Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
01-25-2009, 01:29 PM
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Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
I just purchased a Sports Trainer ARF. There are several "flaws", to say the least.
But, before I continue, let me say that if the aircraft were kitted as shown in the instructions and on the website, I think it would be a great ARF. I still want one. Just not this one.
Since I just got back into RC after 25 years of getting kids though college, I thought I would buy a trainer to relearn long lost skills. Two years ago, I bought the Great Planes 3 simulator. I read many articles about the "state-of the art" and decided that an ARF would be best for me. The time to order had come. Hence, the very well priced Nitro plane. Perfect choice to get back into the hobby...I thought.
I opened the box the day after it arrived (right on time via UPS), I took a very quick inventory of the major parts and wing-halves, fuselage, rudder and stabilizer assemblies, and some hardware was there. So, I read the instructions (sparse as they are, but usable) and started the "one-two hour assembly".
I had already glued the aileron hinges in place and was going to join the wings when I took a closer look and noticed that:
Wing halves.
1. Although the color scheme is the same as the advertising photo, the wings are physically different.
The airplane on the website does not have wing tips. The ailerons go all the way to the end of the wing. Not so in the aircraft delivered. (See notated pictures below.).
The website shows a bolted on wing. The one that was delivered is held on by rubber bands.
The aileron controls were badly bent. One way forward towards the leading edge, the other toward the trailing edge.
The joined wings would not have a tab to lock into the fuselage as shown in the instructions.
I though, okay, it may take three or four hours, but still not bad. So, I started prepping the fuselage. Oh! Look at this! They have changed the control rod connections! Nice change! With a new blade in my X-Acto knife, I cleared the covering from the landing gear notch, the elevator and rudder control rod exit points. Yes! I'm making progress!
Fuselage
2. I did not think the rubber band wing mount issue was much of an issue until a look at the fuselage showed me that there were no predrilled holes for the (out of round) bamboo(?) rods that were supplied. Yes. I did read the instructions before beginning to put the plane together. The instructions show the bolt mounted wing setup. I assumed that the ARF in the instructions was the same as the one in the box. My bad. Nothing in the instructions says where holes should be drilled, what size bit to use, etc. Duh! It is supposed to be a bolt mounted wing. Of course there are no instructions.
Now I am starting to get concerned. Work stops and a closer inspection begins.
General inspection
3. The covering has wrinkles on the rudder, stabilizer and elevator. There is an errant piece of black covering stuck to the fuselage. The decals are separating from the backing and have large bubbles in them. The decals say "Super Trainer" instead of "Trainer Sport". Hmmm...so do the instructions. Maybe that is why nothing is matching up.
More Fuselage
This is the reason for this post. The firewall, and at least two more bulkheads behind it, seem to be installed backwards. The throttle control guide comes out on the wrong side of the the firewall, so does the nose gear steering guide.
Uh, oh! There is no landing gear block on the firewall. No holes for one either. Show stopper. Write it up on the forum.
Pictures:
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0014a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
But, before I continue, let me say that if the aircraft were kitted as shown in the instructions and on the website, I think it would be a great ARF. I still want one. Just not this one.
Since I just got back into RC after 25 years of getting kids though college, I thought I would buy a trainer to relearn long lost skills. Two years ago, I bought the Great Planes 3 simulator. I read many articles about the "state-of the art" and decided that an ARF would be best for me. The time to order had come. Hence, the very well priced Nitro plane. Perfect choice to get back into the hobby...I thought.
I opened the box the day after it arrived (right on time via UPS), I took a very quick inventory of the major parts and wing-halves, fuselage, rudder and stabilizer assemblies, and some hardware was there. So, I read the instructions (sparse as they are, but usable) and started the "one-two hour assembly".
I had already glued the aileron hinges in place and was going to join the wings when I took a closer look and noticed that:
Wing halves.
1. Although the color scheme is the same as the advertising photo, the wings are physically different.
The airplane on the website does not have wing tips. The ailerons go all the way to the end of the wing. Not so in the aircraft delivered. (See notated pictures below.).
The website shows a bolted on wing. The one that was delivered is held on by rubber bands.
The aileron controls were badly bent. One way forward towards the leading edge, the other toward the trailing edge.
The joined wings would not have a tab to lock into the fuselage as shown in the instructions.
