Rob2160

I just love it when you post Frank because it is so easy to prove that you have NO idea what you are talking about...

Yet again.. you are completely WRONG....

I have over a dozen HK helicopters.. all original, and ALL still flying Perfectly.. and not one of them has EVER Failed..

I have also built several HK helicopters for other people, I test flew them and they were great.. some of them don't exist now but that was pure pilot error.

Do the Math Frank..

1 helicopter - requires, ESC, Servos, Motors, Batteries, Receiver, Charger, Gyro, Carbon Blades, custom canopies...

I have built over 20 HK Helicopters.. the Math works.. All products work great.. NO failures...

And ONCE again, Frank has absolutely no proof to support his comments..

Here are some videos to PROVE everything I said is true.. I have 13 fully serviceable HK Helicopters.. Several with over 1000 flights and still going strong..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVH_T1cvm5s Maiden flight of a Heli I built for a friend..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBh3-wbqxnk And just for the record... in more than 6000 helicopter flights I have only had 3 crashes.. 2 were due to wrong model memory selection (my bad during early days with Futaba radios) and one was just pilot error during autorotation practice..

Each of those crashes cost me less than $15 in parts from HK to repair.

I have never crashed a HK heli due to faulty components...because they are incredibly reliable..

Keep the lame attempts coming Frank.. I can do this forever....

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Rob , this is the funny thing , your post and mine are both professional and lack drama. The problem is we dont have a problem where others may or want one to exist .
I made the mistake of posting I bought a P40 and I have to defend my decison on the P40 lol .
We can go around and around and again I dont get paid or reinbursed , discounted in any manner from Hobby King.
I post on RCU and the other major rc site .
Every post I made is honest but based 100% on my opinion .
For some reason some in the RC community , while we say we are a brotherhood , some feel if your opinion is for or against a particular vender then we all need to take sides .
Its unfortunite that we simply cant respect both sides pro and con considering we are all being open with the good and the bad about this vender and the servace they provide.
I want to give you some real world examples of my hard conversation with Hobby King .
One example was they were carrying DLE engines , I found out they lost the distribution right for the USA to Great Planes .
Yet they showed the DLE on backorder . I know for a fact that you never order a backorderd item from Hobby King and I really challenged them on the fact that they would lure unsuspecting buyers into ordering a DLE , tieing up funds knowing all the while they will not get new shippments on the DLE.
We had a brutal ugly drop down conversation with them and they would agree with me to remove "backorder" status and said dont count so firmly on the Volume of Great Planes vs what we can do on these motors , we will get them .
I had direct contact with the supplier and I know that was not going to happen unless Great Planes did not perform on MOQs ect over the course of the excluive arrangement .
My point is , I dont give anyone a break , I know the business especially the import business and my company does more then all the major combined in the USA (in the non hobby segment) so they cant feed me bull , i know there supply chain , business model ect.
As stated I think they serve a purpose , they are nothing more then Great Planes , Horison , Hobby Peopel and Hobby Lobby with one major differance , they dont operate on a customer servace model that is good for business .
They are a low cost opertor , its that simple but in reality you will also pay dearly for the customer servace from the big guys .
I did a review on etracts when they came out and reviewed the $7.00 thru $28.00 retracts vs the branded ones at $89 .
We took them both apart in another thread , no differance , yet you were paying 3 to 4 times as much for the warranity and customer servace .
I dont want to knock the USA distribuitors for the sake of making Hobby Kings prices look good , that is not the point of this thread , and in fact my #1 choice /go to company is Horison , as I dont think you will find a better groups of active RC peopel on threads and in the business . However cost , value and time proven elements have shown me that they off brands such as Turnegy Batterys , ESC , Chargers , Motors , retracts , spinners ect all can be had at a great value that matches and exceed the brand name .

arfwrecker

My Feedback: (12)

