Hi guys,

Has anyone tried out this vmar tiger arrow?

I had a series 1 arrow and it flew very well (shame the construction was so shabby)

Nothings changed.
Still heavy.
Horrible hardwear.


Why on earth would you ever want to go there again?

more photos

It is an improvement on the 1st release Arrow.

Flies as nicely as its predecessor, if powered appropriately.

But it is still a VMAR and still has some of the quality problems of the original.

I have to tell ya... those pictures look pretty good. But I'll have to take them only at partial value due to all the things I have heard on them.

-Steve

Hi all,

I was wondering if anybody could offer an opinion if I should keep this VMAR tiger arrow (haven't built her yet) or swap it for a WM T34/SS40.

It's gonna have a VMAX 52 2 stroke

Cheers

Chris

Inter,
Tell ya' what. Keep the plane and enjoy it.

I've never heard so much bashing in my life as I did when I posted a question on VMAR 2 years ago. I was thinking about buying the Edge. Bashing,cussing,insulting and whatever you want to hear.You could hear it all rite there.

I made up my own mind and bought it and it's been one of my best flying planes and she's still going strong.

No,it's not perfect,a bit heavy and the covering don't stick too well to the wood especially in the hot sun.But what covering likes the hot sun? Otherwise,no complaints here.

Be your own judge and don't listen to all the bashing.Keep it and if you don't like it you've got $129 worth of pretty.

My opinion

I have to agree with Q Ball;

Get the plane and enjoy it.
Vmar has never claimed to be the best plane on the market, but the best plane for the money that you spend. I have said before that you'll never win a beauty competion with a VMar and yes you can build better yourself; BUT NOT FOR THE MONEY!!

Locally (Canada) I can buy a Vmar for less than half the price of a kit, and have it flying in a couple of days. These are the planes that you get if you;
A) hate building,
B) are low on funds,
C) when you just lost your winter project and it's only April,
D) When you just want to have fun.

Yes the original Vmars were rough, but with each successive generation they keep getting better. As a rule of thumb with any ARF I inspect them closely during assembly and make corrections and improvements as I go.

I still have two Vmar Sticks (40 & 60 size) after five years of active flying they are still going strong!

Happy Landings;
Bruce

I would normally say to go ahead and try the plane out if your heart is set on it......but if you have the option to take it back and get a WM T-34, TAKE IT BACK!! The T-34 is a GREAT flying plane....will do pattern beautifully and is a great all-around sport plane...you won't be sorry.....the quality is excellent and it looks good too.

Bruce:
Were you serious about the cost of a kit in Canada? Dang!!! You got to be kiding.You mean that a kit would cost more than $129 in Canada? That's ridiculous. Is it the shipping that gets you?? Just curious. Man!!!

First of all I like to build except during July and Aug. It gets too hot in the garage to work.It's fixed up nice but can't see putting an a/c in the garage.In the South we don't have to worry about seasons too much.We build and/or fly anytime of the year.We have a friend that lives in Canada and he hates the cold....Us too..LOL.I spent a year at the north pole and that was enough for me.
As far as the funds.I took early retirement and this fixed income really sucks but the bills get paid and we're not hungry.My situation is like I have $270 to play with rite now.The VMAR is cheap (price) and hopefully I'll have enough left over to buy a kit also.So I kill two birds with (heck,you know the rest.LOL)

Another thing:I used everything (hardware and all) that came in the box from VMAR.I haven't had the first problem.Maybe I was just lucky.

Take care
Walt

Inter,
Question: Like I said I got the Edge from VMAR two years ago. The engine and mount bolts to a firewall that is bolted to another permanent firewall.Actually there's two firewalls. If you take the first firewall out you remove the engine,engine mount,fuel tank and tubing.It's all on a pod.
I'm asking because in your pix of the front of the plane it don't look like there's but one firewall.I don't see any bolts.Is that the permanent firewall we see in the pix with the motor mount.They may have changed the design.Just curious.After seeing your real live pictures it's looking even better.I liked the looks of it on the Richmond site,but yours really looks sharp.I was going to order the yellow one,but think the red looks better.I just figured the yellow would show up better in the air.

I'll be using a MVVS 49 with tuned silencer.

Also,your engine mount looks really slanted.Did you have a choice of how to mount the mount or were the blind nuts already in the firewall?

