ORIGINAL: GraemeEllis
Should I even bother, or should I just put up with a Great Planes model with lousy covering and lousy support (that costs more)?
What GP airplanes have you had issues with? I've gotten a couple where the covering was disappointing but it was at least durable unlike most of the cheapo ARF's. All the other GP planes I have owned have beautiful covering. I've assembled ARF's from a variety of manufacturers. Many of them were very good and GP has been consistently at the top of the bunch.
I've also had unbelievable support from GP. They've come through and taken care of me on things where they probably would have been justified in saying no. One example was my Super Skybolt. The covering on the bottom of the wings and stab was awful. I called and explained the situation telling them I'd be happy with just new wings since I'd already glued the stab into the fuselage. The guy asked me to hold on then came back and said they were sending new wings, fuselage and stab. I asked if they'd like my old pieces back and he said no. They could have told me I was out of luck on the stab or just sent me one and made me cut the old one out of the fuse. They actually made a lot of money that day from one gesture because I always look at their stuff first when making a purchase and I recommend them to others. I haven't had to call them often and definitely not in a while, hopefully their customer service hasn't changed.
An example of poor service was a little electric bipe that I bought from a "no name" company. It was basically receiver ready with the motor, ESC and servos already installed. The ESC burnt up during the first flight. There was no contact information in the instructions or packaging but I found a number online. They never answered my calls or returned my messages. I tried e-mailing and they never responded. That said a lot about their character. I will never buy from them again and I'm quick to share my experience with anyone else thinking about buying from them.