gregman50

Why is it on the Troybuilt website that they are saying that Aeroworks are the least likely ones to stand behind their product ? I was wanting to purchase a 75cc Yak but now have second thoughts! Not trying to bash here but I would like to know if I spend my hard earned money on a product are you going to stand behind it if something isn't right?

flatlandmike

My Feedback: (17)

After my yak landing gear and fuse fell apart they offered to replace the fuse. I told them I already had a plane and i asked if they would just give me credit for the cost of the fuse, he said that would be fine. I have saved this credit so far and if the 80cc extra 260 gets here ill be making good use of that credit.

bodywerks

My Feedback: (4)

Hmmm...sure would like to know where on their site it says that. I can't find it under the Aeroworks tags. It sure would not be good business practice to bash the customer service of a company they have a direct relationship with...

NEVERMIND - Saw it. I think this is an opinion of Gene Payson. I have had just the opposite experience, particularly in the weight and flight performance area. My 35% 260 flies at least as good as my QQ Yak, and only weighs 25.5 pounds.My plane hasn't had any problems worth requesting service, so I haven't had to go there. They did, however, give me a full refund, no questions asked, when I returned a plane for, well, stupid reasons (I ended up repurchasing it later).
Still, while I appreciate Gene's willingness to tell it like he sees it, I can't understand why he would recommend that someone, in so many words, buy another product before buying Aeroworks products - seems like a bad strategy to sell planes that he carries, considering that he carries Aeroworks planes.
It should also be pointed out that most of the Aeroworks QB planes are selling out almost as soon as they come in. The second shipment of the 35% 260s sold out in only like 3 weeks, if memory serves - I think they said they got like 160-170 of them, so that's like 8 planes sold per day! I think that says something about the planes' quality and flight erformance, don't you?
It is also interesting that Gene recommends the TOC planes over aeroworks, in terms of weight and quality. None of their 50, 75, or 100cc planes are any lighter than the Aeroworks offerings, from what I have seen. I am sure they are fine planes, but Aeroworks has been around for like 20 years and offers a different kind of ARF. TOC-1/Aviaton models/TOC Extreme or whatever their new name is going to be has only been around for a few years and can't seem to develope a stable business platform.
I think I would rather have any kind of customer service that I can count on to be around next year, than to have excellent customer service one month and then no customer service the next, ya know?
I am not saying you should choose Aeroworks over others, but I have had several bad experiences with planes that people speak so highly of on websites and forums. I have learned to do some of my own real research, when deemed necessary, by actually talking to companies if I have a specific question about their product or service, instead of relying on the opinions of others.

gregman50

Thanks a lot bodywerks and all, I do plan on buying at least two planes from them this winter. I plan on the 75cc Yak and the 50cc Extra 260. I have talked with them and they seem to be a very stable company. I now have an AM 30% Yak, it's a nice plane but you never know from month to month what is going on with them. I entertaining the ideal of maybe just selling it also and just start over from scratch.

RCP57

My Feedback: (25)

I have had dealings with both Troy & AeroWorks. I can not remember who I dealt with at Troy but they were FOS. They sold me a plane that they did not have and never apologized for it, never called to tell me they made a mistake, never did anything until I called them. They stated that I would get my plane as soon as it was returned to AeroWorks because another customer refused the order. That was after they took my money and after two weeks of waiting for the plane. After contacting Troy for the third time I was advised that the plane had been damaged in shipping and that there were no more planes. Then they asked me if I wanted a refund which I stated yes. They did refund my money in a timely manor which was the only thing they did properly. During this entire deal Troy never picked up the phone one time to tell me what had happened.

As soon as I hung up the phone with Troy I called AeroWorks to check the story. The women at AeroWorks stated that she never received an order for me from Troy. I advised her of what happened and she apologized that one of their dealers treated me that way. I then gave her my order for one of the red 260s and had to wait for my plane. AeroWorks called me several weeks later, stated the red planes were in stock, and shipped it the same day.

