Aeroworks Quality
#51
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RE: Aeroworks Quality
ORIGINAL: speedracerntrixie
Then yes, everything you are telling me says tail heavy.
Then yes, everything you are telling me says tail heavy.
I'm a happy camper
#52
Senior Member
RE: Aeroworks Quality
Hill202 - I'm glad that you are a happy camper.
Good to see Mark chime in on their AW's behalf. I consider myself to be lucky to live in their neighborhood and have visited their facility several times. I have an Edge 540T (60-90) ARF - pre QB product. Very simple assembly process. But I like to build kits (as do some of the AW staff). As far as ARFs go I think that the kids at AW get it right. I like Ultracote - they use Ultracote. But only have one question - what is the "cold trim application technique" that their Chinese manufacturer uses? That would make my day.
Sidebar - my local Hobby Town can't sell "traditional" ARF's 'cause they take too much effort to "build"! The only ARFs that sell are QB style. Oh, waiter, check please.
Cheers,
Good to see Mark chime in on their AW's behalf. I consider myself to be lucky to live in their neighborhood and have visited their facility several times. I have an Edge 540T (60-90) ARF - pre QB product. Very simple assembly process. But I like to build kits (as do some of the AW staff). As far as ARFs go I think that the kids at AW get it right. I like Ultracote - they use Ultracote. But only have one question - what is the "cold trim application technique" that their Chinese manufacturer uses? That would make my day.
Sidebar - my local Hobby Town can't sell "traditional" ARF's 'cause they take too much effort to "build"! The only ARFs that sell are QB style. Oh, waiter, check please.
Cheers,
#55
RE: Aeroworks Quality
A short story........
Jim is approached to sell his product in a branded store. His product has the reputation of being top shelf. First year he sells 50,000 units. Second year the branded store predicts 100,000 units so Jim hires more people and buys more equipment to supply the demand. Everything goes as planned. Year three, the order goes up to 150,000 units but the price has to be 25% lower. So Jim "cuts quality" so it is still good enough but not as good as before. Of course more people and equipment is needed. Fourth year the order is for 200,000 units at 10% under last years price. I think you can see the pattern here.... Year five Jim is out of business because poor quality undermined his reputation and the branded store found a new supplier at a MUCH cheaper price.
Jim is approached to sell his product in a branded store. His product has the reputation of being top shelf. First year he sells 50,000 units. Second year the branded store predicts 100,000 units so Jim hires more people and buys more equipment to supply the demand. Everything goes as planned. Year three, the order goes up to 150,000 units but the price has to be 25% lower. So Jim "cuts quality" so it is still good enough but not as good as before. Of course more people and equipment is needed. Fourth year the order is for 200,000 units at 10% under last years price. I think you can see the pattern here.... Year five Jim is out of business because poor quality undermined his reputation and the branded store found a new supplier at a MUCH cheaper price.
#56
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RE: Aeroworks Quality
ORIGINAL: kenh3497
A short story........
Jim is approached to sell his product in a branded store. His product has the reputation of being top shelf. First year he sells 50,000 units. Second year the branded store predicts 100,000 units so Jim hires more people and buys more equipment to supply the demand. Everything goes as planned. Year three, the order goes up to 150,000 units but the price has to be 25% lower. So Jim ''cuts quality'' so it is still good enough but not as good as before. Of course more people and equipment is needed. Fourth year the order is for 200,000 units at 10% under last years price. I think you can see the pattern here.... Year five Jim is out of business because poor quality undermined his reputation and the branded store found a new supplier at a MUCH cheaper price.
A short story........
Jim is approached to sell his product in a branded store. His product has the reputation of being top shelf. First year he sells 50,000 units. Second year the branded store predicts 100,000 units so Jim hires more people and buys more equipment to supply the demand. Everything goes as planned. Year three, the order goes up to 150,000 units but the price has to be 25% lower. So Jim ''cuts quality'' so it is still good enough but not as good as before. Of course more people and equipment is needed. Fourth year the order is for 200,000 units at 10% under last years price. I think you can see the pattern here.... Year five Jim is out of business because poor quality undermined his reputation and the branded store found a new supplier at a MUCH cheaper price.
