plastic fittings. Nice to look at when new and OK if you have nothing to compare them to, but stay away!
quint
I can't believe that no one has mentioned the VMAR ARFs from Richmond RC. Cheap, gummy wood bad joints horrible coverings (the new stuff is no better) and soft plastic fittings. Nice to look at when new and OK if you have nothing to compare them to, but stay away!
quint
#60
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those keeping count, Model Tec has been named several times in this thread as not being up to par. Can anyone offer a good defense for Model Tec or should they belong on the list as "ARF's TO AVOID AT ALL COST"?
ORIGINAL: daven
The worst arf I've owned was the Model Tech .40 sized Me-109. Not sure if its still around, but it flew like crap. I ended up giving it away because I disliked it so much.
The worst arf I've owned was the Model Tech .40 sized Me-109. Not sure if its still around, but it flew like crap. I ended up giving it away because I disliked it so much.
#61
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ricardo ... you are so full of cr@p. Almost all your ARFs are made in China ok. Hangar9, Great Planes and even Extreme Flight. What about World Model planes? They set the bench mark for ARFs. Affordable and of quality. Vietnamese planes? Try Phoenix, Black Horse ... next time don't just slam planes because they come from a certain country ... tell me how many US manufacturers make their planes in the US, Composite Aircraft? Yeah ... see where the factory is and also who the work force are ...
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO what is you point they are BAD PLANES anyway because y have had bad experience with them
but you know what! you go buy one of those by happy
y have hangar 9 edge 540 with saito 180 my wing broken in the air
2 weeks ago see
cheap but now is in the garbage what can you tell my
the hangar 9 are good well no for my any more OK
or if it is so good buy a new for my please
talking about vietnamese seagul is vietnamese realy bad y had edge 540 60 sizes [:'(]
thanks
but you know what! you go buy one of those by happy
y have hangar 9 edge 540 with saito 180 my wing broken in the air
2 weeks ago see
cheap but now is in the garbage what can you tell my
the hangar 9 are good well no for my any more OK
or if it is so good buy a new for my please
talking about vietnamese seagul is vietnamese realy bad y had edge 540 60 sizes [:'(]
thanks
#63
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
As an American, I like to buy American goods when I can, but the truth is that most goods, but not all are made in countries other than the U.S. Does this mean that all these products made elsewhere in the world are all junk? Certainly Not in my opinion. This Forum was not created for the purpose to allow one country to bash another countries products. That is Politics in my opinion and this is not the place for it. Lets just keep our comments aimed towards the manufactures themselves regardless of what country they operate from. The majority of products made for the R/C Hobby are NOT made in America. While I like to buy American products because I am an American, I have purchased many things that were made overseas that were made very good. You can't assume that just because you bought one thing bad that was made in TimBucTo, that all things made in TimBucTo are made bad. Lets leave the stereotypes at the door, and concentrate on passing on valuable information regarding ARF's and there Manufactures regardless of where they are made or which country they reside.Saying that ALL products made from a certain Country are bad, is not a fair statement at all.
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well Ricardo, I guess I've been lucky.....in over 3 years of flying about 14 different ARF's (some of them the undesirables we've mentioned here), I've never had a structural failure.....maybe it's not the build quality, but the assembly quality that causes your problems...
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS to bieng diplomat with you answer ckangaroo but what y treat to said is they are cheap
with bad quality because they use low quality glue wood ,they are cover so u can't see this
well y don't know this is my idea about cheap arf [sm=cool.gif]
sorry []
with bad quality because they use low quality glue wood ,they are cover so u can't see this
well y don't know this is my idea about cheap arf [sm=cool.gif]
sorry []
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ricardo - sorry for not being diplomatical in my approach but I fume when you read such politically fuel remarks esp. when I come from Asia, btw your JRs are being manufactured in Malaysia.
Kangaroo - its all the manufacturers fault, people like Hangar 9/Great Planes etc if a model is not of a certain quality. They come to the Far East and Asia for cheap labour but the 'blue prints', quality control and manufacturing process is in the hands of the so called American company.
glowplug - only plane I can say to stay away from are your VMARs ... I cannot believe the wood they use, its like industrial ply, what you use for packing material/boxes. Seagull is not that great but it ain't that bad.