So dont know who but got a reply to a post from somebody from hk on here, I believe his name is richard cranium. any way he didnt like my post about the lack of customer support, sorry buy the right pair of shoes if you want them to fit. I still say thier stuff for the most part is not bad, I do use thier products and like the low prices. It is the service after that is frustrating but dont like being bashed for honesty. pay pal is the only way to fly no reply dispute it and you will get a resolution. period, so put that in your pipe and suck it.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

ARF , I want to follow your post but confused , did Hobby King reach out to you directly or thru someone else ????

erik valdez

My Feedback: (80)

Its sad the state of the hobby these days, anyone who has been a hobbyist since the 80's can remember the way things used to be. Sure the hobby has come a long way in reaching out to those who have little or no building skills, or don't have the time to invest. Also the range and availability of items accessible to use have come ten fold but at what cost? I remember when the majority of hobby items were made in the USA and came with excellent customer support, and when you had a problem, you picked up the phone and talked to the guy who actually kitted the item. Now days you would be hard pressed to find a company that has a phone number at all, and as far as reaching someone in the USA, forget about it. I don't remember who it was but I do remember a company that printed on their circuit boards "Made In America By Americans", those were the days. Now everything is outsourced at the mercy of cost, if they cant design one good enough to compete they just copy one that does. I for one feel terrible about buying these items and try not to when possible, at the very least I try to get it from an American supplier. I have made one purchase from Hobby King, and I waited three weeks for it to arrive, I wont do that again. I did not even visit their tent at Joe Nall.

topspin

Actually there are two from Hobby King on here although they will deny it to the end.

It's your money so spend it where you wish but don't forget that rather than provide good customer service Hobby King pays people to come on these forums and discredit anyone who complains or derail the thread. That's who you are dealing with. I'm not so poor that I have to mess with them so I don't.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Topspin, why dont you reveal who they are , why the fear more drama , urban lengend ????
I mean we are talking a hobby , if there is a Hobby King Blogger on line reveal them but please back it up , enought with the speculation.

keyman

My Feedback: (22)

OP/DB was the stock esc cutting out on 2S or 3S? outdoor temps 95-105?

On2_n_On4

I understand and respect your opinion, but who said "Made In America By Americans" means (the best you can buy or best customer support you can get)?

countilaw

LDM, I think it's very obvious, they are the two that will defend Hobby Krap to the death. There can be a hundred posters on here complaining about Hobby King, and they will attack everyone of them.

Like one that claims he's made 400 purchases from HK, and 90 percent have been helicopters. He claims he has 20 helis, I saw 3. He claims that he never crashed one except for three and only one of those were dumb thumbing it. He must be one hell of a pilot. But yet he's made 400 purchases from Hobby Krap.

His numbers don't add up. And I don't have to purchase anything from Hobby Krap to know there products are krap. I've seen enough of there products to know they are krap. I've read enough posts to know the night mares of people that have gotten screwed by Hobby Krap.

Face it Rob, Hobby Krap sells Krap. I can buy most anything I need right here and usually at the same price that Hobby Krap sells it for and get great customer service.

It's amazing how the HK forum reps always tout how much they save, but they never talk about the shipping fees and how long they have to wait for delivery.

I will continue to support Tower Hobbies, Horizon Hobbies, Sig Mfg, Aeroworks, Great Planes and many others. All U.S. companies.

How about taking one of Hobby Krap's products into your local hobby shop and try to get a part for it. You will out of luck.

Oh, wait a minute, Hobby Krap stuff is so cheap you can just order a new one.

But I can take my Hitec servo's and get new parts for them with no hassle at my local hobby shop. And I didn't have to pay huge shipping charges and have to wait 3 or 4 weeks. Try to get a Hextronic servo part at your local hobby shop. Oh wait, they are so cheap you just throw them away and order new ones.

Silly me.

Hey TopSpin, do you trust those cheap Hextronic servos in your big birds? I didn't think so!!!

There you go Rob, defend Hobby Krap to the death.
Frank

Rob2160

Anyway, after reading your post you have clearly earned this -.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRiXtlp0n4k

Rob2160

My Kraft radio was made in the USA in 1980 and it still works perfectly after 33 years - if Kraft still existed I would still buy them.