I though, okay, it may take three or four hours, but still not bad. So, I started prepping the fuselage. Oh! Look at this! They have changed the control rod connections! Nice change! With a new blade in my X-Acto knife, I cleared the covering from the landing gear notch, the elevator and rudder control rod exit points. Yes! I'm making progress!
Fuselage
2. I did not think the rubber band wing mount issue was much of an issue until a look at the fuselage showed me that there were no predrilled holes for the (out of round) bamboo(?) rods that were supplied. Yes. I did read the instructions before beginning to put the plane together. The instructions show the bolt mounted wing setup. I assumed that the ARF in the instructions was the same as the one in the box. My bad. Nothing in the instructions says where holes should be drilled, what size bit to use, etc. Duh! It is supposed to be a bolt mounted wing. Of course there are no instructions.
Now I am starting to get concerned. Work stops and a closer inspection begins.
General inspection
3. The covering has wrinkles on the rudder, stabilizer and elevator. There is an errant piece of black covering stuck to the fuselage. The decals are separating from the backing and have large bubbles in them. The decals say "Super Trainer" instead of "Trainer Sport". Hmmm...so do the instructions. Maybe that is why nothing is matching up.
More Fuselage
This is the reason for this post. The firewall, and at least two more bulkheads behind it, seem to be installed backwards. The throttle control guide comes out on the wrong side of the the firewall, so does the nose gear steering guide.
Uh, oh! There is no landing gear block on the firewall. No holes for one either. Show stopper. Write it up on the forum.
Pictures:
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0014a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
01-25-2009, 03:25 PM
#2
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
Sounds like you just got a bad one. And nitro planes is really good about taken care of things like that. Just drop them a line with the photo's and what happen and from what I have seen they should take care of it. Good luck.
01-26-2009, 08:06 AM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
I have read the forums a bit. It looks like NP does make things right. That is what I am hoping for.
01-26-2009, 11:45 AM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
Nitro's email response, "We suggest you to check under Policy in our website and it will give you all the required information."
So, I pay $10.35 for a restocking fee (minimum), plus shipping (estimate $25.00). $35.35 to return an aircraft that was not as advertised.
I'm going to keep it as "show and tell". It will never be built by me. Caveat emptor.
Now to find another trainer.
So, I pay $10.35 for a restocking fee (minimum), plus shipping (estimate $25.00). $35.35 to return an aircraft that was not as advertised.
I'm going to keep it as "show and tell". It will never be built by me. Caveat emptor.
Now to find another trainer.
01-26-2009, 03:44 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
You pay a restocking fee and return postage when the shop ****s up ? lol what a great way to do business lol no wonder the US is in the state its in . Customer support lol.
01-26-2009, 05:08 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
ORIGINAL: pnp77777
Nitro's email response, "We suggest you to check under Policy in our website and it will give you all the required information."
So, I pay $10.35 for a restocking fee (minimum), plus shipping (estimate $25.00). $35.35 to return an aircraft that was not as advertised.
I'm going to keep it as "show and tell". It will never be built by me. Caveat emptor.
Now to find another trainer.
Nitro's email response, "We suggest you to check under Policy in our website and it will give you all the required information."
So, I pay $10.35 for a restocking fee (minimum), plus shipping (estimate $25.00). $35.35 to return an aircraft that was not as advertised.
I'm going to keep it as "show and tell". It will never be built by me. Caveat emptor.
Now to find another trainer.
01-26-2009, 07:02 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
I see the icon for PM. I have read a couple of other posts where it does seem that "John" is the go-to-guy.
Who is "John"? What is his role with Nitroplanes (NP)? Is he the customer service manager? Is he one of the principles of the company? A VP maybe?
Whoever he is, he seems to hold some sway in area of customer satisfaction. Good for him.
My question is, why should I have to PM someone to get something as simple as this corrected? If he has the authority to over-rule the decisions of whoever is doing customer service, he has the authority to set policy based on "profit for both sides".
By having received a curt email about "read our policy", I, and anyone else who has gotten one of those emails, has lost confidence in NP's commitment to being a long-term player in RC modeling. Assuming that I stick with this hobby, I will probably buy several more planes, radios, receivers, servos, battery packs, covering, etc, until I start "pushing up daisies".
