The Marsh Man
Posts: 93
Joined: 6/20/2005
From: Benicia,
CA, USA
Status: offline
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 Well today was the last straw for me and this POS airplane. The way that Parkzone (The name appears to have been derived because that is all the planes are good at, being parked in a zone in your shed or garage). The cheap materials and poor craftsmanship along with design flaws have overwhelmed me. This was my second foray trying out the waters with electric flight (I have been flying gas for over 16 years) and I am sad to say that this brand is a lesson in continuous failures due to the companies low quality product and materials. I also have a F27 Stryker that flies well, After numerous modifications. Here are a list of problems that have plagued me.
1. The first time I flew it, one of the screws that holds the motor came undone !QUOT!DURING THE FLIGHT!QUOT! and caused the motor to stop and the plane to dump.
2. The ailerons moved too slow and did not respond well to input, I lubed them and only noted a minor improvement.
3. Props kept breaking even during nice and level landings, switched to a fiberglass prop and did not break prop until today. (Over 15 flights on this prop).
4. Bubbling of the taped material on the wings and body
5. The wires for the ailerons developed corrosion on them which made the ailerons even less responsive.
6. Canopy and pilot (Frankie) popped off and ditched during a diving fly by. (I should have known that the plane sucked, even the pilot did not want to be in there).
7. The tape that holds the two halves together was coming apart.
8. The battery cover would pop off during landing. Then the replacement cover could not be removed by hand and had to use a screwdriver to remove.
9. The front area of the plane is the weakest. During a landing, the plane came in level, the prop caught something, (And broke of course) and the plane went nose first and just rolled over, not real hard. The nose area of the fuselage was all wrinkled and slightly cracked. Cracked the cowling, removed that, and then had to reinforce it with tape. (You would think that the front would be a little stronger) I wish they would make a version that uses the same foam that the Stryker uses, much more durable stuff.
10. The frame that is in the front breaks too easy, this then allows the battery to shift and could make removal difficult.
11. The rod for the elevator has some corrosion developing on it. Does not affect action of elevator.
12. Just poor response to input, the plane is slightly unpredictable and has to be constantly monitored for over or under reactions to the pilots inputs. Can it be flown? yeah, but it is not very enjoyable, not as much fun like my gas powered P-51.
13. Power drops after about 3 minutes where it is noticeable and has to be compensated for if you want to continue to fly. (My average flight time before I had to land was about 8 to 10 minutes. I guess that this could be corrected with a Lipo injection).
11. The phenolic glue or whatever adhesive they use to hold the servos was generously placed onto the control linkage wire, had to clear prior to flying.
The list goes on and on. I know this sounds like a whining list, but I do not like to pay good money for a poorly designed plane and really cheap equipment. I do not mind paying a little more to get good quality. In my estimate the whole set up should be priced around $100.00 to $125.00. The $180.00 price (Plus tax) leaves me feeling bitter and ripped off.
I must say that I do like the looks of the plane, but whoever engineered this fiasco should be fired. The whole RC community went crazy about this plane when it first came out, but talk to anybody who has flow one, and except for a handful, most have experienced failure the first time or issues that are probably not their fault. Most people have crashed during the hand launch, and these are experienced pilots. I myself have a plane that I hand launch, and except for a few times which were my fault (Improper adjustments to the motor, tossing it with the wind - DUH!!) have at least a 95% successful hand launch record. But when I do goof up, the whole plane does not fall apart, and has sometimes just needed a cleaning off or minor adjustments and will fly again. The Parkzone P-51, if it does not take off and does dump, will most likely be un-flyable, Yeah thats good equipment!
As for me, I am done with this model and company and will look to-wards other manufacturers for a better product.
Parkzone has introduced a new 3D plane, but you could not pay me to buy that one, if the P-51 is any indication of what I can expect from Parkzone, then I will run the other way......................as fast as I can!
Thanks for your time and sorry about the ****ing and moaning.....Just venting!
Thanks
Steve
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RE: ParkZone P-51 Mustang RTF - 
