Mike Wiz

My Feedback: (2)

The Sig Rascal 40 ARF is the best quality I've ever seen in a ARF. My H9 33% Cap was second best. I thought my GP Venus was a great flying plane, but the covering was badly wrinkled and the structure was heavier than needed. Most of the other brands of ARFs I've owned (many!) were ok, but typical ARF quality.

That Rascal looked as good if not better in every way than anything I could have done myself.

Wiz

Shaun Evans

Yellow Aircraft. :-)

stunt-man

My vote goes to Kangke. I have their Texas Hurricane, and the quality is top notch. I could not have done a better job building myself. And the covering is Ultracote.

mikekosatka

My Feedback: (7)

KANGKE are so good it is amazing, I love the big Monocoupe 90A. ALSO, WILD HARE is a superlative
ARF supplier.
LIke anything else, the more you spend, the more you get!!
Mike Kosatka

P-40LUVR

I have to second the Phoenix Models,also I like Hanger 9.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

yellow is nice no question about it , but yellow has to cator to less then 5% of the modeling communiy that purchase ARFs .They are the best of the best but also the most expensive outside of Turbine jets !!!!!

AirTech

My Feedback: (18)

What size, type, and how much disposable income you have available?

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

The Top Flite 1/5th scale P-51D Mustang ARF blows away Hangar 9 ARF's in terms of durability, quality, and craftsmanship. There is no need to worry about firewall popping loose, rear stab breaking, or wing folding. The interior of that plane is a work of art. The KMP Hurricane is also very good.

luc-RCU

personally, didn't get any problem with H9 arfs...pefect for me.
For the stab problems, people should avoid cutting the balsa while taking out covering for glueing. As for me , I leave the covering on.

tIANci

For me the best value for money are World Model and Hangar 9, at present I love the Fliton planes, my Extra 330 is totally amazing.

Dai Phan

My Feedback: (2)

VMAR RULES....

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

You could also put a differant spin on this ,
who make the best ARFs warbirds ?
ARF - Sport planes ?
ARF-Trainers
ARF - Prop jets
Arf - arerobatic planes

kmtranmd

My Feedback: (71)

I vote for Kangke (Tigershark) as best ARF in terms of construction quality and finish. My Tigershark has survived the most punishing manuevers that I would not dare attempt on any other ARF, hands down.
Best ARF for the money goes to CMP, especially if buying from Raidentech for best prices.

twigster

My Feedback: (8)

i agree that the Hanger 9 stuff is awesome,, but i did have a poorly glued tail feathers support on an Arrow come lose in flight.
i'll check all the glued parts in any arf from now on....also there was terrible flutter on the wings...thoose pesky little rods...

i got the pheonix Funstar, cause it looks cool, and was el cheapo... very light build, almost too light for me, but hey, it's meant to be a 3D plane. Very quick build on that one, it almost flew out of the box- got a Magnum 52 on there,, plenty of juice, too much for pattern, really.

Still backing my 46 sized cap from The World Models... sweet!

skorman

My Feedback: (3)

Based on my latest purchase, I would have to say World Models in terms of covering and craftsmanship. My Midget Mustang didn't have a wrinkle out of the box. One of the best covering jobs I've seen. Very solid build. Nice attention to details. The only negative are the sparse instructions that come with this ARF. Not for beginners.

AJF--2

My Feedback: (119)

This will help with the covering issues mentioned earlier-- After you shrink the covering and get it tight, go over the whole plane with Top Flite's "No Heat"-- this will seal the edges by melting the glue. Then a coat of liquid auto wax over the whole plane will make it shinny andn also seal the edges even more. I have yet to see a covering that will stand up to a complete day in the sun of 90 degree heat.

I like Wild Hare, Great Planes, Kangke, H9 and also have an Ultra RC Icepoint that has impressed me.

Espresso-Outfitters

Well, I didn't take your advice, figured this novice was proficient on the Parkzone Slo-V and picked up the Midget Mustang on a whim and got it up in the air........................... Just kidding, he he...