When I decided to by a 35% QB 260 AeroWorks I was advised that Troy does not stock AeroWorks planes. They buy a certain amount of planes which are warehoused by AeroWorks and when sold, AeroWorks ships the airplane. I will never buy squat from Troy again.

Rummycat

My Feedback: (2)

I purchased my 50cc Yak QB through Troy Built Models, and received the plane with no problems. I have also purchased many items in the past from TBM, and have talked to the owner (Gene Payson) on the telephone several times. The customer service has always been excellent. I am sorry your experience was not as pleasant.

Rummycat

gregman50

This thread wasn't started with the intent to bash on Aeroworks or Troybuilt Models, I just wanted to know what kind of experiences people have had with Aeroworks as far as their customer service. Everyone wants a great product and support to go with it. I believe that Aeroworks builds one of the best planes in the world, just look at the TOC, a lot or top named world class pilots are flying their planes. This says a lot for them, and as far as Troybuilt goes they have always been very helpful and everything I have ever ordered from them has been here right when they said it would be. I have had some bad experiences in the past with companies selling me something and then when I needed help from them they acted like they did not even know me, so you can see my reason for concern. When I find a company that stands behind what they sell I usually do not go away from them, more than likely I will be a lifetime customer. Thanks all and God Bless.

5150flyer

I own an AW 50 cc Yak54 QB and had a few minor parts missing. I called and they shipped them to me. I bought the plane from AW and they were very helpful answering my quesitions as this is my first gaint scale plane.

My friend recommended TOC over AW. When I called them I got an answering machine, their website was down, no response to my e-mail and they have changed their name like three times.

Buy AW QB - nice stuff from an honest company.

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

What's really making me change my mind about getting a new 35% 260 qb (I'm on the list for one) is their shipping price. It's ridiculous. $200 ????????? HorizonHobby charges $17 (not a typo) for a 33% airframe sent in two oversize boxes. The 35% it's not much bigger or heavier. And with AW sending hundreds of planes everywhere you know they are getting a good discount with UPS. Even if they didn't that shipping price is a ripoff. They're trying to extract extra profit (lots of it) from shipping also. Give me a break. [:'(]

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

$200 is not that crazy. All giant scale dealers charge 150-200 depending on the zone they are in and the zone they are shipping to. Does AW ship there 35% by UPS, I don't know but I doubt it. Generally 35% and 40% aircraft are shipped by a frieght carrier. Also keep in mind the size of Horizon or Tower/Great planes compared to companys like AW,Radiowave, Wildhare, fiberlite, etc..... Remember nothing is free, it may look as though you only pay $17.00 for shipping but trust me your shipping price was already calculated in the cost of the airplane. One other thought is check the price of packing materials, they are very costly.

Mark Dennis

My Feedback: (4)

I can assure you we are not trying to "rip any one off" this is the price that we are charged from ups to ship the plane including inscurance.

micp

My Feedback: (3)

I know for a fact that Aeroworks is not ripping anyone off with their shipping prices. Some companies offset the cost of shipping because of higher price margins that they enjoy or in an effort to move inventory. Horizon for an example offers cheap shipping on planes that don't move but charge full shipping prices for most other stuff. Companies like Chief provide free shipping on some items that have minimum price requirements as a means of offering a more competive deal. Simply comparing the shipping charges without examining the other factors will of course show substantial differences. UPS charges significant premiums for large packages due to the fact they take up alot of room. Just because I can get free shipping from one company on their product does not mean that UPS is not charging them full price to ship the item.

Tom

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

I work a lot with other companies that send me large quantities of products through UPS and I have a VERY hard time believing that it costs $200 to ship that package. I also have a hard time believing that Horizon would cut $180 of their profit to pay our shipping (as someone here suggested) of a 33%er.

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, your probably right, it only cost Horizon 20 bucks to ship a 33% plane, LMAO!

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

Yeah, your probably right, it cost AW $200 to ship a 35% plane, LMAO!

micp

My Feedback: (3)

Strulag, I would suggest you go to the UPS site, enter the dimensions and weight and see what the price is. BTW a company only makes profits when they have sales so yes some companies will infact cut their margins in order to make the sale. The margin for Horizon on a 33% plane is probably 500% so there is some room there. Also comparing the volume of shipping of Horizon with Aeroworks is crazy. Clearly Horizon has much more leverage to negotiate a good rate than Aeroworks does.

