SushiHunter

Yeah but how did they escape fire damage? I saw the vid and the pix of the aftermath and it looks like the turbines didn't get into the fire. Hate to say it but....those would make fine paperweights, even smashed they look beautiful. I'd have them on my desk at work and I'd make them the conversation piece of the century.

dubd

The engines were ejected a couple hundred feet away. They looked like crushed soda cans.

Joe Westrich

My Feedback: (95)

What a waste of some pretty turbines.... hard to look at those pictures. :-(

RonTins

Nir. This is Fiifi. Nice of you to take up the FEJ Fight. I notice newer builds have started incorporating plywood formers over honey comb formers. Since my 1/4.5 Scale Hawk came with honey comb formers even though i requested for plywood, am I going to at least get doublers for all the honey comb formers sent to me for reinforcement or am I going to be ignored?

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Dantley,

I was when it happened, and still am sorry for your loss. I watched closely as that whole situation unfolded, and it gave me great pause. When my loss occurred, I felt foolish. Then the men looked me in the eye, and said they'd make it right. I decided to give them one more chance. I'm sorry that you weren't able to get satisfaction. All the best,

Erik

stevekott

FEJ is made of people. Hopefully the people there now have the desire and knowledge to put together a jet that won't come apart.

Erik, I appreciate your take one for the team approach to this. I also appreciate the honesty of telling it like it is.

We play in a hobby where there are only a handful of suppliers. It would be in all of our best interest if FEJ can rehabilitate their reputation and fix their production problems. It all comes down to having quality people with knowledge and commitment to build a quality product. This is a constant challenge all manufacturers face no matter what country they are in.

Best of Luck to you Erik, Happy Flying!

SteveK

AndyAndrews

Eric,

Good luck on your new jet. Looking at the pics I see that one of the formers has been cut all the way through on the fuse. Doesn't look good to me. Check that out before flying.

Keep us informed on the new Jet. Only time will tell if it will hold up to the type of flying you are used to.

Still luv the Firebird btw!

Andy

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

So when are they going to replace Dantleys F14?
i guess as long as your jet got replaced we can forget about everyone else they screwed.
scott

lookilook

I cant say much as i only have 10 flights with my fej f16 1/6 and my flying style does not push it neither i will try to anyway. It is the honeycomb material and the only plywoods are the landing gears formers and the elevator servo trays up to where the elevator enters the body.
I would love to see a build thread by Nir for Erik's F16 so we can all see if or not someone has to have specific builder skills or make heavy mods to be able to fly even the new version of construction by fej.
Nir you do not have to post all the steps during the progress but is good to get a general idea of what someone should really expect if he decides to go fej.

icepilot

Erik - we now have jet meetings at Lista airfield - here is a video of - guess what! - a 1:5 Scale Jets F-16 on maiden in the slightly foggy weather on the amazing field

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYT6Ko4q38M

grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

Maybe it's just me, but something seems odd about the interior pics. The inside of the fuse does not look "new" to me. The bulkhead that the main gear is mounted on looks like it has been in service awhile. Is this what all FEJ look like "new".

DiscoWings

My Feedback: (76)

Offtopicish,

Where is Todd from Dreamworks and his source, what do they have to say about this?

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Scott,

C'mon really? Did I insinuate that in any way? That's not who I am, or how I think. What happened to Dantley sucks, and I completely understand his frustration. Nir said they've been in touch. That's all I know about that. At the end of the day, the Dantley situation is none of my business, unless he chooses to make it so. I'm just trying to objectively share my experience in dealing with a similar situation. If this new jet lasts for 10 flights, or 1000, I will post it here. Best regards,

Erik

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

Erik,
I just seems like your resuscitating them with your experience but your personal friends with them all of them. Not likely your result will be them same as others. Lets not breath life until they help everyone including Dantley.
Scott

Bobneal1

My Feedback: (21)

Erik,

Just my 2 cents,
As long as the crash, if it happens, results in no injuries or property damage you are ok. If, on the other hand the worst were to occur, The attorneys will have a field day with you and your assets, as there is so much video documentation of inflight failures. It would not be difficult for them to "prove" negligence. Make sure you have good liability insurance imho.

Just sayin,

DrScoles

My Feedback: (18)

The company should treat every customer the same. Its only going to cause more anger when people who lost their $20K jet see that someone else got their jet replaced. OP, you obviously got a free jet from them, you wouldn't have started this thread otherwise. Still a shame on FEJ for picking and choosing to try to repair their image.

