ser00

Hi everybody,

I have had some issues dealing with Sig in the past several months. I ordered the following: 4 Star 40, 2 Sig Something Extras and two Hog Bipes. I got the 4 Star right away. They said that they had the sig extra kits but not the wheel pants. I told them they could send the kits out without the wheel pants and send them when they had them. Less than two weeks, I had the kits. When I ordered the hogs, they told me that it would take a month. It took longer than that because they were waiting for a shipment of balsa. After three months, they told me that the kits were cut but they were still waiting for a shipment of plastic to make the wheel pants. I told them again to ship the kits and I had the kits in less than two weeks. This past Monday, I received 4 sets of wheel pants as promised (it took four months to get them). Now, let me say this. The people I dealt with at Sig were very friendly and tried to be as helpful as possible. They were very quick to respond to my emails. I will definitely buy from Sig in the future. There are not many kit makers anymore. Unless you are itching to get hold of a plane and have it built right away, then I would call Sig, see if they have the plane you want in stock and order it. If not, order the kit you want and just wait for it. Download the manual, buy the parts you need to make the kit and get everything ready. It might take a month, maybe two to get the kit. I find it hard to believe that it has taken people 7 or 8 months to get their kits. Maybe it did take that long and I was fairly lucky in getting my kits in a reasonable amount of time. One thing I hope that we do not do is abandon kit makers like Sig because of bumps in the road. There is a high global demand for balsa wood (wind power blades). Also think about the market dynamics. In the past, all you could really buy is just kits and few arfs. Now, you have to search for the kits. Also, it is not good business to keep a large inventory of stock that is not in high demand. Sig simply follows a batch operation model. I know that people say that Sig has changed hands and that is the reason there are issues. If so, then there will be growing pains. If people stop ordering or bad mouth Sig and influence others not to buy their kits, than how does Sig improve their situation and provide kits? I for one like to support kit makers, especially mom and pop businesses. I have order kits from JunoRC (which will be closing down for the next two years while the owner is in Singapore) and AK-models (excellent source for Prop Jets). Finally, building planes from kits or from scratch is a labor of love, something that we do to have something unique, to see a box of sticks transform into a plane, burning holes in the sky that we did with our own two hands. I love to build planes. I can be impatient and I hate to wait. But, I am willing to do it for the enjoyment of the hobby. If I really need to fly now, I order a kit, buy an arf and fly it while I wait for my kit and or build it. I know that I am rambling on here, just some random thoughts in my head.

Happy flying and soft landings!