Kyosho ARF Trainers
06-08-2006, 04:40 AM
#1
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Kyosho ARF Trainers
This post is not intended to downgrade Kyosho, but merly an observation of the several trainers I have built over the last years until to date for fellow members who have just picked up the hobby locally.
I have always been a kyosho lover way back in the 1980's the quality of kits and information presentation from their manuals are top notch.
Sadly to say just recently I have built 6 high wing Kyosho Calmato's and a number of low wing sports version of the calmato, at first I thought it may have been just one or 2 mishaps, but it is becoming more apparent that there has been a quality reduction in the craftsmanship of these ARF's.
The Calmato high wing trainers on several occasions, the films just popped open during flight causing the plane to steer or roll into a certain direction where there was a need to drop the throttle power and glide them back in. This problem even occurs after going over the whole plane with an iron.
The assembly of the wings on numerous occasions were not built correctly, where a certain degree of wood work was required to get them to join correctly, this is compared to the number of kits I have built over the years where no wood work was required or atleast 1 out of 10 kits required some light sanding.
Today from my perspective any beginner attempting to put this kit together would come across this problem very easily and may over look the mishap only later to find out when mounting the wing down with the bolts, that the bolts dont line themselves right to the blind nuts in the fuselage.
The quality of fuel tanks on these trainers are of utmost lowest quality, you would probably get 6 or 7 flights on them then look at replacing them shortly because of leakage at the front fuel tank joining.
Apart from these observations the kit is a formidable trainer for the price and will take alot of abuse to put them out of service.
I hope kyosho will look at these observations and rectify them it would be a shame to drop such standards by shift the assembly / manufacturing process of these arf's other then the country of origin.
I have always been a kyosho lover way back in the 1980's the quality of kits and information presentation from their manuals are top notch.
Sadly to say just recently I have built 6 high wing Kyosho Calmato's and a number of low wing sports version of the calmato, at first I thought it may have been just one or 2 mishaps, but it is becoming more apparent that there has been a quality reduction in the craftsmanship of these ARF's.
The Calmato high wing trainers on several occasions, the films just popped open during flight causing the plane to steer or roll into a certain direction where there was a need to drop the throttle power and glide them back in. This problem even occurs after going over the whole plane with an iron.
The assembly of the wings on numerous occasions were not built correctly, where a certain degree of wood work was required to get them to join correctly, this is compared to the number of kits I have built over the years where no wood work was required or atleast 1 out of 10 kits required some light sanding.
Today from my perspective any beginner attempting to put this kit together would come across this problem very easily and may over look the mishap only later to find out when mounting the wing down with the bolts, that the bolts dont line themselves right to the blind nuts in the fuselage.
The quality of fuel tanks on these trainers are of utmost lowest quality, you would probably get 6 or 7 flights on them then look at replacing them shortly because of leakage at the front fuel tank joining.
Apart from these observations the kit is a formidable trainer for the price and will take alot of abuse to put them out of service.
I hope kyosho will look at these observations and rectify them it would be a shame to drop such standards by shift the assembly / manufacturing process of these arf's other then the country of origin.
06-08-2006, 07:22 AM
#3
Senior Member
RE: Kyosho ARF Trainers
I've got a KYOSHO CAP 232 and the covering has stuck like skin. No peeling, no lifting.
KYOSHO stopped marketing ARFs in the U.S. a year or so ago. They did it because they were having problems with the quality of their airplanes. It appears that they were having them manufactured in China. (Ain't that ironic? The Japanese were getting the Chinese to manufacture their stuff for them!) And it appears that the quality wasn't up to KYOSHO's standards. It also appears that the quality wasn't up to THE MODELING PUBLIC's standards.
They've only recently started selling a very limited number of newly designed ARFs in the U.S.
I'd assume that the covering deal is simply an on-going problem every manufacturer probably has when trying to outsource the manufacturing to a country that has no real understanding or experience with the product line. The Chinese can pump out tons of toys in a heartbeat, but doing something as demanding as our flying machines seems to be just a step or two beyond their ability right now.
What is good is that it appears that KYOSHO is very interested in correcting those details. They do seem very serious about selling a quality product that is a 100% value. It's a shame that the Chinese don't seem motivated that way.
I've just started assembling a newly released KYOSHO P40 Warhawk. The previous release was supposed to have had lousy covering and a couple of weakly manufactured structures. The covering on my new one is excellent. It's a better iron-on and is as good as any ARF I've done in the last year. The structure looks excellent too. Now, if they'd just start selling the retracts they've advertised for the sucker...............
KYOSHO stopped marketing ARFs in the U.S. a year or so ago. They did it because they were having problems with the quality of their airplanes. It appears that they were having them manufactured in China. (Ain't that ironic? The Japanese were getting the Chinese to manufacture their stuff for them!) And it appears that the quality wasn't up to KYOSHO's standards. It also appears that the quality wasn't up to THE MODELING PUBLIC's standards.
They've only recently started selling a very limited number of newly designed ARFs in the U.S.
