Good morning all and welcome Joan, to RCU.


First, let me say that many Mfg's weight claim is a best case scenario. Perhaps the first scratch built prototype came in at that approx. weight using hand picked balsa. (OK, a stretch perhaps but benefit of the doubt).

Then you contract a builder in Viet Nam to build the model for export.
It is becoming well known that Viet Nam has no balsa, or a very heavy cross breed of it. Then instead of light ply you get laminated mahogany, also much heavier. Combine this with hardware that is heavy too, and mostly un usable, and a glue that looks like hot glue, and heavy.

The point is I can see how the weight can just balloon up if left to chance. I'm sure the importer/designer asked the company in Viet Nam what the approx weight would be, and they were lied to.
This is a very common occurrence in the East, where you are told what you want to hear, by a very large majority of business's.


Phoenix, J-Mar, are both equally consistent in producing products that are inferior and over weight, but value priced.

Clearly we can and have voted with our wallets and demanded better quality.
From the looks of the quality of the new breed of ARFS, example, Hangar 9, Yellow Aircraft, World Models and Morris to name a few, we modelers have changed the face of RC today. Due in large part to bulletin boards such as RCU and others where manufactures are bombarded with instantaneous product reviews and real life flight tests.

So in closing Joan, it is very rare to see a completed aircraft come out at or near mfg's recommended weight.

There is though, light at the end of the tunnel. Electric aircraft are so weight critical that manufactures have done a much better job of advertising more accurate weight info, and then reaching it. Electric modelers have from the beginning demanded it, and voted with their dollars very quickly, forcing mfgs to fix it or discontinue it.

OK, sorry 'bout the diatribe, good luck to you and the Cap.