I just thought that it might be nice to have one thread where we can talk about this sad situation.

I, myself, thought that this had to be a rumor with no standing, by after a few e-mails with Vectorflight I can sadly confirm that it's true.

Here is the reply I received from John at Vectorflight:



Hi Larry:

Thanks so much! These emails are equally distressing for us!! And we are receiving a ton of them from long time customers who hate to see us close our doors even for a short time. Thank you all for your support.

The good news is that we are already planning to return. Most likely within the year. But we really have to take some time off now to invest resources into more cost effective manufacturing and new designs. There are two main reasons for our discontinuing at this point, and this is counter intuitive because we have always had more orders than we can fulfill with backlogs for as long as I remember. The main reason is that the Chinese made ARFs can come here very cheaply because they have locked their currency at 10 year old levels, essentially to make their products cheaper in the USA. This is a very unfair practice and they are under pressure by the rest of the world asking them to float their currency to reflect actual economic conditions. The other reason is that the US$ has been depreciating over the last few years which has significantly reduced our operating margins to an unsustainable level. Both of these factors are now being looked at very seriously by the decision makers in Washington and it is likely that things will improve soon. As soon as this happens you can be sure that we will return! This time off will also give us an opportunity to expand our product line which has been stalled for a long time. So please do not be frustrated, we sincerely appreciate your concern and we will be doing everything possible to restart as soon as possible.

If you wish to order another airplane or any spares for the time being, you should order them soon. We are still shipping and will do so for some time. Hopefully though you will not need anything for at least a year!

Best regards, and thanks again for your email and sentiments! These will go a long way with us!

John
VF




I know I speak for many here at RCU, when I say that I truly hope they do indeed come back...Stronger and better than before!

Vectorflight has always monitored this board closely, and would respond to any question/ concern in a very timely manner!

I never, not one single time, EVER felt I was dealing with a faceless, uncaring company that was just in it for the buck!

It's too bad this is happening, and I want to extend my gratitude and good wishes to everyone at Vectorflight...

Hope to see you all again in a short time...and remember...with the reputation you have created for yourselves with a practically Bullet Proof design, and the professionalism of your staff...as the saying goes...

"If You Build It....We Will Come"!!!

Fair skies and 73's

Larry

Oh man, this really bites. I have thier Edge 540 and it's one of the best planes in it's size class going. We won't even get into thier customer support as everyone knows that has dealt with VF, it's one of the best in the business.

This is truely going to a sad day when they do finally close and I for one hope they do return. They will be missed greatly and they have been one of the best kept secrets in the RC community

that sucks i had my eye on their sukhoi and i cant get another plane till the summer =(

I am saving for another Edge 540 and will not have enough funds till late Nov/early Dec[] Man i HOPE i get the funds soon enough[&o]
Pat
PS Just looked there all gone[&o][&o]

I for one am very sad and shocked at the news. Although I knew about it prior to the announcement and was asked to keep it confidential. We can only sit and wait for news of the grand re-opening of VF and hope that things will grab altitude & takeoff again .
I'm excited to hear about what they have up their sleeve in new arf designs when they return.

A snappy salute goes to John from VectorFlight . He and the other staff at VF go out of their way to assist and help out before and after the sale. >[/color]S<[color=#CC0000]<

Well, I for one am just stunned, and am saddened to see yet another great small "homestyle type" business run out by super low cost imports. Click on this link! I think it is very fitting in this case!
[link=http://www.jibjab.com/Movies/ClickThrough.aspx?contentid=122]Big Boxmart[/link]

I guess i hit it at the right time, mine should be shipped any day, wow am i lucky, better order another cowl.

Well ive been a long supporter for Vectorflight and I still am... Dont forget about these guys as they were just plain awsome. During the time off everyone will be getting other planes and may forget about them. If they open the doors again im going to buy another one of their planes.
Im thinking about making a giant e-card and get all the VF owners to sign it. Would any of you guys be interested? Im working with my friend who is a web designer who could come up with an application. I think it would be a great idea for the guys at VF.

I'd definitely sign the e-card

I'll sign also. These people at Vectorflight are great and I hate to see this happening.

This is indeed a sad day... On the positive side however it sure sounds like they are serious about coming back... RCM, now Vector Flight, who is next...

Sign me out!!!

Of course I'll sign the e-card.
Ray,,,, I sent that JibJab to everyone I know. Hit the nail right on the head. Even stranger is the fact that my buddy picked up a used 120 sized Edge-540 T model for me the other day. Turns out to be from another company here in the U.S. that couldn't compete.
"Creek Hobbies".

count me in on the e-card. It's almost like losing a flying buddy-- John walked me thru my maiden on the Sukhoi via e-mail and I don't know of any other company that would spend the time or take the interest in one of their customers like Vectorflight.

I almost feel like putting my Extra 66 and the Sukhoi in storage till they re-open in case I might need parts, but I'm having too much fun with these planes at the field. This is one great company and I'll be waiting for them to re-open.

Wish all you guys happy landings.

Jerry

Its a real down day seeing them go like that []. Awesome airplanes and the best customer service that I have seen. IMO they raised the bar for one on one customer service to a new level, which is very rare today. And what can top some of my best flying moments!

On the bright side, Chuck told me that they are planning to reopen as soon as they have their manufacturing issues under control!! See you back soon and lets see some more products VF![8D]. I can hardly wait!

I have strong feelings that things will work out for Vectorflight. All the postive comments about their planes and customer service started to back things up a bit.
Its like YS engines. Pretty small company and take a look at their YS 1.10 nearly impossible to get. When very good products are made and the demand gets real high. Issues will arrive shortly after.
I have a plan to get this e-card going but, since my ISP does't support ASP, well for free that is, makes things really hard. Give me a little bit, my plan is to send it to VF before they shut their doors.