If the USA wants my money they have to supply the things I want to buy at a decent price - simple as that.. Right now you can buy a brand new JR 11X radio $146 cheaper in Australia than you can in the USA.. USA - $745 vs Australia $599 Even with the exchange rate - Australia is way cheaper - free shipping too.

Rob2160

LOL - They think it is you and I - I went through this all before in another thread..

You'll never convince them otherwise - like I said, some people still believe the earth is flat too.

I am like you, I have a good job and a great salary - (I am a corporate pilot - currently in the Greek Islands {see below} on a 3 week layover)

Why on earth would I care about $100 a month from HK.. ?

I like HK and talk about them because I USE them and have only good experiences with their products and the videos to prove it.. That's it Period, Nada, no ulterior motive at all except having a positive attitude to this hobby and the "Majority" of my fellow modellers.

Rob2160

LOL.. don't tell me you are back to believing we are getting paid by HK to post here??

All I can say is...

The Beer in Greece is weak, but WOW, they know how to cook seafood...

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Frank your harboring a lot of anger , seriuosly , your taking a hobby and really getting angry .
I am all for buying USA products , but if I gave you the current business model of every company I deal with in the USA I would take 30 pages of this thread because the majority of the USA consumers want quality at a great price . So the same guy that was asembling Flat screen TV in Ohio at a great salary is the same guy that made the #1 retailer that much bigger by shopping for the best price in that store putting hisself out of business . Dont be fooled #2 ( a little more fancy ) is just as bad and #1 online retailer that starts with an A is going to kill them all . We , 90% of American shop by price then we match quality and I get paid a 6 figure income because I am a CPG expert so my facts are real and not emotional .
The new Jobs will not be ( surprise surprise ) in manufacturing , never will be again , it will all be providing a servace , quick , fast , cheap and hopefull with quality.
If you think I am off base so be it , but I have 10 years worth of real facts, trends and data .
WHat you see in Hobby King to my surprise , is that no one has copied them yet , They obviously viewed an opportunity to cash in on the distribution of hobby goods because the mark up from the current big guys is huge .
The only differance is that they have not really developed there own brands , there trying in some cases but nothing as successful as Horsion, or even Black Horse (by Hobby People ) .
As far as the good old days , I travel the entire USA , every state and I visit and spend cash in hobby shops , some more some less and if you read the reviews available to all on the shops in the USA they are not going out of business on price , they are going out of servace.
So the same shops that will blame Great Planes /Tower , Horison , Hobby People for pulling distributor discounts , are some of the ones tha would not survive either way .
Then you have some (like in Minnesota) that thrive and survive in a 20 mile radious of each other because they fantastic shops with enthisiustic owners and good fair prices .
I have been in some shops (Phoneix Arizona, that do not even address your existance with eye contact and they wonder why your not buying lol . I can get that same feeling from my computer and buy online .
Let me tell you why this discussion again has reached a nonsence level , your (FRank) not dealing in facts .
Do you know as a fact how many shops in the USA are now carrying Turnegy batterys ??? I know because I visit the shops in my spare time when traveling on busness and I can tell you there not at the Hobby King price plus shipping but yet they sell because theer still cheaper then the ones they use to be #1 .
Now if you want to (you have not done so ) but if you want to excuse me of working for Hobby King , you should look me up on Linkended , over 500 connection in the CPG industry and Sport Suppliments .
I am an executive VP, and a consultant and a Level 4 USA Hockey Coach , I am not associted with Hobby King , in any manner , not a blogger , not a salesman and I dont have to defend freedom of speech and opiniuon to you , simply because I deal in facts and they dont match your opinion . Hobby King could not afford my salary even at an hour rate .
I started purchaseing from them for one reason , due to my job and my personal dedication to youth Hockey i could noy fly fuel warbirds any longer , I need quick start , little mess so needed to go eletric .
Well if you look at the batterys prices 5 years ago from the brand name in the states the batterys were insane .
The introduction of Hobby King and lipo batterys allowed me to get into eletric at 1/3 the cost of what it use to be .
Batterys that were $175 thru $225 , yes they were real prices I could get the same type of battery for $50 thru $90 .
And 4 years later , My batterys despite urban lengend still work great , some are on there last leg from cycles but they have lasted just as much as the brand name .
That is how I started to buy from Hobby King and that is why I still do .

