Henke Torphammar

Leopard are moving to a new dedicated facility which will make things better. However that won't help now :-P

snauwaertj

My T32 has 31H of running time and needs new bearings and a check up.
What is the price for a overhaul like this one?
Can I send the engine in for servicing or should I still be afraid I wil not see it back for a long time?

Johan

luckyflyer

Words cannot describe my frustration and disappoint with Martin Lambert the owner of Kolibri turbines. I sent my T30 to him on the 13th of June 2014. I called him prior to sending the turbine in and he told me it would be a one week turn around to replace the bearings before it would ship back. After about 2 weeks I emailed him to get the status and never receive an email back. I then called and was given some excuse for why it had not been shipped (I can't remember what the reason was). I've peen polite and courteous on every phone call I've had with him. For awhile I called every couple of weeks and it was always "we will be getting to it soon" The last time I talked to him about 45 days ago I was told that they were building a new test bench or something to that effect and they would not be able to get to it until after it was built. This is absolutely no way to treat customers that spend $3000+ on any product. This is as bad as it can get. The customer must always initiate the inquiry with Martin. He has never once contacted me in any way with a status update. It is always some new excuse and new promise with every call that is made to him with a new reason for why he hasn't been able to follow up on his previous promise. Its thoroughly disgusting is all I can say.

SpiderJets

Johan,
Having had 4 Kolibris so far, I had nothing but good experiences with Martin by visiting him at home for such kind of servicing. Unlike overseas customers struggling to reach him by e-mail (which channel he dislikes, as it keeps him off the production), consider it as a privilege we "only" live some 335 km away from him, and it is an additional feast for the eyes to see how he produces his gems.
Difficult to say what the cost will be for an overhaul ; your dentist has to see you too before he can quote you an estimated cost, right ?
Congrats on 31 hours of running time in only a few months of ownership ; you seem to love this tiny thing, or else, did you heat up your sweatshop err workshop with it ? :-)

Nicolas.

Justflying1

Unfortunately in today's world if you want to sell your product overseas you are going to have to deal with emails. If you can't handle this very simply sell the product local only with the high possibility of going out of business.
In saying this I am very happy with my Kolibri so far and hope to get good service when needed. If not I will simply sell the turbine and look forward to another manufacturer.
In saying this Martin so far has given me good service. I have sent him one email and he replied within 24hr.
I think this was a very reasonable time frame so definably no complaints from me. For overseas customers I think you have to be ready for a 6-8 week wait. Anything over this with out a honest excuse is just unacceptable.
Ivan

Justflying1

That wait is for a service turn around.

Henke Torphammar

I will never defend bad service. However I try to find workarounds which will cut some of the delays. One of them is going via a dealer with good response to emails if you prefer emailing. Even though doing this some just seem to have bad luck emails "lost" and phone calls not going through in combination with parts being back ordered and having to service in mid season. :-(

I know issues are being solved all the time, but new ones appears too. I guess pushing the limits sometimes using standard parts are not good enough.

I only own Lambert engines so I have no clue how other manufacturers are handling it. I don't know what to expect other then being placed in line and not forgotten by time.

With all new facilities and the brand new 65mm series of engines I sure hope he will hire more workers that have time for more then manufacturing parts.

luckyflyer

This is what I plan on doing if I ever get my turbine back repaired or unrepaired.

luckyflyer

I would be dancing in the street if I had received service that good from Martin.

2walla

My Feedback: (10)

You ever get your turbine back? Looking at buying a lambert but the service history seems pretty hit or miss.

luckyflyer

I sent Martin an email that I translated to German asking when he thought he would get to my turbine. He replied within a couple of days saying it would be soon. I sent that on the 12th of November, still no turbine.

Lownverted

My Feedback: (4)

Yes, eventually my friend got his turbine back. Mr. Lambert accused my friend of using it to help Hobby King, or Jet Joe (or some other such nonsense) further their product. As soon as it was returned it was promptly sold, and he has never looked back.

His behavior speaks volumes about his character in my mind. It's just one absurd excuse after another. He does make a very nice little engine, but he's a terrible businessman at best. My 2 pesos thinks it will continue this way until it dies, or he will wise up and hire someone to be the "face" of the company. Others who have a more personal relationship with Mr. Lambert have nothing but good things to say. I'd have to agree from a technical standpoint, however if you need service from the other side of the pond, your results may vary.

Good luck
Red

Tuggs

If you want I can give him a call and ask about your turbine. Unfortunately Martin is very uncommunicative via email and he often has an excuse when orders get delayed. But rest assured he would never scam someone on purpose.

Let me know via PN.

/T

luckyflyer

Pm sent, Thanks

luckyflyer

Well Martin Lambert just passéd the 7 month mark of having my T30 turbine that was supposed to take one week to repair. I called him about 10 days ago and of course he promised that he would have it for me in 1 week. I'm going to call him again tomorrow to get the latest excuse. I really don't think he is capable of telling the truth. I'm open to any and all ideas on how to get my turbine back dead or alive. Not too interested in hearing from the fanboyz though.

jasonvo

The longerest service I had with Lamber around 6 weeks that was the time he moving to new facility. Also no problem to communicated by phone so far.....you can call him on his cell phone or office.

2walla

My Feedback: (10)

Ouch! 7 months is crazy! For a 3k turbine I would take a vacation and show up on his doorstep..

snauwaertj

Hello everybody,
Afther reading all this and having 3 months of trouble trying to buy a new rpm sensor from Lambert, I decided to get my T32 serviced elswere. A RC-jet engine service specialist from Italy did it for me and the result is good. Complete checkup end new bearings, I hope this way I can fly it for another 32H now :-).

xzcfxzcgh

I have a friend who has his Kolibri in for service and is having trouble getting ahold of him. Other than the info published on his website which is not working out, is there any other way to reach Martin?

luckyflyer

I got my turbine back about a week ago. 7+ months and $400 later. Trying to decide weather to keep or sell.

snauwaertj

Well, the ECU from my T32 has died. How is the Lambert service going these days?
Still the same?

i3dm

My Feedback: (51)

Sorry to bring up an old thread but can anyone comment on how good (or bad) the Lambert service is these days?
any experience from the last year to share?

i3dm

My Feedback: (51)

who is the specialist?