wings 540

Hi all, im getting reallly bored with ARFs and thought i would try to build from a kit for a change. i did a little research and found the Mountain Models [link=http://www.mountainmodels.com/product_info.php?cPath=25_74&products_id=228]Cessna 180[/link] having never built a model from a kit i have a few questions:

1. Ive never dealt with this company before, and the website looks a bit dated are they taking orders? how is their customer service?

2. for those who have build this model how does it build and fly?

3. not really a question. i am very open to suggestions to different models! if there is something better that is out there please post a link! i would be interested in park fliers with a similar size to the C 180 or slightly bigger. mostly interested in a scale/semi-scale model or a Warbird but i have experience with sport planes and 3D planes.

thank you for the input!

-Wings

davidgeorge212

about a couple maybe 2 years ago I bought my first kit from them, the eva biplane, so I think they are still doing business. The kit that I got was very good quality and went together very easily. Everything was laser cut and fits together like a puzzle. As I remeber the instructions were pretty good as well. I have not built the cessna 180 but Im sure all their kits at least build very easily. Not putting them down or anything but Mountain models is sort of a smaller company and If you wanted to go "Name Brand" so to speak, with a company that has a pretty good prooven customer support, you can look at the bigger name companies such as Sig, Great Planes, Topflite, or house of balsa. These are all fantastic companies as well.

If you are interested in the cessna 180 from mountain models im sure you wont have any problems with it and it should fly good as well.


David

wings 540

Thanks for the reply, i skimmed through the manual and it looked pretty well done. pictures show that all the parts look nice and clean cut. and from what i can tell they look like they fit together nicely, as you said. also thinking about setting it up with led lights for fun i looked the eva in the site, couldnt find an eva bipe, looks like a great little plane.

davidgeorge212

under the aerobatic section you will find the eva bipe. you can get it in either a monoplane or a biplane but it is basically the same plane.

SteelersRule!

THeir kits ar fantastic and the only thing better is their customer service, i am building a Lucky Ace and the Sport Eva which can be built 3 ways, to low wings and turned into a bipe as well. I met them at the Toledo show and was very impressed with them and ordered the kits there. All parts lazer cut, terrific fit and super wood.

That is my take on them

SteelersRule!

check out the Bruce Tharpe site as well, he makes every part by had, HE does all the wood working. No lazer cutting all by templates, etc. He even sands every piece and they fit together terrifically. He has akit plane calledthe Super Kingwhich is like a Cessna that is large scale. I have not built it but I have 2 of his Venture .60's and they are terrific. He worked for Sig for 9 years and he designed a number of planes for them. Both he and Mountain Models get back to me the same day if I have questions I am really trying to support our US kit makers as they are dwindling rapidly. Check them out, I think Bruce only makes 4-5 models. Mountain has quite a few different models from trainers to warbirds, I bought the Lucky Ace and the Sport Eva at the Toledo show. It is nice to know you can pick up the phone or send an email and get a response quickly. Research them on RCUniverse

All the best!

Lou

SteelersRule!

Sorry wasn't paying too much attention to the size of the MM 180! guess that large scale BT super king is out of play. He has some other models much smaller to take a look at.

davidgeorge212

That was pretty neat, the first time I saw the Bruce Tharpe super king plane was actually on TLC or whatever with those storm chasers. They brought one out in their truck and filled it full of all kinds of weather sensors and put cameras on it and flew it right into the tornado. That thing must be really stable because it was flying in some pretty feirce winds and didnt even look effected by it.

SteelersRule!

he built 4 special ones for NASA of the Super King.

turbojoe

My Feedback: (8)

I just stumbled on this thread while doing a Google search looking for Mountain Models kits for sale. I know this is an older thread but if you're still interested in the Cessna 180 I can say that this is one kit you'll truly enjoy building and flying. The kit was designed by Dave Blum and is laser cut and kitted by Mountain Models. I've had a C-180 for several years now. It's for certain the most enjoyable slow flying scale plane in my fleet. I have a Medusa 4100kv brushless in an IPS gearbox running on 2S 450mah Li-Po's. Overpowering this bird is absolutely the worst thing you can do! Keep it low and slow and it will put a smile on your face that just won't go away anytime soon.

There is a HUGE Mountain Models following on RC Groups. The owner-Brian Eberwein hangs out there and answers any questions that are posted. If he doesn't post right away you'll see helpful posts from people that actually have the kit and are looking forward to seeing you have a successful maiden flight. You'll never find better customer service anywhere. The web site may look "dated" but having a web designer make a "pretty" site costs big bucks. I'd rather buy from a "dated" site that has a great owner that provides service above and beyond what any other site owner does rather than passing on the costs of a web design to me!

I've built at least one of almost every balsa kit they produce. I've been building their kits since 2001. Of the 30+ planes in my hangar more than 25 are Mountain Models designs or their kits modified by me. I have at least 5 N.I.B. Mountain Models kits stored away in case I destroy one of my well worn models.

There should be no concern whatsoever with dealing with Mountain Models or Brian Eberwein the owner. As I said earlier if you have any concerns just do a Mountain Models search on [link=http://www.rcgroups.com/parkflyers-11/]http://www.rcgroups.com/parkflyers-11/[/link]RCGroups.com and you'll see what I mean. You'll find tons of help and absolutely zero bad words about Mountain Models.

Joe