I'd assume that the covering deal is simply an on-going problem every manufacturer probably has when trying to outsource the manufacturing to a country that has no real understanding or experience with the product line. The Chinese can pump out tons of toys in a heartbeat, but doing something as demanding as our flying machines seems to be just a step or two beyond their ability right now.
What is good is that it appears that KYOSHO is very interested in correcting those details. They do seem very serious about selling a quality product that is a 100% value. It's a shame that the Chinese don't seem motivated that way.
I've just started assembling a newly released KYOSHO P40 Warhawk. The previous release was supposed to have had lousy covering and a couple of weakly manufactured structures. The covering on my new one is excellent. It's a better iron-on and is as good as any ARF I've done in the last year. The structure looks excellent too. Now, if they'd just start selling the retracts they've advertised for the sucker...............
06-08-2006, 05:50 PM
#4
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RE: Kyosho ARF Trainers
Kyosho like Pilot is adjusting to the current market, and their current 'quality' reflects that.
Certainly locally, at their previous pricepoint in today's marketplace, they were marketing only to "the select few" to phrase it flatteringly.
No argument re their previous versus current quality, notably the Calamatos' covering as you mention. However, in regard to overall quality, it ain't really THAT different from most other contemporary offerings out there. Flimsy self-peeling trim excepted, most buy 'n fly entrants into the hobby these days either wouldn't notice...or care if they did, preferring the reduced pricepoint for the few things which can and usually have to be addressed on pretty much ALL Asian ARFs these days. That new pricepoint accompanied by brand association is unquestionably why Kyosho have achieved such rapid and successful market penetration with their Calamatos. Regardless of the inherent design, you could guarantee they would have been left sitting on the LHS shelf at twice their current pricepoint, and lamented there forever at Kyosho's previous one no matter how well constructed or anchored the trim.
With the greatest respect, I've gotta' say that's exaggeration even if using their previous standard as a basis of comparison. In practice, the Calamato's fuel tank, just like most of the other Asian ARF supplied tanks out there, whilst looking lesser than the aftermarket brand names and previous OEM Kyosho inclusions, do work perfectly well for sport flying, usually outlasting the outcome of either their owner's flying ability or next new novelty "I want" attention span. Really, if the fuel tank isn't up to your expectation, replace it with an aftermarket unit which is. It'll still be a LOT less than paying triple the current retail for the privilege of having an ARF with one included which is.
Given the Japanese credo and Kyosho's company philosophy I should think that they eventually will get around to improvng QC, but with the current competitive rush to find any PRC manufacturer with spare capacity available and willing to present product to the marketplace for them in such a short time frame without prolonged interruption to market presence, the status quo is as it is for the moment.
I do agree with you that Kyosho's old kits were truly well above average, but then so was their price. Like kits, the time when that was of typical buyer priority is of a different time. For the record, I had their Chipmunk 40 kit which was a masterpiece. Decals alone of that quality would probably cost more to produce than that Calamato today! I also have a PRC manufactured version of a previously Japanese manufactured Pilot ARF. Whilst it's true to say the Japanese standard was better, the PRC one isn't unacceptably shabby. Perhaps with the smaller volume, Pilot have sourced a PRC manufacturer and secured better QC? Either way, certainly preferable than the Pilot being unavailable or unaffordable.
Certainly locally, at their previous pricepoint in today's marketplace, they were marketing only to "the select few" to phrase it flatteringly.
No argument re their previous versus current quality, notably the Calamatos' covering as you mention. However, in regard to overall quality, it ain't really THAT different from most other contemporary offerings out there. Flimsy self-peeling trim excepted, most buy 'n fly entrants into the hobby these days either wouldn't notice...or care if they did, preferring the reduced pricepoint for the few things which can and usually have to be addressed on pretty much ALL Asian ARFs these days. That new pricepoint accompanied by brand association is unquestionably why Kyosho have achieved such rapid and successful market penetration with their Calamatos. Regardless of the inherent design, you could guarantee they would have been left sitting on the LHS shelf at twice their current pricepoint, and lamented there forever at Kyosho's previous one no matter how well constructed or anchored the trim.
The quality of fuel tanks on these trainers are of utmost lowest quality, you would probably get 6 or 7 flights on them then look at replacing them shortly because of leakage at the front fuel tank joining.
I hope kyosho will look at these observations and rectify them it would be a shame to drop such standards by shift the assembly / manufacturing process of these arf's other then the country of origin.
I do agree with you that Kyosho's old kits were truly well above average, but then so was their price. Like kits, the time when that was of typical buyer priority is of a different time. For the record, I had their Chipmunk 40 kit which was a masterpiece. Decals alone of that quality would probably cost more to produce than that Calamato today! I also have a PRC manufactured version of a previously Japanese manufactured Pilot ARF. Whilst it's true to say the Japanese standard was better, the PRC one isn't unacceptably shabby. Perhaps with the smaller volume, Pilot have sourced a PRC manufacturer and secured better QC? Either way, certainly preferable than the Pilot being unavailable or unaffordable.
06-08-2006, 07:02 PM
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RE: Kyosho ARF Trainers
The Kyosho trainer's covering film's glue dissolves after meeting nitro fuel for a few flights. I think they are using a different brand of film now. But as far as I know they are still producing them in China.
