Dblex

My Feedback: (81)

Same great experience here! I placed my order on September 11th and I got mine on Wednesday 12-16-15. Of course I paid $280 more than you for not making the container order (Container order FULL!!!) and ended up with the 2 Day DHL option. So don't wait when Chief goes out of their way to inform you! It can cost you on shipping!!! But trust me, after seeing the finish, I don't regret a thing!!

Dblex- Skymaster F-18C Blue Angel #4


Big Shout out to Dana,Danny,Steve as well. A+ Customer service gentlemen. And thank you for the Best Christmas present....

"Honey, if your stalking me online....I just said that to impress the guys....I love you"

PowerBoxDanny

My Feedback: (47)

Awesome! Truly appreciate the kind words and excited to see you guys have your jets in great condition! I am still here with Chief, I am just not in sales but will always be on here to answer questions, if you cant get a hold of Dana, send me an email or just post on here! I will get back to you guys as soon as I can! Lets see some builds!!!

raron455

My Feedback: (38)

Well, I got my New 16 last week, I sure was excited to get it in, The jet itself is beautiful, and is the perfect base for my Texas ANG scale replica. There are however some problems, I have contacted Dana, who has been very supportive and is working on correcting the problems. I understand there was a large order shipped, however I did not expect some of these problems.

1. The main problem, My wings, they are beautiful, not a mark on them, ALSO NO LE flaps on them, this is supposed to be a standard on the newest skymaster F16s , I paid for them, I wanted them, Dana is working on getting with Anton about this,

2. I paid for the drag chute option,, They forgot to put any thing related to the chute in the plane/box. Dana is taking care of that

3. I paid for the hardware kit, There is no hardware with the jet, control horns, linkages, nothing, even missing the inside bearings for the rear stabs. Missing the main cylinder for the functioning canopy

4. I have a broken main former in the rear of the cockpit section in the front fuse, Not too big a deal, I can repair and strengthen. No visible damage to the jet, Skymaster did a good job securing and packaging the jet, not sure how the former got broke, Im just glad there is no damage to the outside finish.

I am posting my Honest experience as a customer, I understand Chief is just the US distributor for Skymaster, and working to help correct the problems they have no control of.
I also Know skymaster is a very busy company and mistakes happen, I chose Skymaster because they support and take care of their customers, I dont have any doubts that they will make it right,
Here are a few pics of it,,
AND WHERE ITS GOING...

PowerBoxDanny

My Feedback: (47)

Hey Ronnie! I am glad you got the canvas for what your vision is. Its going to look great. My apologies for the small issues. I am sure Dana is on it and will get it taken care of for you. We have discussed the issue and were working on it. As far as the chute system, I think there may have been a misunderstanding. When ordering a chute system, it includes the launching system such as the vertical fin with the rectangle pocket and everything inside such as the spring, plate, and release mechanism. It does not and never has however included the parachute. Skymaster has never sold an actual parachute. Most customers go to Dan from "Details 4 Scale" to order the chute itself. Theres too many chute variations and Skymaster just doesn't make them. My apologies again for the miscommunication. Everything else should come to you. Thanks Ronnie!

raron455

My Feedback: (38)

Thanks Danny, Im glad to have it here, I trust in Dana and Anton to fix the issues, I will have to get back with Dana on the chute thing, I think that may be messed up too, There is no plate or spring, or anything just a hole, surely I didn't pay 325 for the drag chute option to have an empty housing in the back of the plane, the hole is there but Empty, nothing in the plane or shipping box. Back when I ordered I compared on BVMs skymaster sales page they show the same skymaster chute option with the same price but state it comes with a multi color chute. Hopefully this will get cleared up, it seems to be a source of some confusion. I am excited to get to work on it, hopefully I can have it in the air by spring, Skymaster did a great job on the finish of the jet, looks fantastic. Cant wait to go wheels up with it,,

PowerBoxDanny

My Feedback: (47)

Hey Ronnie,

I see that on BVM's site but not on Skymasters. It may be an addition that BVM puts in to their deals. We will know soon enough! Dana's on it! Thanks again!