Kangaroo - its all the manufacturers fault, people like Hangar 9/Great Planes etc if a model is not of a certain quality. They come to the Far East and Asia for cheap labour but the 'blue prints', quality control and manufacturing process is in the hands of the so called American company.
glowplug - only plane I can say to stay away from are your VMARs ... I cannot believe the wood they use, its like industrial ply, what you use for packing material/boxes. Seagull is not that great but it ain't that bad.
#68
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just finished building the Sig LT-40 Kit the other day. Let me honestly tell you that I would not want to set it next to the ARF version. My covering job did not turn out near as good as what they could have done at the Factory. I have covered several of my own Planes, and covering is just not my specialty. Some people are good covers and some people are not no matter how hard they try. I for one am not. I just hope my building skills were right on to make this a good flyer. I think the ARF version of this Plane has been on many "good" list, so if the kit version don't fly well then I can only Blame myself. Anyway I would be interested to hear if anyone has had a bad experience with the Sig LT-40 ARF, or Sig ARF's in general. I have not heard to many negative things about Sigs Planes. Does Sig have anything that should belong on the "Avoid at all cost" list, or are People that happy with all the Sig ARF's?
#69
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vmars are really taking the beating here in the "ARF TO AVOID AT ALL COST" thread. I believe that there is probally just reason for this. The only thing I would like to note is the RCU Review of the Vmar Hornet. It got a pretty good detailed review, and also got a pretty good rating. I am wondering if there is anyone who owns this particular Vmar ARF that has there own unbiased review of this Plane? Is RCU alone in the opinion that this is a pretty good Plane or are there others who agree with this assessment? I enjoy my Vmar Aero Subaru,but I must say also that I do not have the Flight time on it to give it an accurate review. At this point I can not say if I would recomend it, or not recomend it. Time will tell!
ORIGINAL: tIANci
glowplug - only plane I can say to stay away from are your VMARs ...
glowplug - only plane I can say to stay away from are your VMARs ...
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
IMHO most ARF's are pretty good.. Each brand seems to have weak and stong points.. I myself find that companys like Vector FLight. World Models etc are pretty consistant quality wise and decently priced... The only ARF"s I have had that were really peices of garbage are the VMAR ARF's.. Lousy construction and even worse wood...
Incidently for those of you that want to buy American Vector Flight is an American/Canadian or Canadian/American (depends on where you live I guess :-]) company... Great ARF's at a great price.
Incidently for those of you that want to buy American Vector Flight is an American/Canadian or Canadian/American (depends on where you live I guess :-]) company... Great ARF's at a great price.
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEY CAPTHIS . ok y make mistake sorry but y speak more the 1 language end some time y make mistake when y spell y am not PERFECT[>:]
#73
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kangaroo - i just got a look at VMAR planes, the LHS brought in about 100+ pieces, we were there when it arrived, I went through literally every model that VMAR makes ... the wood used is totally nonsense, I must say that the plane is beautiful on the outside but when it comes to the wood it amazes me. I am NOT saying the plane flies bad ok ... just an issue on the quality.
Beauty is skin deep and a lot of people do not look further than that. As for the review, I really hate to say this but I do not trust American reviews, they are always good because the distributor is one of the main advertisers (magazine or website), this is seen in RC cars, cars that are known to be cr@p are rated GOOD or 4/5. Sorry if this is a little rude but its very true.
VMAR planes are one of the worst I have seen, personally, I rather have a plane that is well built and also with good wood, money does not grow on trees and we should be more discerning. Anyways, VMARs are not selling cheap here, the Hornet trainer is more expensive than the RCM trainer, compare the quality of both and you will see the VMAR coming in far behind.
Beauty is skin deep and a lot of people do not look further than that. As for the review, I really hate to say this but I do not trust American reviews, they are always good because the distributor is one of the main advertisers (magazine or website), this is seen in RC cars, cars that are known to be cr@p are rated GOOD or 4/5. Sorry if this is a little rude but its very true.
