Originally Posted by
jester_s1
Yes, if you are going to refuse to buy anything made in China you probably are in the wrong hobby. Chinese manufacturing has improved over the years. Yes, they still make bargain basement junk, but they also are capable of building good stuff too. Airtronics is made in China and has always had a good reputation for quality. All of the ARFs are made there, and chances are components of everything made in other places are made there. The place of manufacture is not as important as the brand and their dedication to quality. I've never been impressed with FlySky stuff based on internet anecdotes, but it's not because it's made in China. It's because it's cheap, bargain basement radio gear that is made without significant quality control and doesn't have good warranties or service.
I noticed that the Chinese products that are of decent quality are the ones that are manufactured under the request and supervision of American or European firms. They don't have a choice then but to make a quality product as the western company would reject the product if not up to standards. What I was talking about was products designed, manufactured, and sold by Chinese companies, those almost always are very low quality. For example, I am also into personal watercraft (jet skis) and there is a Chinese manufacturer that sells Sea-Doo rip offs for a fraction of what the real thing costs. These things actually sold well in Europe only because PWCs are very expensive there, much more so than here. Well turns out the machines were complete junk with virtually no factory support.
Originally Posted by
jester_s1
Frankly, the radio is not the place to try and save money. I know that new pilots get overwhelmed very quickly with all the things they have to buy, but the radio is the one item that you can keep using for years and years. Buy a good one and take care of it, and you'll save a lot more money than you would have by buying the cheapest thing on the market and hoping for the best.
I agree 100%. I would rather buy a used brand name radio system than a new bottom of the barrel cheapie.