I bought SKYSHARK Christen Eagle from Skyshark off that infamous auction site.

The auction read: NEW Christen Eagle yellow and black.

The box arrived with out a trace of damage, so I put it aside. Now I sell it to a buddy and the canopy is cracked.

Well their policy is 7 days to report damage.

MY BAD for not going through the contents with a fine tooth comb. But I was put on a 11 hour shift and it is bow hunting season. And I had too much faith in them.

Also I was told, by Mike grey at Skyshark, the yellow and black version was a closeout and no parts are available. And I could buy a white or black canopy.

BACK UP the bus here MIKE your auction said nothing of "CLOSEOUT" !!! If it did I would have avoided it like a Yugo! Also in the same week they had the white version up for auction. Yes it was listed as new too, but what was it really??

from Mike last email

Everything we list on Ebay is either closeout merchandise, overstock or customer returns, defective items, etc. That is why we sell them at no reserve and offer big savings off our regular prices. If you were concerned about future parts availability, all you had to do was ask.

OK so what they put on Ebarf is anything but NEW, and list it as NEW Can you say FRAUD? Sure, Sure I can Mr. Rogers.

I just from out from my friend that the sliding box ( motor mount ) is missing. ***! If Skyshark blames Fed-Ex on the canopy and said the arf was NEW. Just how do they explain the missing box?

Just so tired of misleading Auctions and Chineeze Kwality.

Bob

I am considering buying a Skyshark;Christen eagle. I would also like to use a Mark 135 engine. Good airplane?,Enough motor?

I just bought a "value" sky shark kit. It arrived just fine and had all the hardware or at least most of it from the regular version. I ordered the black one.

what is a "Value" kit ???

I see that they have about 5 more white ones on Ebarf

I think Value version means no spinner or instrument panel.

Why were you so cheap that you didn't buy it direct? Seems like cheap people are the biggest whiners.

Sorry but I have NEVER had such issuses with Skyshark(I have three). Mike and Angie have always good people ALWAYS going beyond the call of good business. First you bought it off of e-bay. Always a buyer beware! Never buy something from there that you can get from the maker for ONLY a few bucks more. Second I don't think a cracked canopy justifies such a rant on a forum.

Bought off of Ebay direct from Skyshark NOT a third party. OK Rare Bear Mech?

If Skyshark is so good then why do they HIDE behind a name like HAIR911 ?

HAIR911 is the name they use to sell/dump on ebarf.

The new auctions of christen eagles now read "discontinued", as well as the bubbles in the covering.

the auction I bid on had no mention of discontinued product.

In several emails with Mikey all he did was state the 7 day policy....

OK I ADMIT (see MY BAD in 1st posting) that I did not inspect it at day one. HE then claimed that, they at Skyshaft, inspect all of the kits/arfs that they sell before shipping them.

In several emails with Mikey all he did was state the 7 day policy....

If that is true then why was none of the original packaging (tape staples, ect.) disturbed?
And the motor box was missing a simple inspection would have found it, no?

In several emails with Mikey all he did was state the 7 day policy....

On the other hand Tower/Great planes takes customer service seriously.
Ann Marie once called me at work, to resolve an issue about a plane, from a letter I sent to GreatPlanes.

Well if you went to Skysharks website you would have noticed the black eagle has been discontinued for quite some time. You still bought it off of e-bay. My luck with that website is about 50/50. MY LUCK with skyshark is 100%. Now you are into the name calling the company. You seem very smart now about Mike "hiding" behind his screen name. Hell nobody here does that. Yet at the time of your order you didn't think of anything other than a low price. Remember the bitter taste of poor quality lingers much longer than the sweet smell of a low price. If you don't like a companies product then don't buy it again...simple as that! Do a search on Skyshark and you will see that you are alone out there my friend. Oh one other thing. If you expect an ARf to be perfect right out of the box you have been hovering over the CA bottle too long. If most ARF'S were not made in China none of us would be able to afford them. They all take work!

Michael Town
Lead Mechanic/Fabricator
Steve Fossett Land Speed Record Team

What a joke, the economy version does not even come with instructions. Also any technical help related to the airplane is by email only, or $15.00 per call. The ability to report damage or missing items is also shorter.
Next time I stop at my car dealer, I will ask if I can buy the economy version of a Mazda CX9, no manual, half the waranty and etc and no service work unless I pay extra for each visit.[X(]

I would never buy from a company like that, nomatter how good there product is. I went to check out the website because I have allways had a soft spot for Biplanes.

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!

WOW! You guys are unreal. I have looked at EVERY listing on ebay that Skyshark has. IN HUGE LETTERS IT SAYS FACTORY BLEMISH on every single one. Yes new in box, but factory blemish! The econo model is for a guy like me. Who has already had one of there models, and has all the hardware to just want to build another of the same model. Just to put one more positive spin on the company. My first Edge 540 was in a mid air two days after I got it. With the "crash policy" they sent me a new model for half price. How many other companies do that for you. I will take a swing in the dark and say that they didn't do anything for you because of you attitude. There policies are stated in print. You know front to back left to right. If you were to read them BEFORE you bought you would see that you have no ground to stand on. A little research would do wonders for you delicate feelings that Mike has hurt so bad.

I had no complaint about the blemish problems. that was stated in the auction.

Selling discontinued merchandize as NEW factory blemish is fraud is it not?

In later auctions they did say the ARFs were discontinued.

