Well, I just had a super boring day indoors with cold weather and all. I made it a reading day and decided to check out some of the forum reports on planes that really interested me.
I got into the Rare Bear forum and read all 48 pages. Whew! What a drag to see so many problems with a plane that literally hundreds of modelers were drooling over in anticipation of club racing and general sport flying.
Later in the day I tackled the Seawind forum. I have to tell you I've never been so depressed in my modeling life as to hear the horror stories encountered by these two plane groups. I want a Seawind as bad as any plane I've dreamed about in years. Just all the broken parts and cracked this and that, the cracked gelcoat, the loose formers, etc. What bothered me just as much were the comments from some about how we should not complain about these matters since the average modeler couldn't build these birds for this amount of money. GEEZ, are people not allowed in this day and age to expect a product that works, dosen't need rebuilt, rehashed, moded, new hardware? Would people feel just as good about going down to the BestBuy and getting a new digital camera and finding out it dosen't really work without different batteries and you had to reassemble it, but oh well, the price was better then I could have built one myself? I would be the first to admit, I'd be years building a fiberglass fusalage like the Seawind. Is that really the point? For me the point is things are not being supplied as represented. The fact that the retracts don't work in the water and are only usable on land is a total fib on the part of Great Planes. Kinda a matter of, "well we never clearly told anyone this thing is not REALLY an amphibian, but we're content to let you believe this."
I have had very good luck over the years with arfs for the most part but I feel were starting to see a trend here with more and more manufacturers rushing to see who can beat out who with the new "SuperNitroMasher 500" and too hell with quality control. Anyone else gettin tired of being the test market? Obviously, the suppliers who cater to their customers needs will win out over time. Most every problem that was reported in those two forums could have been prevented had the manufacturer institued proper quality control measures. Classic case of "we don't have time to do it right, but we got time to do it again". Just my thoughts, disagree if you want, but they were free. LOL