Why would I buy from a company who assumes no responsibility for the quality of their product? Why should their be a "go-to-guy"? What happens if he leaves the company? Does it go down the drain because there are no policies that say that quality is a part of day-to-day operations? Probably.
If NP knows that the $69.00 deal is because of defective manufacturing, then have the integrity to say so up front on the web site and not knowing mislead customers. "Special price! Good plane, but a manufacturing and kitting goof requires that the plane be modified by an experienced modeler" would be a good disclaimer if the rest of the $69.00 planes are in the same shape. There are plenty of enthusiasts out there who might just jump at a deal like that. Personally, I would have gone to one of ten other sites that had trainer planes for a few dollars more. And would have been grateful for the honesty of the advertisement.
I had high hopes that NP's customer service would send an email, ask a few more questions over a couple of more emails, issue an RMA, ship me the correct plane along with a prepaid UPS label to send back the defective one.
No. I'll not PM "John". I'm sure he is a nice guy and is concerned about NP's customer base. If an issue cannot be resolved equitably by the persons talking the calls, or reading the emails, then I'll not buy from that company again. If he has the power to over-rule others decisions, then he needs to consider better policies and training for them so the support forum can be more about "I want to change the color sheme of the aircraft. What type of covering would work best on this model?", "Has anyone changed the mechanical retracts on this plane to pneumatic?", etc.
No. I'll stick with my original keep the plane for "show and tell" statement (but I may break down and build it next winter), and if by some miracle, the issue is made right, I'll eat crow on this forum and probably buy from NP again at some point (there are some nice looking planes on the site). The future can only be guessed.
All I wanted was a quick build ARF trainer. Not all of this ranting.
Who is "John"? What is his role with Nitroplanes (NP)? Is he the customer service manager? Is he one of the principles of the company? A VP maybe?
Whoever he is, he seems to hold some sway in area of customer satisfaction. Good for him.
My question is, why should I have to PM someone to get something as simple as this corrected? If he has the authority to over-rule the decisions of whoever is doing customer service, he has the authority to set policy based on "profit for both sides".
By having received a curt email about "read our policy", I, and anyone else who has gotten one of those emails, has lost confidence in NP's commitment to being a long-term player in RC modeling. Assuming that I stick with this hobby, I will probably buy several more planes, radios, receivers, servos, battery packs, covering, etc, until I start "pushing up daisies".
Why would I buy from a company who assumes no responsibility for the quality of their product? Why should their be a "go-to-guy"? What happens if he leaves the company? Does it go down the drain because there are no policies that say that quality is a part of day-to-day operations? Probably.
If NP knows that the $69.00 deal is because of defective manufacturing, then have the integrity to say so up front on the web site and not knowing mislead customers. "Special price! Good plane, but a manufacturing and kitting goof requires that the plane be modified by an experienced modeler" would be a good disclaimer if the rest of the $69.00 planes are in the same shape. There are plenty of enthusiasts out there who might just jump at a deal like that. Personally, I would have gone to one of ten other sites that had trainer planes for a few dollars more. And would have been grateful for the honesty of the advertisement.
I had high hopes that NP's customer service would send an email, ask a few more questions over a couple of more emails, issue an RMA, ship me the correct plane along with a prepaid UPS label to send back the defective one.
No. I'll not PM "John". I'm sure he is a nice guy and is concerned about NP's customer base. If an issue cannot be resolved equitably by the persons talking the calls, or reading the emails, then I'll not buy from that company again. If he has the power to over-rule others decisions, then he needs to consider better policies and training for them so the support forum can be more about "I want to change the color sheme of the aircraft. What type of covering would work best on this model?", "Has anyone changed the mechanical retracts on this plane to pneumatic?", etc.
No. I'll stick with my original keep the plane for "show and tell" statement (but I may break down and build it next winter), and if by some miracle, the issue is made right, I'll eat crow on this forum and probably buy from NP again at some point (there are some nice looking planes on the site). The future can only be guessed.
All I wanted was a quick build ARF trainer. Not all of this ranting.