Mikey said I should be happy to get a $439 arf for less than half the selling price. Would you ?

Take note that the selling price at the Toledo Show was $359 a few years ago.

I believe most modelers know the difference between Suggested Retail price and the Sale aka Street price. for example: P-40 Warhawk 60 w/Retracts ARF list: 329.99 sale 259.99


OK now try to BUY a replacement canopy for the NEW factory blemish AND then find out it has been discontinued and you cannot buy the correct part for any price since it no longer is made.

How good of a deal is it now? Who would fly a Christen Eagle without the canopy ???

IF SKYSHAFT listed the arf as new/blemish/AND DISCONTINUED...I would have bid differently ( a lot less).

I second that!

They list Christen Eagle canopies as being available on their website: http://www.skysharkrc.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=17

You can buy black and yellow paint just about anywhere.

If you purchased it off Ebay at a discount, and failed to report shipping damage on time, I don't understand what you are whining about. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to slap some paint on a canopy!

Zing... Thank You!

Wow I bought the Econo version and was thrilled. The directions are available online in .pdf format. How hard is it to just read it off the PC? For most people once they get to a certain point in modeling they dont even really need the directions for anything but the CG. I just make sure my CG is correct and then make my rates on the fly. Never lost a bird yet doing it this way and I have planes from .40 size to 40%.

How is the black version discontinued? I just ordered from them a week or so ago. I still see it on their website.

Go buy a Comp arf and not report any damage to them in time and see if they replace the parts for free. Just an example of a more expensive plane company that has a similar policy.

For me the econo version is perfect - I checked everything the day it arrived, it has about all the hardware I need, I know how to calculate the CG and have flown enough bipes to figure it out regardless, the manual is online as are build threads.

To each his or her own. For a plane this size I dont have much complaints because its small. Now if I ordered a custom Comp ARF or 3W or any other brand in like a 35-40% and things were messed up I would be a little upset.

FWIW I think Comp ARF and Wild Hare for ARF companies are the best to deal with. Both have gone well out of the way to get parts out to me or make sure everything was fine.

One would think if you paid a little extra it might afford you a little extra in terms of service regardless of what you are dealing with. It holds true in many industries. I have bought planes in the past knowing they were less than perfect but for what I was going to use them for that was just fine. I would think this would be the case of any Ebay purchased kit in general.

1) The whole complaint was the misrepresentation of the product being sold.

I don't care if they don't warrenty the damage, just sell me the freaking canopy.

2) Mike claim of inspection of the arf,to me by Email, for missing parts is just that a claim.


BTW I have ordered a canopy from Great Planes for the F-4 kit, it has been out of production for a few years.

If you come on a website and bash a company they will not be of any help to you. It's a simple as that! More so when you start name calling. People like you can not be made happy no matter what so why bother. I know I don't deal with people like you on full sized aircraft.

I can honestly say that in my 10 years in the hobby, I have never had the need to call a manufacturer and complain. I have made some bad purchases from various companies but usually at a good deal. In any case, there was nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. If I buy something on Ebay or at a big discount, I expect that replacement parts are going to be difficult to get. That is one of the reasons why things are discounted or sold on Ebay.

You say that Skyshark misrepresented the product because they didn't cover your damage claim after their claim period expired and were out of stock on that color of canopy? If that's the case, then just about everyone is misrepresenting their products on a daily basis!

I would be interested to know how much you paid for this plane anyway?

I recently built the Skyshark Edge 540. I have built several brands and models of ARFs. The Edge is with out a doubt THEE best built and fitting ARF I have ever built. Everything fit absolutely perfect. Nothing needed any modification at all. And yes I got it off the auction site and saved money. But I was so impressed with it over the following weeks I got 3 more for spares. Even though I have never totaled a plane in 5 years. I have busted up a few but always repaired them.
Maybe we should all send him some cheese.
Hell if I was the moderator I would simply delete this whole thread!!!!!!!!!

THINK ABOUT IT. ANY TIME YOU BUY SOMETHING FOR A LOT LESS THERE IS ALMOST ALWAYS A VERY GOOD REASON FOR IT

I forgot to add;
I checked every unit when they arrived and found no damage/problems/shortages with any of the four units.
Amazing, when you do it the way your suppose to how no problems arrise.

I also acquired a skyshark Christen Eagle that turned out to have a torn canopy. The problem with the canopy had been disclosed to me prior to the purchase so I did not feel bitter. However, I made the mistaken assumption that I would be able to buy a replacement - not the case! Does anyone know of another source? Would a cermark pitts canopy fit?
Tim

The Cermark seems like a close match. I have owned both planes. Dont have the Cermark currently ;( It was lost to a dead stick on an OS 1.60. I would like to have both birds though. I only have the SkyShark Eagle for a bipe right now.

Canopys are listed on their web site for replacement parts. No frame though.

I got my "Blemish" last night, the decals on the sides of the fuse are wrinkled. No big deal, at 3ft you can't see them, so at 100ft, who cares? I am really thrilled to have it and can't wait to see it together. I don't know anyone there, but Thank you Skyshark!

I got mine yesterday, and the canopy has a small tear on one corner. Hopefully I will be able to reinforce it a little and use it as is. Otherwise, I guess the only thing to do would be to try to GP one since I don't think anyone in the USA sells the Robbe line. My Eagle was advertised as a factory blem, but I can't really see anything wrong with the decals.