Shonky retailers
 

<RANT>

Greetings,
Today, a young fellow turned up at our club field with what can only described as a crash waiting to happen. He had been browsing at a local toy store and the retailer, taking advantage of the fact that this fellow knew *nothing* about radio controlled aircraft, managed to convince him to purchase an apparently new trainer/engine/radio combo. Well, apart from the fact that the gear was quite obviously *not* new, it was total junk! Plus he got absolutely robbed for his trouble. A$450+ for a *very* poorly built/covered .40 sized trainer, a Sanwa 4ch radio (with *no* buddy jack) and a Tiger Shark ~.40 engine which had more air leaks than Katy the Inflate-A-Date after a run in with Jack The Ripper! The trainer had been crashed at least once from what I could see.....too much repair work evident to just be hangar rash......, the aileron torque rods were crooked, the hinge gaps were *huge*, it had a warp in one wing and to top it all off, when I finally managed to get the engine to stay running (primarily why the fellow brought it to the field in the first place), the firewall came completely loose.......I just managed to shut the engine down before it detached itself from the plane entirely :( I stopped looking for problems after that......I have suggested he take the whole lot back and get his money refunded.

I honestly don't know how people like this retailer manage to sleep at night. I only hope it doesn't put this young fellow off getting into the hobby. I have pointed him in the right direction as far as 'reputable' dealers and good mail order mobs go, but he was quite disillusioned when he left :mad:

</RANT>

Shonky retailers
 

He should turn him to the BBB.

Re: Shonky retailers
 

thanks. I'm stealing that one.http://home.earthlink.net/~dojbofh/i...grin-crown.gif

Shonky retailers
 

He should turn him to the BBB.

Unless you meant, "Bring Beer to the Barby"...I doubt the BBB has much effect down undah.

Shonky retailers
 

....and the BBB is?

Re: Re: Shonky retailers
 

Feel free :)

Geez....you should have seen this thing. Air bubbling out around the needle valve assy, the needle valve itself, the base of the carb AND, after I managed to get the engine started, the pressure nipple on the muffler came loose. Of course, it wouldn't idle worth a damn.....no wonder!

Shonky retailers
 

In the states, BBB stands for the Better Business Bureau, a consumer protection organization. It is not good if your company ends up on their "bad" list.

Shonky retailers
 

Ah, well Consumer Affairs is pretty much the equivalent here. He was already suggesting that when I asked him what he would do if he didn't get his money back.

Shonky retailers
 

Take the piece of crap and fly it through his store front if he will not return the money. Then the local club should get together with the newbie and help him considerably. It is not uncommon for out club to donate airplanes and engines to people starting out.

Shonky retailers
 

God, I love this place! LOL

Shonky retailers
 

Unfortunately, our club only has ~13 members for this financial year.....it's never been a huge club, and certainly never big enough to be able to financially support beginners. The other thing is that while some of the members might be willing to put in some $$ to have a 'start-up fund', I can think of many who wouldn't. Mostly the 'old guard', who don't want to see new members at all. However, since I've been the secretary/treasurer, we've managed to populate the committee with all younger guys and tried our hardest to entice new members to join. It's working slowly, but at least it *is* working :)