#57
RE: Aeroworks Quality
I have a 35cc extra 260. The landing gear is too weak, the carbon fiber upgrade. Is fine, but the gear cover won' t fit over it. The hinges break. When I complained, they said the gear is strong enough. That is a load of crap because I know how to land and landing gear should not spread out on you or bump into your rudder with normal use.
Also, the cowl needs better atachment, because the holes will enlarge. I even wrote a letter to Rocco explaining my dissatisfaction and and have yet to hear back from him. He's the president.
Other than that, the airplane is fine. But, why pay top dollar for an airframe with problems?
Also, the cowl needs better atachment, because the holes will enlarge. I even wrote a letter to Rocco explaining my dissatisfaction and and have yet to hear back from him. He's the president.
Other than that, the airplane is fine. But, why pay top dollar for an airframe with problems?
#58
Senior Member
RE: Aeroworks Quality
My only experience with AW is the profile Extra 260 .46 size.
Nicely built and covered in Ultracoat, but it was a brick.
Fuse over built and heavy plus it took a lot of nose weight even
with the AX .55.
Nicely built and covered in Ultracoat, but it was a brick.
Fuse over built and heavy plus it took a lot of nose weight even
with the AX .55.
#59
My Feedback: (2)
RE: Aeroworks Quality
I've got the Aeroworks Edge 540 for 46-60. My only criticism was that the plane doesn't really respond until you get a .91 into it. Otherwise, I love that airplane. I do like the quality that they have. And for the record, if this plane has a 55AX in it, it flies like a really nice, comfortable sport plane if that's what you'd like to do with it.
I'd buy from them again,
Bob
I'd buy from them again,
Bob
#60
RE: Aeroworks Quality
ORIGINAL: kenh3497
A short story........
Jim is approached to sell his product in a branded store. His product has the reputation of being top shelf. First year he sells 50,000 units. Second year the branded store predicts 100,000 units so Jim hires more people and buys more equipment to supply the demand. Everything goes as planned. Year three, the order goes up to 150,000 units but the price has to be 25% lower. So Jim ''cuts quality'' so it is still good enough but not as good as before. Of course more people and equipment is needed. Fourth year the order is for 200,000 units at 10% under last years price. I think you can see the pattern here.... Year five Jim is out of business because poor quality undermined his reputation and the branded store found a new supplier at a MUCH cheaper price.
A short story........
Jim is approached to sell his product in a branded store. His product has the reputation of being top shelf. First year he sells 50,000 units. Second year the branded store predicts 100,000 units so Jim hires more people and buys more equipment to supply the demand. Everything goes as planned. Year three, the order goes up to 150,000 units but the price has to be 25% lower. So Jim ''cuts quality'' so it is still good enough but not as good as before. Of course more people and equipment is needed. Fourth year the order is for 200,000 units at 10% under last years price. I think you can see the pattern here.... Year five Jim is out of business because poor quality undermined his reputation and the branded store found a new supplier at a MUCH cheaper price.
I agree with you completely. I am voting with my money elsewhere on the next big plane purchase. Jon
#62
Senior Member
My Feedback: (5)
RE: Aeroworks Quality
Do not recall how many times I have posted this message, but what the heck, why not again ?
I had a brank new Aeroworks QB powered by a DLE-20 that crashed and totaled on its very first take off. Reason being is that the complete tail assembly being both vertical and horizontal stab separated from the fuselage. Why you ask ? Well in every ones opinion that viewed the wreckage, they all stated " total structural failure ".
Keep in mind that I have been assembling models since the age of 8 and now am 70. Had a stint in the USAF as a maintenance technician and a career as a Corporate Pilot. Thus, I think I know a little about aircraft structures. I attribute the failure to poor design and poor gluing practices at the factory.