Overall, I think it is very unfair to come on a site and claim a company is ripping you off because their shipping rates are different than a much bigger company on a particular product at a particular time. Before you make such accusations you should really do the homework needed.

Food for thought perhaps??

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

I was planning to do just that...as soon as I find out the dimensions and weight. btw, the previous post was wrote with a bit of sarcasm. And...when I first wrote this I wrote based on many years of working with UPS. True that I never worked with that big of packages so I'll have to find out for sure. I will let you guys know

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks micp but I don't think it will help.
Strulag, I didn't say it cost $200 to ship a 35% plane, but shipping and handling and packing materials does really add up and that is what you are paying for. Tower will ship you their big Cap for free if shipping is your primary concern. Check with everyone else that sells big planes and that is their primary business and you will see everyone, not just AW charges 150-200 depending on where you live. Have a good day.

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

Well I found out the dimensions of the packages and looked into the UPS pricing. I'm not sure what the weight is but I put 25lbs and also insurance for $1000. To deliver from Aurora CO (Aeroworks location) to WA state it quoted $120. From WA all the way to east coast (Atlanta GA) it quoted $148. This is what it would cost any of us to send such thing UPS WITHOUT any company or bulk discounts. From $120 to $190 is still a big difference.

bodywerks

My Feedback: (4)

Gonna have to fully disagree with you there. Actually, they have to absorb some of the ACTUAL shipping cost when shipping. In other words, it cost them more money to get the plane to you than you are actually paying.
Also, have you actually ordered a 33% plane from horizonhobby? That $17.99 is only the fee for it being an oversize package and is in addition to any actual shipping charge. The only way to know the actual shipping charge would be to order one and get it to your door. as the shipping price will vary.
If their shipping is really that cheap, it is because they are passing the cost of shipping onto the actual price of the plane. In other words, a 33% Edge says it costs like $899. My bet is that it's really only $749 or so, and the extra $150 is to cover shipping. There's no way they are eating up that $150 out of their own pocket, guaranteed.

bodywerks

My Feedback: (4)

FWIW, I just did an arbitrary estimated shipment from UPS for 3 boxes (estimated dimensions of 85X20X20 for the biggest box) from California to colorado and got $175 for ground service. Now, my estimates are surely not accurate, but pretty close. You also have to realize that getting the plane from China to here is not free, and neither are the boxes everything comes in...
$200 is a very reasonable shipping fee, IMO.

bodywerks

My Feedback: (4)

So you do know that there are 3 packages, right? And your weight is WAY off. It's more like 60-75 pounds total for all three boxes - cardboard ain't light, and these things are double-boxed.

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

Shipping from China is not free but pretty cheap when you buy a whole container and divide it by the number of airplanes you can fit in it. Also the mark-up on these big planes is HUGE (and maybe that's why HorizonHobby is gracious enough to not charge so much on shipping) so if the manufacturers really wanted to they could easily cover some of the shipping costs. Of course this is business, the point is to make money and if you could make something at every corner in one sale why not. You know what they say...The fool is not the one that asks is the one that gives.

P.S. My point originally was that we have two different scenarios, similar products, one company doesn't charge much for shipping, and the other charges a whole lot. If Horizon would make 35% and 40% airplanes I would buy ALL my stuff from them.

strulag

My Feedback: (-1)

OK...I got exact weight and dimensions on all 3 packages. Total weight is 40 lbs. From CO to WA it costs exactly $144.09. Once again this is without any company or bulk discounts (which they get for sure making it even cheaper for them). I am know convinced that they also make money on shipping. [:'(][:@]

t_driver

My Feedback: (43)

60 to 75 pounds WOW no wonder you sent your first one back you must have just weigh the boxes. The plane at most is 15 to 20 pounds and your saying the boxes 40 to 55 pounds .That is some heavy cardboard you guys got there ...