01-26-2009, 07:32 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
pnp77777 Sorry to here your having trouble. Myself and several others were going in together to buy some planes from NP. I read alot about there troubles like your having and decided that I better contact this John guy before we spent the money. It came up to over $1000 so I tried contacting John here. He never responded back to me after several pm's to him. So don't hold your breath whats really bad I see you have a very messed up plane and they want you to pay to restock it and shipping back to them WOW is all I can say. Glad we didn't buy from them. Since then which has only been a few months ago I myself have purchased Tiger 2, U-Can-Do, Giant Super Sportster, along with engines and items I needed to get them in the air from Tower Hobbies. Super Sportster not ready yet but my thumbs not ready for it either LOL If you want good customer service buy from Tower they go out of there way to make things right if and when something is wrong. Tower doesn't sell other peoples designs either like the yak NP is selling. I hope you get this problem fixed but jump over to Tower and I'm sure you'll be much happier with there customer support.
01-26-2009, 08:33 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
The same thing just happened to me. And no its not a new proto type. I ordered the Sport Trainer, and the plane they sent was the easy trainer. Sounds like what they did to you as well. I decided it would work for my needs and decided to keep it. I had John E-Mail me the correct manual. The plane is almost together, but they didn't include the horizontal tail. I reported the problem to them last week, and have not heard back on that.
Derek
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01-26-2009, 09:33 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
Companies and service like this should never be tolerated....I can't believe these guys are still in business. What a joke.
01-27-2009, 03:49 AM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
Shame your not in the UK , sale of goods act would have meant your credit card company or bank/paypal would have given him a set period of time to rectify the problem then taken the money from him directly or by court ,all at his cost , probably why no one over here has heard of them. Typical take your money and run company , def now taking my custom elsewere.
01-27-2009, 11:06 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
what's your order number I'll do an exchange for you.
John
Nitro Planes
John
Nitro Planes
ORIGINAL: pnp77777
I just purchased a Sports Trainer ARF. There are several "flaws", to say the least.
But, before I continue, let me say that if the aircraft were kitted as shown in the instructions and on the website, I think it would be a great ARF. I still want one. Just not this one.
Since I just got back into RC after 25 years of getting kids though college, I thought I would buy a trainer to relearn long lost skills. Two years ago, I bought the Great Planes 3 simulator. I read many articles about the "state-of the art" and decided that an ARF would be best for me. The time to order had come. Hence, the very well priced Nitro plane. Perfect choice to get back into the hobby...I thought.
I opened the box the day after it arrived (right on time via UPS), I took a very quick inventory of the major parts and wing-halves, fuselage, rudder and stabilizer assemblies, and some hardware was there. So, I read the instructions (sparse as they are, but usable) and started the "one-two hour assembly".
I had already glued the aileron hinges in place and was going to join the wings when I took a closer look and noticed that:
Wing halves.
1. Although the color scheme is the same as the advertising photo, the wings are physically different.
The airplane on the website does not have wing tips. The ailerons go all the way to the end of the wing. Not so in the aircraft delivered. (See notated pictures below.).
The website shows a bolted on wing. The one that was delivered is held on by rubber bands.
The aileron controls were badly bent. One way forward towards the leading edge, the other toward the trailing edge.
The joined wings would not have a tab to lock into the fuselage as shown in the instructions.
I though, okay, it may take three or four hours, but still not bad. So, I started prepping the fuselage. Oh! Look at this! They have changed the control rod connections! Nice change! With a new blade in my X-Acto knife, I cleared the covering from the landing gear notch, the elevator and rudder control rod exit points. Yes! I'm making progress!
Fuselage
2. I did not think the rubber band wing mount issue was much of an issue until a look at the fuselage showed me that there were no predrilled holes for the (out of round) bamboo(?) rods that were supplied. Yes. I did read the instructions before beginning to put the plane together. The instructions show the bolt mounted wing setup. I assumed that the ARF in the instructions was the same as the one in the box. My bad. Nothing in the instructions says where holes should be drilled, what size bit to use, etc. Duh! It is supposed to be a bolt mounted wing. Of course there are no instructions.
Now I am starting to get concerned. Work stops and a closer inspection begins.
General inspection
3. The covering has wrinkles on the rudder, stabilizer and elevator. There is an errant piece of black covering stuck to the fuselage. The decals are separating from the backing and have large bubbles in them. The decals say "Super Trainer" instead of "Trainer Sport". Hmmm...so do the instructions. Maybe that is why nothing is matching up.