PowerBoxDanny

My Feedback: (47)

Received confirmation from Anton that they do not make the parachutes. He refers customers to Dan for the parachutes. As I mentioned on the last post, it must be a BVM product he adds in the package.

Dblex

My Feedback: (81)

Ronnie, you replacing your airline tees and stock airlines??

raron455

My Feedback: (38)

Yessir, dreamworks airline and fittings feeding everything , removed every skymaster cylinder on the plane, pressure tested, everyone of them hold air, no leaks on any of them. And skymaster did an absolitely fantastic job installing and hinging my gear doors with aluminum hinges, saved me a whole lot of time,anger, and cussing..

Dblex

My Feedback: (81)

Nice! No metal hinges but they did great on mine too!!

raron455

My Feedback: (38)

OK,, so my posting on this thread was to give everyone my real experience, I took advantage of the chief container ordering process and ordered my jet thru Danny at Chief, who no longer is handling this issue and have been referred to DANA, and here is what I have,,

My jet was finished, and delivered almost exactly when I was told, and the jet looks fantastic, and I love it, but there are some issues,,
-The biggest one being the wings ade perfect,,but they have no leading edge flaps, I have heard multiple excuses, some stating that you have to specify you want them, the other is that they are a 100$ option, the truth is if you look on skymasters site, it shows them as standard, NOT AN OPTION, Standard.
-The chute was a big source of confusion, I know what I was told on the phone when I ordered, and had confirmed, I was told that it was everything I needed, Complete, I have moved past that because it was taken care of by DANA at chief, he refunded me the money I paid for the chute option, and I got what I Needed from Dan at Details4Scale
-I also ordered the complete hardware kit, when the jet arrived NOTHING, just two small bags of screws, NO hardware, NO control Rods, NO control Horns, No mounting bolts, NOTHING
-Another big problem, The inside bearings in the rear of the jet that the elevators go into were missing, they are not there, just the empty bore,,
-There are other issues that I did not escalate because I can deal with or fix them myself, the main former in the fuse was broken, and missing a piece, I didn't complain about that because I can fix it, Missing the main cylinder for the canopy option, No wing bags, ETC
I have had multiple contacts with DANA at chief, and I still do not have my correct wings, or hardware, bearings, ETC. all things needed to build this plane,
I don't even have an estimated date, the last date I was told from Dana was stated to arrive before the Chinese new year, well here we are they are on holiday, Still no word, still no date. I would have thought that I would have at least been sent the hardware and missing parts, considering they should not take as much time and effort as the wings, But no, last email from Dana stated "I guess they will be sending them together".

I have also sent emails to both the skymaster addresses listed letting them know my disappointment, and need of these parts NO response.
SO WHERE DOES THIS GO,, am I being unreasonable?? I ordered the jet in July, it arrived at my house about a week before Christmas, although I have been able to do a little work on it, Skymasters mistakes have prevented me from really moving forward on it, Here we are now, over 2 months after receiving my incomplete order (which was not cheap),, and I still cant even put the elevators on, which means I cant finish the rear of the fuse, or turbine install, ETC,, I cant finish anything, and somehow get left with the feeling like its my fault, like I am hassling them to get me what I actually paid for.
Is it Chief's, Or Dana's Fault, Of course not, they are simply the retailer, It is skymasters fault. Do I believe they should hold Skymaster more accountable, well considering Chief is one of the primary Retailers for them,, YES, I believe they should, but its ultimately out of their control.
My jet does look great, and the work they did on it I am very happy with, but the missing parts, and bungled order, on top of no communications, or reasonable support in a decent time frame, I am not happy with, I didn't order lunch at mcdonalds, I ordered an optioned out airframe that was well over 3k,
that took 5 months to deliver, I would expect it to be correct. But my expectations were not met.
This is my actual experience, I am not bashing anyone, skymaster built a great jet, and chief got it to me when they said they would, but that's about where it stopped,,
Would I do this again,, I don't really know,, Maybe if I dealt with BVM, or Skymaster Directly things would have been different, Who knows?
Hopefully this will get resolved soon, who knows?

