Hi Captain
I was just curious if you have done any research here on RCU on the Richmond R/C (Vmar) Planes? I have a couple in the hangar, and all I can say is that I sure hope they have improved for your sake. The wood which is not balsa tends to warp severly, and the ECS Polykote looks good, but is the worst I have seen once it sits in the sun for awhile, and trying to iron out wrinkles just makes it worse. More then likely you may find it best to replace all the hardware, especially the wheels, and possibly the engine mount. It has been quite awhile since I did any business with Richmond, so maybe they have improved things since then. I am not trying to be the messenger of bad news, I just want to make you aware of some potential problems you may need to be aware of. If you can live with everything that comes with the Plane, and use all the stock accesseries, then the Planes are priced O.K, and you will get your monies worth from the Plane. If you end up having to throw away a bunch of stuff, or replacing things, then you are going to be up to a price more comparable with Great Planes, Hangar 9, Sig, etc. by the time you are ready to fly it. When you first take the Plane out of the box it will look great, and you wonder what in the world I am talking about. Give it a month, and then you will begin to see what I am saying. I have actually read some pretty descent reports on some of the China Planes. Really the most negative thing I here about them is in regards to shipping fees, and not actually the Planes themselves. Some venders on ebay charge excessive shipping fees, and Giant Scale Planes also has a rep for excessive high shipping prices. Raidentech seems to be a better choice to order from. Their prices are descent, and the shipping is to, and the Planes by in large seem to be liked O.K.