I have been told that Phoenix, Black Horse and Seagull come out of the same factory. Rest of story is that business owned by 3 brothers who wanted their own brand so compromised with 1 factory and 3 brand names. Don't know if it true or not but have been told the story a couple of times.

Have flown a few Phoenix planes and they are ok, the Classic is a great first trainer plane. Also have a Seagull PC9 which flies very nicely. Just needed to strengthen a couple of bits of dodgy balsa in the wing. Have 4 Black horse planes, a Twister a small T28 Trojan and 2 large T28 Trojans. With the exception of the front wheel assembly on the little Trojan all are good planes that fly well. This all boils down to cost and in this hobby you get what you pay for. All planes have their pros and cons. Have friends who fly seriously expensive planes and they have trouble from time to time with the quality of the balsa or other fittings. Just depends how fussy you are and how much you want to spend.

If you talk about value for money you are getting a pretty good deal with any of these brands of aircraft.