Hi Doug,

My model was actually purchased from General Hobby through Richard Yan on the RCU Marketplace for about $125 plus shipping. It may be that the Nitro Planes version is made from a different factory after the initial batch sold out. I have seen this issue before with my larger Cessna Citation. I would call or e-mail Nitro Planes about your issues because they seem very good at making things right. As for a $100 fiberglass model, you should anticipate some issues but I have only seen them in the support hardware. Overall, my two Starfires were very good quality. I decided I didn't need the second one for spares so I sold it to a friend.

Let us know how you make out...