bikedriver

My Feedback: (83)

If you want to buy an ARF, like warplanes, and want a pretty darned good product - try the Durafly brand. Also to save time in shipping, always check availability of your product in the USA Warehouse. All in all, I think HK is pretty good and their wide product variety, product quality and preferential pricing helps keep the competitors honest!

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Agree , I forgot about those planes because I am flying mostly FMS and LX models because I like the 66" and larger format .
I am flying a 79" P40 from LX and just completed a 66" FMS corsair , but Durafly is a great line of planes in the smaller formats , tons of reviews on the other RC site

perreback

Of course, if you live in Australia or Europe, there will be shipping fees and waiting even if you do order from Tower, Horizon or any of the other US companies you mention.

init4fun

It's been said before in other threads . It is a known FACT that HK advertises for paid forum reps to promote their products . Fine ! No problem yet so far . A lot of other companies have their paid forum reps , great guys like Bax for futaba and others . And ya know what ??? Each and every one of the reputable companies that have forum reps have their reps PROUDLY wear their company name in their avatars . Now , , , NOT ONE !!!!!!!! person wears the HK badge on these forums and yet we see these tireless defenders who are doing this for what ??? Kicks ? Company loyalty ? BUNK !!!! Are we to really believe that NOT ONE person took HK up on their $100 offer , or are we to believe that maybe a few did , as evidenced by the ardent defence a few seem to put up for a company that they supposedly have NO financial stake in ?

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck" ........ Sure been a WHOLE lotta quackin goin on here from the HK faithfull ..... Maybe just a bit TOO much to be believable to the casual observer ...

Rob2160

LOL.. are you serious? I don't even know LDM but it is plainly obvious he is NOT a HK paid promoter.. Perhaps they DO exist, I honestly don't know.. but as sure as the Sun rises each morning. I am NOT one of them either, so go ahead believing your own delusions..

I know the truth and these accusations just make me laugh now. .

As an ex Police Detective, I find it hilarious to watch you guys amateurishly fumble your way through the evidence only to arrive at the wrong conclusion...

Before your deductions can remotely justify a public accusation you must eliminate every other possibility, even the ones your personal bias prevents you from seeing.

Your "Walks like a Duck" logic in particular reminded me of the court scene from the movie Idiocracy... Great work..

http://www.popmodal.com/video/1397/Idiocracy--Justice

topspin

No way Frank I only use Futaba or Hitec in the good stuff and I use Hitec HS-55's and even some GWS servos in my small cheap planes.

I recently odered 6 Hitec HS-65's from Tower for my Fliton Quiet Storm. One was DOA so I called and they sent a replacement that day and told me to send the dead one back when it was convenient. Oh and I didn't have to weigh the box or take pictures or video of my dead servo.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I was using 3 cell A123's. The temp was about 75 to 85.

On2_n_On4

well I don't wanna keep going off topic, but not everything "MADE IN USA" is the best. (cough..cars...cough...electronics...cough,cough)
I also have things from the 60's, 70's and 80's, none of them were made in the USA., (made in Japan, Italy,Germany., etc...)
I'm not defending HK, I just want to clear up that (nonsense old school theory) that everything made in the USA.. is "the best"

RamItOn

Love the metaphor, Scott.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Rob , nice meeting you coworker , where are you spending your $100?? lol
Amazing , the thought process , really amazes me .
Its my hobby , and now I am going to turn it into a job for $100 because I happened to like a company based on value and service that I have enjoyed .
I guess I am on a lot of payrolls lol, I just don't seem to be getting any wealthier .
Hobby King , can I have a logo and shirt please and perhaps a hat as well , I might as well look official