pilot tw

Hi, Raron455

Sorry for hear your problem, we just back work from long holiday, I do not know why we not receive your e mail ( I checked all e mail every day, even on holiday) ., I will discuss with John for your case on next Monday and arrange to send all missing parts to you together as soon.,

Sincerely your

Anton

TJPro351

My Feedback: (8)

I have purchased 4 jets from SM and each of them had some issues but were always resolved. However, it appears that SM is lacking quality control and always trying to make it up with after the fact fixes. How hard it is for a manufacturer to have a checklist of some sort for the assembler/packer to check off when packing the boxes to ensure ALL standard/ordered parts are there??? A lot of SM complaints are parts being missing or not filling desired order. After a potential customer places an order directly with SM or a distributor, that person should receive a complete invoice stating what was ordered and any special instructions. SM should sign/initial document stating they acknowledge what the customer order is.....is this that hard??
SM is growing and their work/engineering is top notched but sooner or later, customers are going to think twice about the timeline and the frustrations when the plane shows up at their door and either, missing parts or did not receive what was ordered.
Come on SM, change your packing/assembly process to ensure orders are filled correctly. Your desire to fix the problems after the fact is commendable but there are only so many "I'm sorry (ies)" before customers had enough.

tp777fo

My Feedback: (28)

Nailed it TJPRO. I really want a SM F-4 but an really worried about the lack of QC. I worry about spending $6K on a kit and watching parts fly off on the test flight....I speak from experience and havent had a SM kit since then. i continue to watch guys have problems with SM kits and read about others right here on RCU. Poor glue joints, cheap wood, poor quality hardware that goes straight to the garbage. How much effort would it take to just do it right before shipping the kit instead of having to smooth ruffled feathers after the crash. They might give you a new kit after yours plows in but that doesnt recover the lost time, motor, radios and sweat. Re-engineering a $6K+ kit is not what I want to do.

MachLoop

My Feedback: (3)

I also placed an order for the same container and same aircraft as Ronnie. I echo his comments about the process - it worked flawlessly as advertised. My issues started once I opened the box and inventoried the contents.

I found similar issues as did Ronnie but also some unique to my order: missing hardware, missing parts, and included options that were not ordered. I also did not receive the LEF wing. I was completely surprised to hear that it is an option given that the Chief website clearly indicates it is standard and the Skymaster website says nothing about LEF option pricing.

But that is where my experience changes. The aircraft sent to me was old, repainted, and had poor craftsmanship on the options that I did not order but were included, to include obvious installation errors that were not properly repaired. I sent photo's to Chief as evidence to document each of the issues. Chief immediately offered to get me a new jet. Within a few days, Chief got Skymaster's concurrence that I was due a new jet.

Then the process dragged out in trying to reach agreement on a re-order. Chief eventually provided a full refund and the a/c was returned.

I then engaged in direct interaction with Skymaster. I PM'd Anton to discuss but received no response and no acknowledgement. I then engaged with John and was able to have positive discussion. But throughout it all I also get the feeling from Skymaster that this is my fault, that I am the one that misunderstood, and that there was miscommunication on my part. How is that? I have photo evidence of what I actually received and it is not what i ordered, it is not what was advertised, and it had poor craftsmanship - how is any of that my fault?

I know the capability that Skymaster has to produce quality products. It is evidenced in the accolades of customers, in the pictures of build threads, and in the post-flight reports. I've also seen how Skymaster has been responsive in addressing issues of their customers. However, it is not my fault for Skymaster's mistakes or failures. Skymaster needs to take ownership of their mistakes and failures just as they do for their successes.

In going forward with this I mentioned that I have had good discussion with John. I am giving Skymaster another opportunity - in their words "to start with new beginning". Part of a new beginning is to accept responsibility for the failures that require a new beginning. That burden lies fully on Skymaster, not on me.