In my mind a crash is a crash and if it happens, then their is nothing that you can do about it. But, I felt that Aeroworks should know of this failure, thus I sent them a number of emails telling them of the tail assembly failure. Keep in mind that I was NOT looking for any compensation, only to notify them of a possible problem with the model and assembly/gluing practices at their factories.
Know what I heard back from Aeroworks ? You guessed it, absolutely NOTHING !!!
Thus, my advise on purchasing an Aeroworks model is that you may just as well be flushing your money down the toilet, as they do not care about quality nor their customers.
Only my personal 2 cents, but now you have it ! [>:]
I had a brank new Aeroworks QB powered by a DLE-20 that crashed and totaled on its very first take off. Reason being is that the complete tail assembly being both vertical and horizontal stab separated from the fuselage. Why you ask ? Well in every ones opinion that viewed the wreckage, they all stated " total structural failure ".
Keep in mind that I have been assembling models since the age of 8 and now am 70. Had a stint in the USAF as a maintenance technician and a career as a Corporate Pilot. Thus, I think I know a little about aircraft structures. I attribute the failure to poor design and poor gluing practices at the factory.
In my mind a crash is a crash and if it happens, then their is nothing that you can do about it. But, I felt that Aeroworks should know of this failure, thus I sent them a number of emails telling them of the tail assembly failure. Keep in mind that I was NOT looking for any compensation, only to notify them of a possible problem with the model and assembly/gluing practices at their factories.
Know what I heard back from Aeroworks ? You guessed it, absolutely NOTHING !!!
Thus, my advise on purchasing an Aeroworks model is that you may just as well be flushing your money down the toilet, as they do not care about quality nor their customers.
Only my personal 2 cents, but now you have it ! [>:]
#63
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RE: Aeroworks Quality
I have had three Aw planes over the past few years, a 35% extra 260, 50 cc edge and extra 260. The basic quality of the airplane and the hardware is great. Probably the best I have seen. H9, PAU, Extream Flight all in my opinion are second the AW. The bad part. All three had flying issues. the 35% was so nose heavy, it took two 3500 MAH Nicads mounted in the turtle deck to balance. to two 50 cc jobs, both liked to tip stall at slow speed. This has been a few years back I might add
#64
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RE: Aeroworks Quality
Thankyou Grandpooba
I spend a fair amount of money on ARF planes.. Customer support is very important to me .. I can handle a plane with a number of problems but I will not deal with an out fit that will not support their product .. I do believe AW does make some fantastic planes but in the Customer support they are falling short from what I see on here..
I spend a fair amount of money on ARF planes.. Customer support is very important to me .. I can handle a plane with a number of problems but I will not deal with an out fit that will not support their product .. I do believe AW does make some fantastic planes but in the Customer support they are falling short from what I see on here..
#65
My Feedback: (21)
RE: Aeroworks Quality
ORIGINAL: Granpooba
Do not recall how many times I have posted this message, but what the heck, why not again ?
I had a brank new Aeroworks QB powered by a DLE-20 that crashed and totaled on its very first take off. Reason being is that the complete tail assembly being both vertical and horizontal stab separated from the fuselage. Why you ask ? Well in every ones opinion that viewed the wreckage, they all stated '' total structural failure ''.
Keep in mind that I have been assembling models since the age of 8 and now am 70. Had a stint in the USAF as a maintenance technician and a career as a Corporate Pilot. Thus, I think I know a little about aircraft structures. I attribute the failure to poor design and poor gluing practices at the factory.
In my mind a crash is a crash and if it happens, then their is nothing that you can do about it. But, I felt that Aeroworks should know of this failure, thus I sent them a number of emails telling them of the tail assembly failure. Keep in mind that I was NOT looking for any compensation, only to notify them of a possible problem with the model and assembly/gluing practices at their factories.