AndyAndrews

Yep, I lost two jets. They offered 40% toward another in one case (which I declined) and the other they just looked at the pile of rubbish and walked away. Nice to hear Eric got a new jet for his loss. Others are still without.

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Scott,

I am only friends with Nir. I am encouraging them to do the right thing by Dantley. Nir is adamant about that.

BobNeal,

There is video documentation of many brands of jets failing, and fireballing. The same case could be made about flying any rc jet. I don't live in fear. I will be diligent and conscientious about safety.

Dr Scoles,

A little pompous of you to state the "obvious". I also can't control relationships between a business that I am not affiliated with, and their customers. To be clear, my only loyalty here is to my friend , Nir. Without his direct involvement, I would not have considered this. I have, and it's happening. I will tell the truth about the whole process..

Erik

HeavyMo

I think allota peoples who not have friends in FEJ are no more interseted in 1 jet that makes all good. Dont want to hear about it.
nobody else get customer service, but can meet the at Kentucky

SushiHunter

Dantley's a/c being totaled is property damage.

FenderBean

Okay my post count means nothing and I do not think or act like some "self anointed expert!" People complain about why nobody comes around here anymore and why all the expert have stopped visiting RCU. Its this right here, nobody wants to talk about this subject, to many people are sitting with models at home they cannot fly and getting no such support from fej. Every fej post turns into nothing but a flame fest saying the same thing as the last flame fest. I stopped supporting them when people I knew and even people I didnt know started getting done wrong, I couldnt support or talk about my success when it felt like a slap in the face to some fellow rc flyers.
Your right it is a public forum and feel free to do your thing I was just expressing my opinion about your opinion which seems to have been removed.

ravill

My Feedback: (11)

Is this english?

And in response to Disco, it's too bad what Todd at Dreamworks heard hasn't proved right, yet.

As much as we all like competition and choices in our hobby, a product that has shown, say consistent, downfalls should really just be left to go the way of the Dodo bird.

Its counter intuitive that poor performers should be rewarded.

Erik, many people have given FEJ second, third and many "tries". I suppose many of us have a hard time not commenting on the, obvious to us, futility of such an endeavor.

That said, I'll watch with skeptical amusement and will practice (practice means I may get it wrong sometimes ) restraint.

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

Erik,
I think you have proved a couple of things.

It doesn't really matter if you have an early kit, strengthened or not, they still are not air worthy. A lot of guys here think that the "early" kits are ok. You even modified it to make it stronger and it still failed. Im curious where it failed?
You also did exactly what every other guy has done that crashed, assumed that it would not happen to them, and flew the jet anyway and it crashed. No one knows where they will fail, the tail or the wings or the fuse. They are all garbage. I see guys still doing this every day, even at major events. 1 flight, 10 flights or 30, they still fall out of the air. Seems like a huge safety matter.
You also didn't mention a word to anyone on here til you received your new jet that was built and overseen by Nir at the factory. Not a single warning to anybody from anyone that the F16 "early" kit was a problem? Now since you were silent, which is what they want guys to be, you have a new jet. You don't really come off as the kind of guy who would remain silent, especially not to warn fellow modelers. how many silent guys are there???? Geeze!

What happened to your turbines and electronics?

How exactly is your new jet any different? it still looks like the same crap they been doing since the start.

These guys have a lot to do before they start telling everyone the problem is fixed and mass producing more bombs. They need a whole division devoted to testing and R&D. actual limit testing to destruction. what are the limits?

There are guys receiving new stabs and parts that are supposed to "fix" the problem. Really? How would anyone bolt on a new stab and stick 6K worth of turbine and electronics in and think they are ok? Then the wings fold, fuse flex, flutter, etc.

So many have come here before you expecting different results and have all been given the same.

Sigh
Scott

Airplanes400

My Feedback: (349)

I feel the same way. While this company has ignored their customers for many years, had their employees pose as satisfied customers, misled many people into thinking the company has a good product, forced customers to wait extended periods of time, diverted blame and responsibility to the customer, and ignores obvious design flaws, this one jesture towards a somewhat "favored" customer who has a friend that is a rep of the company will not "turn the tides" for this company.

While it's great that someone finally received some form of "cooperation," and is willing to take another risk, the mass of customers remain abandoned, and the company still lives in denial.
This is not nearly enough to change a long-standing, bad reputation this company has envoked.

Whatever the outcome is, best of luck to you. But like many FEJ owners, can anyone really fly their FEJ jet and not worry (or think in the back of their mind) that it will come apart during flight?

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

Exactly!

They will forever go done in history as the company who created 400 accounts to vote for themselves in the poll. Lets not forget how low these guys are.
Scott