While I am optimistic that in the end this will all be resolved, I still have one outstanding concern: Ronnie was quoted a LEF option price of $100.00, I was quoted $150.00! Which is the correct price? And where is it documented?

rcmigpilot

My Feedback: (26)

I've purchased 2 Skymaster jets from Chief in the last 6 months, a 2M Viperjet and a 1/7.5 EDF A-10. The Viperjet paint is amazing, smooth as glass w/razor sharp lines at all the color breaks, all the hardware was there and overall I'm very pleased with the plane, the A-10 is another story. It was missing most of the screws and bolts. Had damage to one nacelle and one wing that happened at the factory prior to packaging. Blobs of either epoxy or clear (glossy on flat finish) that that will need to be corrected. There was no hardware, pilot holes or mention in the instructions of how to attach the pylons. Plane was missing 4 major insignias (TAC shields and Flying Tigers shields) that are there in the web site pictures. The rudder linkage covers were put on backwards then painted and can't be flipped over w/o repainting because of the color break in the middle of each cover. As good as the paint on the Viperjet was, the rudders on the A-10 were the opposite and will need to be repainted. If there is any clear on the plane it is very thin as the paint on most of the raised rivets on the bottom of the fuse has rubbed off and I have a bunch of white dots all over the bottom of my dark green plane. I can sympathize with you guys on missing features, the turbine version of the same plane comes with tail pipes, the EDF doesn’t, you get an empty nacelle and no mention anywhere that you have to make your own thrust tubes. I'm a modeler and can overcome everything that's wrong, but while none of the issues with my A-10 are major when you all it all up it leads to a significant disappointment with Skymaster and I unless I hear the something has changed I will not be considering them next time I’m in the market for an airframe.

Nick Yuhasz

My Feedback: (11)

Anton:

I am glad to see you are willing to help your long time customers like me (first two SM jets purchased in 2005). I am missing some key parts from my turbine SM X-Treme Jet 1/7.75 A-10 since it was delivered in August of 2015. I really need those parts now and your distributor has been unable to help. I will send you and John an E-Mail with the details.

Thanks

Nick

K.O.

My Feedback: (16)

Nick

Keep us updated.
K.O.

FenderBean

Anton, all three of the jets I have bought from SM have had the issues as the guys above. YOU REALLY NEED TO TAKE FIVE MINUTES AND TYPE UP A ONE PAGE CHECKLIST THAT IS CHECKED AS EACH ITEM IS PUT IN THE BOX PRIOR TO SHIPPING! I ordered a jet from Elite and it came with a checklist in the box of all items inventoried prior to shipping. This would save you guys so much a#$ pain, okay off the soap box.

scoeroo

My Feedback: (9)

I trust my F-5 in production / order will not have any issues - Anton can you guarantee this ?
I await your reply

ravill

My Feedback: (11)

I can guarantee you will have a few issues.

That is just the nature of the china beast.

Yes, we pay a very big premium for these jets. And after it has happened to you a few times, you get used to it. Should we have to get "used" to it? Ofcourse not, but that is the jet world we live in.

Skymaster (for the most part) does a pretty good job at putting together a jet that can have a long life. Yes, you will have to work with the situation and make sure this is the case.

Such is life.

johnzqh

Hi All

Thank you for constructive advice.We just had a meeting here and are taking all needed measures to avoid mentioned issues in future.Your orders will be better taken care of.

John
Skymaster

JackL

My Feedback: (7)

Is there going to be another container shipment order any time soon?

ltc

My Feedback: (3)

I have a 1.6m Viper on order with Skymaster/Xtreme with an outside the mold paint scheme; I hope everything arrives as expected.

If you want a real soap opera, order something from Airworld Germany. Every email contradicts the previous one and I doubt I will ever see the plane. I may have to ask American Express to get involved and refund my money (ordered in October, paid in full at time of order)

pilot tw

we check the package before shipping to customers today.,