Know what I heard back from Aeroworks ? You guessed it, absolutely NOTHING !!!
Thus, my advise on purchasing an Aeroworks model is that you may just as well be flushing your money down the toilet, as they do not care about quality nor their customers.
Only my personal 2 cents, but now you have it ! [>:]
Do not recall how many times I have posted this message, but what the heck, why not again ?
I had a brank new Aeroworks QB powered by a DLE-20 that crashed and totaled on its very first take off. Reason being is that the complete tail assembly being both vertical and horizontal stab separated from the fuselage. Why you ask ? Well in every ones opinion that viewed the wreckage, they all stated '' total structural failure ''.
Keep in mind that I have been assembling models since the age of 8 and now am 70. Had a stint in the USAF as a maintenance technician and a career as a Corporate Pilot. Thus, I think I know a little about aircraft structures. I attribute the failure to poor design and poor gluing practices at the factory.
In my mind a crash is a crash and if it happens, then their is nothing that you can do about it. But, I felt that Aeroworks should know of this failure, thus I sent them a number of emails telling them of the tail assembly failure. Keep in mind that I was NOT looking for any compensation, only to notify them of a possible problem with the model and assembly/gluing practices at their factories.
Know what I heard back from Aeroworks ? You guessed it, absolutely NOTHING !!!
Thus, my advise on purchasing an Aeroworks model is that you may just as well be flushing your money down the toilet, as they do not care about quality nor their customers.
Only my personal 2 cents, but now you have it ! [>:]
I wanted to chime in here as I remember reading this post some time back. I had an AW 260 that I flew all one summer. Overall was a very nice plane, yet it had a similar weakness in the structure as you had. I was tooling around flying and playing with slow landings from around 5-10 foot high and on one of the landings the whole back end of the plane fell off much like the problem you had.
I have always noticed that the plane was structurally weak in that area as are many planes. I think that AW is not worth the additional costs, but not so much because of the structural problem but just overall value verses competition. Take for instance a Great Planes of similar price and you find that GP is every bit as quality if not more in some cases for the same or less money.
I have often asked the question when looking at AW planes if I want to spend 20-40% more for them and the answer is always a resounding NO, so I spend my plane dollars elsewhere. The one thing that stands out with AW is the fantastic owners manual and I know they put a lot of time and effort into quality manuals. For those that need that it is a great value.
Someone stated that AW is better than EF and some other high end planes. I have an EF and have owned AW and in no way would I compare an AW to my EF. From my experience AW is much like GP. EF is in another league with Pilot and others. At least that is my experience with the models I own. Mileage may vary according to what AW plane you have
#66
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RE: Aeroworks Quality
Started putting together the Extra 260 last week and everything appears in order so far. HOWEVER, I'm currently experiencing questionable customer service issues. I placed my order on June 25th for some minor items. Was waiting for some type of shipping confirmation. It never came. I was watching my order status on the web site, nothing ever changed. I sent an email late last Friday (4:39 PM CST) afternoon requesting an update on my order. Received a reply yesterday early morning that there was an issue with my three digit credit card number. Provided them the number again yesterday late afternoon. Thinking I would get a reply or at least order confirmation by midmorning today after I provided my three digit number, I didn't get a reply. I then sent a follow up email requesting a status this afternoon. I guess we will see what happens. I'm pretty sure nothing would be happening at all if I didn't initiate the contact concerning my order to begin with. So much for being able to finish my plane over the long July 4th weekend. Thus far it seems they are Severely lacking in the Communications department.
Just received a fedex tracking number for my order. Appears they are listening at that end. Thank You AeroWorks.