VMAR planes are one of the worst I have seen, personally, I rather have a plane that is well built and also with good wood, money does not grow on trees and we should be more discerning. Anyways, VMARs are not selling cheap here, the Hornet trainer is more expensive than the RCM trainer, compare the quality of both and you will see the VMAR coming in far behind.
#74
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
I appreciate your candid statements. This is the reason I started this thread was to get valuable feedback on the different ARF Manufactures.
ORIGINAL: tIANci
Kangaroo - i just got a look at VMAR planes, the LHS brought in about 100+ pieces, we were there when it arrived, I went through literally every model that VMAR makes ... the wood used is totally nonsense, I must say that the plane is beautiful on the outside but when it comes to the wood it amazes me. I am NOT saying the plane flies bad ok ... just an issue on the quality.
Beauty is skin deep and a lot of people do not look further than that. As for the review, I really hate to say this but I do not trust American reviews, they are always good because the distributor is one of the main advertisers (magazine or website), this is seen in RC cars, cars that are known to be cr@p are rated GOOD or 4/5. Sorry if this is a little rude but its very true.
VMAR planes are one of the worst I have seen, personally, I rather have a plane that is well built and also with good wood, money does not grow on trees and we should be more discerning. Anyways, VMARs are not selling cheap here, the Hornet trainer is more expensive than the RCM trainer, compare the quality of both and you will see the VMAR coming in far behind.
Kangaroo - i just got a look at VMAR planes, the LHS brought in about 100+ pieces, we were there when it arrived, I went through literally every model that VMAR makes ... the wood used is totally nonsense, I must say that the plane is beautiful on the outside but when it comes to the wood it amazes me. I am NOT saying the plane flies bad ok ... just an issue on the quality.
Beauty is skin deep and a lot of people do not look further than that. As for the review, I really hate to say this but I do not trust American reviews, they are always good because the distributor is one of the main advertisers (magazine or website), this is seen in RC cars, cars that are known to be cr@p are rated GOOD or 4/5. Sorry if this is a little rude but its very true.
VMAR planes are one of the worst I have seen, personally, I rather have a plane that is well built and also with good wood, money does not grow on trees and we should be more discerning. Anyways, VMARs are not selling cheap here, the Hornet trainer is more expensive than the RCM trainer, compare the quality of both and you will see the VMAR coming in far behind.
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RE: AVOID THESE ARF's AT ALL COST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course there is much more to a good quality model than a pretty covering scheme, so I really took a hard look at the construction of the fuselage and wing components. I was impressed as everything was tight and straight. The quality of the wood seemed as good as any other Chinese model that I have built. Despite rumors that I heard claiming that their planes are heavy, this model is actually lighter than my Hobbico Avistar with the same dimensions. One of the most critical places that I look at is the glue joints. I like to see the balsa joints tight with no gaps and it is nice to see a visible sign of glue around the joint. I could not find any areas of construction on this model (at least that I could see -- I did not remove any covering) to complain about. It was of comparable quality to any other ARF trainer that I have built.
I am shocked by the above remarks … the ply/balsa used by VMAR is totally cheap, I’d like to put a VMAR beside any World Models plane. As for glue, I saw almost all the VMAR planes with glue smudges pretty much everywhere. No gaps? The reviewer must be kidding me. He has no complains? What about the super thin firewalls used or the super cheap wood? Oh yes, the VMARS are light!
I actually put a Hornet and the RCM trainer side by side yesterday, the quality is just worlds apart.
I am shocked by the above remarks … the ply/balsa used by VMAR is totally cheap, I’d like to put a VMAR beside any World Models plane. As for glue, I saw almost all the VMAR planes with glue smudges pretty much everywhere. No gaps? The reviewer must be kidding me. He has no complains? What about the super thin firewalls used or the super cheap wood? Oh yes, the VMARS are light!
I actually put a Hornet and the RCM trainer side by side yesterday, the quality is just worlds apart.