I'll shut up.
Thanx for sharing
Walt

Woody,
What would you call 'appropriately powered' in this case.
My engines are an MVVS 40 w/tuned silencer,A MVVS 49 w/tuned silencer and an OS 61 SF (heavy). I also have a Irvine 53,but it needs a crank and can repair and install.
Thanx
Walt

Walt;
Yes I was serious about the prices. The average kit plane (box of wood and plans) starts around $150.00 Cdn and then works it‘s way up, depending on the kit. Add the cost of building hardware and you basically double that figure (I’m generalizing of course). A Vmar Kit starts for $95.00 for a 40 size stick and then rises to about $225.00 Cdn for a Texan. Then we have our well known taxs – add 15%. Ridiculous it may well be, but it is a fact up here in the Great White North.

I like to build too, and the winter gives me all the excuse I need to hide in the basement and made sawdust. It beats the heck out of watching the tube and I actually have something to show for it when done – but there is a place in the world for Arf’s you just have to understand their limitations. As to your good luck with the supplied hardware – I’m not surprised they have been making great leaps forward over the last 2-3 years. Their first planes came with some very poor clevises and push rods, which could (and did) cause some nasty accidents if you didn’t check them before takeoff, but the manufacturer got the word and started making changes.

Weather; hey we are currently enjoying a mild spell it’s only –7 C today which beats the heck out of the –30 C that we had last week. (-7C = 20F, -30C = -21F) So yes; this is a good time to hide in the basement and build!

Happy Landings
Bruce
[sm=wink.gif]

Hi guys,
I have just finished building a new VMAR Arrow Tigre,at first it looked great straight out of the box.
Then a few days exposure to the Aussie summer heat (not outside,but in my hobby hanger) and it looked like a fancy coloured sheet of corrigated iron!
The covering went walkabout big time.The timber the beast is made out of (a variety of Ramin,I am told) shrinks like hell and makes the covering even worse.
As the timber dries out it becomes brittle,I have a number of nasty cracks in the fuse.
I replaced some of the hardware,one of the wing mounting bolts snapped off like a carrot the first time i attached the wing,then I checked the CG as per instructions,
80-85 mm back from the LE.,Bugger me,the tail sat on the deck,so I moved the battery pack as far forward as possible,no good,so I cut a few slabs of lead sheet,
no good.........anyway,6ozs later we were getting near the mark.
I spent a further hour with my heat gun and sealing iron and it still looks like an old heap of junk,It's sitting in the shed until I get enthusiastic enough to try and fix it.
VMAR,I don't think so,no matter how vell people say it flys,it's junk,I think I'll stick to scratch building.
I'de like to hear your comments,thanks.
May all your landings be soft,seeya,Larry

OK,I've been backing VMAR for a couple of years and still do to some extent. I still say for the price,you get what you pay for.
My Arrow Tiger looks great sitting in the cool garage.Looks better than the pix's in the ads.For $129,it's a looker.

BUT: I'm like Larry. One of the ingredients of the wing hold down bolts must be butter.That's the softest plastic I've ever seen. One bolt down of the wing and the bolt just decentigrated. Like I said butter!!!!
The covering looks fine but once (and I've always said this) in the hot sun,it's disasster.Bubbles everywhere.I still used everything in the box except for the wing bolts.We'll see..
I've bragged on the VMAR because even tho the covering don't like sun,My Edge 540 is still going strong after two years and is a very docile flier.So I've been well pleased with the 540.

Whether I'll buy another VMAR??? Don't know at this point.If this thing bubbles like Larry said,Probably not.The Edge bubbles a bit,but I can live with it,but if the Tiger bubbles more than the Edge,I'll take another route next time.The bubbles just destroys a nice looker..

Thanx
Walt

Larry,
Forgot something. I take it you got the Tiger balanced and ready.

I posted in another thread on here that after trying to balance this bugger I called Kelsey at Richmond.There was no way I could get it balanced without bolting a VW up front.Something had to be majorly wrong.

The instruction manual is NOT correct. I assume you've finished the mods to get it balanced,but the CG in the book was totally wrong.I threw the piece of paper away with the new CG but if you write Kelsey at Richmond,he'll give you the new CG.It's further back than the book says and cured the problem.Still had to add a little weight but a bunch better than before.

Sorry bout that.
Walt

A lot of guys say "you get what you pay for" with VMAR, but if you compare their prices to other ".40 sized" ARF's, they really aren't cheaper. Take the World Models Super Sports 40 & Super Stunts 40, both $99, and the T-34, $129. All great flying planes. How about the Seagull Spacewalker 40, $120, and Extra 300S, $145, also very nice planes. There are also better quality planes in the same price range from Great Planes, Thunder Tiger, Hangar 9, and many more. I'm just not buying that "you get what you pay for" line about VMAR anymore.