#67
My Feedback: (21)
RE: Aeroworks Quality
ORIGINAL: Tx_RcFlyer
Started putting together the Extra 260 last week and everything appears in order so far. HOWEVER, I'm currently experiencing questionable customer service issues. I placed my order on June 25th for some minor items. Was waiting for some type of shipping confirmation. It never came. I was watching my order status on the web site, nothing ever changed. I sent an email late last Friday (4:39 PM CST) afternoon requesting an update on my order. Received a reply yesterday early morning that there was an issue with my three digit credit card number. Provided them the number again yesterday late afternoon. Thinking I would get a reply or at least order confirmation by midmorning today after I provided my three digit number, I didn't get a reply. I then sent a follow up email requesting a status this afternoon. I guess we will see what happens. I'm pretty sure nothing would be happening at all if I didn't initiate the contact concerning my order to begin with. So much for being able to finish my plane over the long July 4th weekend. Thus far it seems they are Severely lacking in the Communications department.
Just received a fedex tracking number for my order. Appears they are listening at that end. Thank You AeroWorks.
Started putting together the Extra 260 last week and everything appears in order so far. HOWEVER, I'm currently experiencing questionable customer service issues. I placed my order on June 25th for some minor items. Was waiting for some type of shipping confirmation. It never came. I was watching my order status on the web site, nothing ever changed. I sent an email late last Friday (4:39 PM CST) afternoon requesting an update on my order. Received a reply yesterday early morning that there was an issue with my three digit credit card number. Provided them the number again yesterday late afternoon. Thinking I would get a reply or at least order confirmation by midmorning today after I provided my three digit number, I didn't get a reply. I then sent a follow up email requesting a status this afternoon. I guess we will see what happens. I'm pretty sure nothing would be happening at all if I didn't initiate the contact concerning my order to begin with. So much for being able to finish my plane over the long July 4th weekend. Thus far it seems they are Severely lacking in the Communications department.
Just received a fedex tracking number for my order. Appears they are listening at that end. Thank You AeroWorks.
#68
Senior Member
My Feedback: (5)
RE: Aeroworks Quality
ORIGINAL: Luchnia
I know a guy that has quite a few AW planes and is a very good customer to AW. From what I can tell he has always gotten good service from AW. Each person's experience may vary for a variety of reasons.
ORIGINAL: Tx_RcFlyer
Started putting together the Extra 260 last week and everything appears in order so far. HOWEVER, I'm currently experiencing questionable customer service issues. I placed my order on June 25th for some minor items. Was waiting for some type of shipping confirmation. It never came. I was watching my order status on the web site, nothing ever changed. I sent an email late last Friday (4:39 PM CST) afternoon requesting an update on my order. Received a reply yesterday early morning that there was an issue with my three digit credit card number. Provided them the number again yesterday late afternoon. Thinking I would get a reply or at least order confirmation by midmorning today after I provided my three digit number, I didn't get a reply. I then sent a follow up email requesting a status this afternoon. I guess we will see what happens. I'm pretty sure nothing would be happening at all if I didn't initiate the contact concerning my order to begin with. So much for being able to finish my plane over the long July 4th weekend. Thus far it seems they are Severely lacking in the Communications department.
Just received a fedex tracking number for my order. Appears they are listening at that end. Thank You AeroWorks.
Started putting together the Extra 260 last week and everything appears in order so far. HOWEVER, I'm currently experiencing questionable customer service issues. I placed my order on June 25th for some minor items. Was waiting for some type of shipping confirmation. It never came. I was watching my order status on the web site, nothing ever changed. I sent an email late last Friday (4:39 PM CST) afternoon requesting an update on my order. Received a reply yesterday early morning that there was an issue with my three digit credit card number. Provided them the number again yesterday late afternoon. Thinking I would get a reply or at least order confirmation by midmorning today after I provided my three digit number, I didn't get a reply. I then sent a follow up email requesting a status this afternoon. I guess we will see what happens. I'm pretty sure nothing would be happening at all if I didn't initiate the contact concerning my order to begin with. So much for being able to finish my plane over the long July 4th weekend. Thus far it seems they are Severely lacking in the Communications department.
Just received a fedex tracking number for my order. Appears they are listening at that end. Thank You AeroWorks.