This situation is not only for this specific ARF as I have seen problems in all brands. It is best to check all planes over before flight. Loose connections, bad glue joints (or no glue at all) and the like are common problems. If we look at the price of a stick built kit plus the cost of covering material vs the modern ARF the cost is very close (and in some cases the parts cost will exceed the ARF). The old adage "You get what you pay for" could apply here. I fly ARFS and also build the ones that are more important to me (IMAC planes and warbirds).

In the past few weeks I have seen one 60 size go in because the wing dowel holes were drilled several times in the side of the lite ply. This was not visible until after the crash as the plastic top cap covered the problem. The wing parted company from the plane. Another plane showed up at the field this week. Problems with the engine prevented the plane from being flown. The owners came to my shop and we did a thorough visual on the plane. One end of the push rods was loose so I pulled them out of the plane. The sleeves were missing on the back end of the rods. Many other problems were corrected and the plane is now airworthy. Some problems were just getting a better set up by centering all the controls and re aligning the wheels on the servos for equal throw, adding fuel tubing sleeves to the clevis when attached to the horn, replacing the fuel tubing that was damaged and the like.

Get some help not only for flight training but also in the set up of the plane and equipment. It will make your experience more enjoyable.

EXCAP232