I'm really impressed with the Green Models USA line, I'm a noob to all of this along the modern RC lines and have picked up several quite mainstream, I just ordered my 3rd of 7 of their lines I was interested in, just going down the list and mythodacly. So much for it being a small, cheap hobby,....hehe..

Look for the building materials, not just the surface, take note as to how much work you are going to have to put into this making it work, I have a Jenny, it's very close to scale from the original 1917 version wires and all, wasn't too hard to put together, but is the exception to the rule, others, I felt in the end cheated, I could have built it from scratch faster and alot cheaper...........

Stickbuilder

IMHO, They do a good job of cutting, and basic assembly. I have the P-47 (60) Once I figured out that I needed to glass in the firewall, and run a light coat of finishing resin to the entire inside of the fuselage from the wing trailing edge to the firewall, and straighten one set of landing gear rails, and remove the covering at the wing joint and add fiberglass tape and resin, mine turned out pretty well. I had to resort to an on-board glow driver, and may yet need to add a fuel regulator. My tank likes to siphon itself dry when the engine is not running. There is no way to get the tank low enough without major surgery to the wing, and I can't find a tank that is the right shape to fit between the firewall and the 1st bulkhead (which would be the perfect fix)

Other than these concerns, the H-9 P-47 seems like a good model ARF. It flies well, and lands great for a warbird.

Anybody want to start a thread for the worst ARF's instead of always having one for the best ones?

Espresso-Outfitters

Anybody want to start a thread for the worst ARF's instead of always having one for the best ones?

Where do I start, I've seen sticks and bumpy bandsaw cut foam in a box with some felt marker on the box for that end, it was passed off as a Zag, not sure if it was even legit, but managed to hit the local hobby store shelves qty (1)..........

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Stay away from Cermark.... i've got two: Pitts & F-16;

The pitts is the worst of the two and it cost more than the F-16. Its not only the covering but also the basic structure has a sloppy finish (ex the rudder is NOT shaped round... has more of a "hexagonal" shape

they would probably replace it but the problem is that the shipping would not be cheap (i am from Canada)

so you have to PICK & CHOOSE BEFORE you buy ![:@]

crownvic

In Warbirds TF P51 is excellent along with WM giant Zero CMP 160 Texan these are my pick for the best arfs

Lonnie

dolanosa

YAY for VMAR! They have ONE fan. A friend of mine bought 4 different planes from them because they were cheap. They were cheap in more ways. Each one was:
1. Poorly constructed. Needs more glue in some places and fuelproofing in the engine bays.
2. I don't know what kind of sirfoil they use but they tend to snap easily. When we moved the CG forward, the planes would drop out of the sky.

I think Mr. Phan likes to rebuild ARF's or he works there. If he does, please get a good designer who knows something about aerodynamics, better yet, someone who knows how to design model aircraft for flight correctly.

B

dolanosa

The best ARFs come from the minds of the best designers whose respective companies choose the best materials with the best manufacturing processes and quality control. There are few examples of this but your main players usually have enough resources to get the right people for the job. Of course, there are smaller, specialized companies that make some of the best ARF's I've ever seen. Check out some of the F5B models out there.

Right now, some of the best planes come from the old Russian states. The technology is there but the economy isn't. You bring real aerodynamicists, machinists, and model makers who aren't making money and start a business with model planes, you can have the best planes made in composite technology.

Of course, you can find some of the best ARFs for the F3A market as well. When it comes to sport planes though, Iwould stick to the big companies. When you get into more specific planes, it's time to go to the "boutique" stores.


My $.02

B

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

I think Mr. Phan is the owner (of VMAR)....[X(][sm=lol.gif]

Rudolph Hart

Hi steve google cmpro models and look for their midget mustang.Beautifully smooth moulded and styled at 55" and i hope they are going to make a bigger one.I have a 115 saito in mine,flys like it's on rails.