How was the quality of your VMAR ARF kit?


Thanks for the feedback
Derek

Last summer I bought a chipmunk - the cowling was all screwed up and I could not get the wing to fit right, but after some major dremel work it did. The wing had a hole in it and the covering was in really bad shape. The kit looked like it had been eaten by termintes - sawdust all in my cocpit area etc. The only good thing was the engine. I got the GMS .47 for 29.00 with the plane and what a great engine. I got rid of plane but kept the engine. Take a look at some of the other threads - everybody seems to say the same thing.

Try the world arf, better quality and just a few $ more. I have had both to deal with and the world is far better.

I had a P 51 D Mustang, no more VMAR for me. Must be the worst ARF I ever saw. Bad cowling, twisted wing, bad wingfit, crappy hardware and crappy handling in the air.

I have two of the newer VMAR ARF's, the Pilatus PC-9 and the TA6 (JPATS). They are identical in size and makeup. I was pleased with these kits, for the price. Both of them fly very well on a TT .46 Pro engine. I had to replace the clevises on the pushrods, and you are right about the cowl, the fit was less than perfect. I ended up flying the Pilatus without the cowl, primailry becasue it was easier to get to my engine. I fly off of a very rough grass field and so far they have stood up very well. I know of people who have not had such good luck with these planes, but I have to say my experience has not been the same. I would be hesitant to buy the larger of their series of planes without cloder review, but for a throw in the back of the ruck, Sunday flier, I could not beat it for the price.
Tommy

I had a V-stik 60. Flew great with a GMS61 on it. Tons of power!. The wood on the airframe was not balsa but a similar soft type of wood. The landing gear was soft and I replaced it with fiberglas. Lots of nice features for the $95 I paid for it. Where else can you get a 69in winged ARF plane for that money? The wing was stout. I did consecutive full down outside loops just to test it. Did about four before I quit then I did four inside full up loops. It took it in stride. Don't know about the other planes.

I have the cap 231ex 40 sized. My cowling was also a little rough. Wing fit was very precise either. The plane, however still went together quickly and was cheap. The plane is also extrememly aerobatic and a handful to fly. I do enjoy flying it, but it does pitch a bit in knife edge.

while I have enjoyed the plane, I will not buy another VMAR because of these problems.

As far as the P 51 D Mustang goes, apparently the early(mine) production line was extremely lousy. The quality I`m told has improved a great deal on later models. I`d still prefer Kyosho, Flair or Falcon Trading any day of the week though.

I have the 60 size cap232 which I have been very hesitant to finish because of all the horror stories I have heard about VMAR. On the other hand the only way to find out is do it yourself and form you own opinion I guess. So I will be finishing it very soon to see how it does after quite a few modifications. It should be ready. With this being said I guess you get what you pay for and dont ask for too much.

I bought the t-34......I elected to place a Saito 56 in it....3 blade prop
Never again.....It is fly ready now..I have never flown it nor do I desire to.
Time and $$$$ wasted.
5x5

5x5, Why won`t you even try it??

A guy at my field has one and it flew great. He let his father fly it however and he crashed it. For looks, it looks a lot better than the World Model version. You should at least give it one flight, you may be surprised.
Tommy

Ther are MUCH better planes out there, however the Vmar's can be built and flown. Now if you don't care how it looks or flies, the price is hard to beat. I would rather spend a little more and get something of quality like World, Kangke or Yellow.

Outcast,
I will not argue with you at all that there are better ARFs out there. Right now there are several VMAR kits flying at our field with little or no problems at all. The local distributor is selling them as fast as he gets them in. Of course his price is about 15% less than what is advertised. In some ways they remind me of the old EZ kits (that sticky back covering). This distributor also sells the Kangke ARFs. Again, they are very good. The covering is more like Ultracote and they are easily repaired. The cost is more.
For my VMAR experience, I cannot complain. I got what I paid for. Of course I have a couple of other high-dollar ARFs which look much better and are better built.
Tommy

The Airplane looks fantastic......The Saito 56 is hidden so only the chrome valve covers are partially exposed. The 3 bladed prop Gives the c-model turbo a nice touch...That is the reason I elected to go with the Saito 56
I have the radio and fuel dot swich and everything ready to go...see pic
I just worked my butt off to modify for the Saito...Without major mods, I don't think any engine would fit as per instructions......I will get over my angry spell and maybe fly it this spring....If a T-34 lover doesn't come along.

5

You did a super job. I don't think you will be dissapointed. The one I have seen flew great ona .46 2 stroke.
Tommy

Thanks Doc,
I went to my shop and looked at her again..........I will try to break her virginity in the spring.
It sure is a nice looking a/c...The turbo looks so scale with the Saito....I am anxious now to hear what it sounds like w/3 bladed prop.
Thanks
5

A T-34 was entered into a float fly here in Southern California in Novermber. The plane, even with floats mounted, looked great and flew fine. The pilot raved about how well it performed. I didn't see any issues with it. Looked great to me.

My two cents,

There are a lot of good ARFs out there. In the last two
years I have built 14 of them from 5 manufacturers. Every
one has some shortcomings. None of the 6 VMARs were
perfect, but neither were any from the other companies.

