The PC-9 is a great flyer. I would not be too concerned. I had one of the 1st release" Roulette" one's with the old "fade away" covering. The new convering is a lot better. I gave the he model away eventually after the engine (A Saito) dropped a valve and had an internal haemorage. It is still flying, though is almost white now.

Their best flyer yet is the "ESCAPE."

Only old models like the "Ramrod" are still made with the old oily match wood. Though I am led to believe that the wood in this model is also being changed to Balsa.

New releases such as the Jodel, the Jet series, the Stiks, the 2 little Electrics and the Stinger Trainer, are made with Balsa and Ply,
al beit not being Midwest quality wood.

There has been much criticsm of VMAR over the years. Much of it deserved, but their later products are a huge improvement. I have owned many and the only 2 real duds were the very early Stilleto and the Chipmunk, which had common wing design fault problems as well as weak landing gear blocks.

This latter point is also common to other more "respected" ARF brands, so VMAR should not be singled out and "burnt at the stake" for this problem.

Overall, VMAR may not have the best finished ARF's around, but their newer designs do work when it comes to flying.

As for how long do they last?

Well that depends upon how you look after them and fly them.

Nothing is going to last long if you hoon around all the time, flying at the edge and pushing the limits, or you get it to do things that it is not designed to do.

My oldest VMAR is a 1st release Ramrod, circa 1997. and as previously mentioned, my original PC-9 circa 1997, is still flying in anothers hands.

But my VMAR Chipmunk did not last long.

Please don' t give me the old "They don't stand up in a crash" argument. Name me one manufacturer, that has airplanes that do not break in a crash! Even Boeing's break!

ESM/KMP and CM-PRO amongst others, have raised the stakes in finish and it will be interesting to see how VMAR respond.