More Fuselage
This is the reason for this post. The firewall, and at least two more bulkheads behind it, seem to be installed backwards. The throttle control guide comes out on the wrong side of the the firewall, so does the nose gear steering guide.
Uh, oh! There is no landing gear block on the firewall. No holes for one either. Show stopper. Write it up on the forum.
Pictures:
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0014a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
I just purchased a Sports Trainer ARF. There are several "flaws", to say the least.
But, before I continue, let me say that if the aircraft were kitted as shown in the instructions and on the website, I think it would be a great ARF. I still want one. Just not this one.
Since I just got back into RC after 25 years of getting kids though college, I thought I would buy a trainer to relearn long lost skills. Two years ago, I bought the Great Planes 3 simulator. I read many articles about the "state-of the art" and decided that an ARF would be best for me. The time to order had come. Hence, the very well priced Nitro plane. Perfect choice to get back into the hobby...I thought.
I opened the box the day after it arrived (right on time via UPS), I took a very quick inventory of the major parts and wing-halves, fuselage, rudder and stabilizer assemblies, and some hardware was there. So, I read the instructions (sparse as they are, but usable) and started the "one-two hour assembly".
I had already glued the aileron hinges in place and was going to join the wings when I took a closer look and noticed that:
Wing halves.
1. Although the color scheme is the same as the advertising photo, the wings are physically different.
The airplane on the website does not have wing tips. The ailerons go all the way to the end of the wing. Not so in the aircraft delivered. (See notated pictures below.).
The website shows a bolted on wing. The one that was delivered is held on by rubber bands.
The aileron controls were badly bent. One way forward towards the leading edge, the other toward the trailing edge.
The joined wings would not have a tab to lock into the fuselage as shown in the instructions.
I though, okay, it may take three or four hours, but still not bad. So, I started prepping the fuselage. Oh! Look at this! They have changed the control rod connections! Nice change! With a new blade in my X-Acto knife, I cleared the covering from the landing gear notch, the elevator and rudder control rod exit points. Yes! I'm making progress!
Fuselage
2. I did not think the rubber band wing mount issue was much of an issue until a look at the fuselage showed me that there were no predrilled holes for the (out of round) bamboo(?) rods that were supplied. Yes. I did read the instructions before beginning to put the plane together. The instructions show the bolt mounted wing setup. I assumed that the ARF in the instructions was the same as the one in the box. My bad. Nothing in the instructions says where holes should be drilled, what size bit to use, etc. Duh! It is supposed to be a bolt mounted wing. Of course there are no instructions.
Now I am starting to get concerned. Work stops and a closer inspection begins.
General inspection
3. The covering has wrinkles on the rudder, stabilizer and elevator. There is an errant piece of black covering stuck to the fuselage. The decals are separating from the backing and have large bubbles in them. The decals say "Super Trainer" instead of "Trainer Sport". Hmmm...so do the instructions. Maybe that is why nothing is matching up.
More Fuselage
This is the reason for this post. The firewall, and at least two more bulkheads behind it, seem to be installed backwards. The throttle control guide comes out on the wrong side of the the firewall, so does the nose gear steering guide.
Uh, oh! There is no landing gear block on the firewall. No holes for one either. Show stopper. Write it up on the forum.
Pictures:
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0014a.jpg[/img]
[img]NP-SportTrainer-First_0012a.jpg[/img]
01-29-2009, 08:29 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
I don't believe we've shipped you a wrong plane. A return label has been issued so you can send it back for full refund. Sorry I don't think our trainer has the quality you desired.
John
Nitro Planes
John
Nitro Planes
ORIGINAL: pnp77777
508125 Who pays for shipping the wrong one back?
508125 Who pays for shipping the wrong one back?
01-30-2009, 05:34 PM
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RE: Nitro Sports Trainer did I get a manufacturing prototype?
I ordered 90A123R_TrainerSport40-Red: I got what looks more like 90A123W_TrainerSport40-White, but not exactly. The pictures on the site are clearly two different planes. And there were several issues with it as described above.
Anyway, thank you in advance for the refund. The plane will be picked up tonight (01/30/2009) and the package should be trackable shortly thereafter.
Anyway, thank you in advance for the refund. The plane will be picked up tonight (01/30/2009) and the package should be trackable shortly thereafter.