Look at the pluses: VMAR have good looking designs others
don't offer. Canadian Chipmunk, Australian Pilatus PC-9, Texan II,
Harvard, Tucano, Mentor, DH Beaver in 3 sizes, and the new
Piper Tomahawk, and Van RV-4, plus the Mustang, and
Corsair. No other company matches such a complete line
of semi-scale planes. They also have a complete line of
trainers and sport designs.

Each model is more completely assembled than any other
ARF. The finishes have very detailed markings, The surfaces
are hinged and pinned, the push rods are installed, pilots are
supplied and installed, the canopies are installed, adjustable
servo trays that need no drilling are supplied.

The new ECS covering is gorgeous! I have the new Cessna 182
with the GMS 61 ringed engine. Where else can you get a combo
price as low as offered by Richmond RC? And It flies like a
dream. At first it was nose heavy, but I moved the batteries
back and now get the best aerobatics you can from a Cessna.

Every model I have seen, has a film that sags and wrinkles
from time to time. Usually it is prolonged exposure to hot
weather here in Florida. They all require a hot air gun to
tighten them up. Do not use an Iron, just a hot air gun and
don't get too close.

Now for the really good part. Every VMAR model I have
has flown extremely well. They fly straight and true, and
are very maneuverable.

I correct any warps, and make sure the tail surfaces are
glued on square and straight. A couple of times I had to
do some sanding and shimming. Two other famous brands
also have had bad stab openings cut. They also had to be
reworked to get the stabs level.

I am careful to get the engine mounted with the specified
thrust line, plus I add 2 degrees down thrust and 2 degrees
right thrust. Be careful here, and make the thrust line go
through the center of the cowl opening. Some of their thrust
line instructions are not correct. Also balance the model
carefully using their metric dimensions, as some of their
conversions to English are not accurate.

If you fly off of a paved runway, replace the wheels, as
the ones supplied are not round and do not roll smoothly.

My current favorite plane is the VMAR Texan II with the
GMS 120 ringed engine. It is a beautiful semi scale plane
with USAF colors that will perform as well as any aerobatic
model I have flown. It outperforms all of those ugly stick
types, and looks good at the same time.

I have both the new ECS Tomahawk, and Van RV-4
on order. They should be as beautiful as my Cessna,
and I know, because they are VMAR they will fly great.

To all those who have knocked VMAR, I recommend
you give them another look. Over the last 2 years every
new model has shown improvement and elimination
of earlier problems. The latest designs are unique plus
they look and fly great.

By George

Everything in your statement I took into consideration but since most everyone has had more bad problems then good outcome with them I don't believe its going to happen over night. Only time and popularity can heal. *shrugs*

Curious, why the elongated sales pitch on the VMAR?
Randy

Randy,

The long pitch was because I have probably purchased,
built, and flown more VMAR models than anyone else posting
to this site, and my experience, while not perfect, has been
very good. My VMAR models are some of the best looking
and best flying at our field. They always draw compliments.

As I said, I have also built many other brands, and none
of them have been without flaw. It is too easy to ***** and
knock a whole product line, just because of one bad experience.

Our hobby is filled with too many misconceptions based
on erroneous opinions. Maybe my favorable opinion will
offset some less favorable ones that are based on much
less experience than mine.

In addition the service from RichmondRC has always
been courteous and professional. I have a hunch that
those that claim poor service, are the types that think
they don't need to be courteous themselves, just because
they are the customer. If you have been in bussiness, you
know that the nicest customers are always given the best
possible treatment.

By George

:thumbdown I had one of the newer VMAR ARFS PILATUS Pc-9..it was the worst kit or arf I ever built ( built about 25 kits and arfs in the last eight years since coming back to the hobby)....there wasnt a good glue joint in the fuselage...the power module was a joke had to make new firewall and glue it on .....the wood in this plane was bad broke easliy glue would not stick to it well...it cant be balsa.....wing hold down plate was not glued in well polled it out by hand ...had to make new one and glue it in....horizontal stab slot came apart during assembly....had to take apart and remake tale of plane.......all pushrods and hardware was junk...fiberglass cowl was thick and heavy but craked easily and paint was not fuel proof.......engine mount would not work for 46FX.and it stripped easily.... plastic servo tray stripped easily and didnt hold servos well...landing gear was soft and bent during taxing.....plane only lasted 8 flights ..fuselage came apart in flight during a snap manover.just behind the wing...plane was heavy 6 lbs 12 %......it did fly and land well but would tip stall easily....save your money buy something else..... VMAR MAKE EXTREMELY LOUSY PRODUCTS !!!!!!!!#########

Gotta wonder about who you are and where you are??? I tell people where I live

I am retired in Florida, and spend a lot of my
time building and flying R/C. I have built 19
ARFs from 5 manufacturers in the last 24 months.
My worst experience was with a Great Planes
model, but I don't bad mouth their whole product
line because of it.

I believe all the ARFs I have had, were assembled
with hot glue, rather than epoxy or other better
glue. So I always paint all the inside joints, that
I can reach, with epoxy. I have never had a
structural failer in the air.

Maybe a lot of ARF modelers don't appreciate that
when something is built on an assembly line, to
obtain high volume and a low price, that they
are not going to get a custom built product.

I think most ARFs are probably of higher quality,
than the building skills, of most of those that
***** the loudest.

When I can buy a model that is built and covered,
so all I have to do is install the engine and radio, for
a price which is less than the cost of the wood, glue
and covering, I am grateful. I prefer spending most
of my time flying, rather than building or *****ing.

By George

Well said propnut8!