Probably old news to those of you in the know...

I just saw my first real disapointment in H-9. A friends P-40 originally had trouble with the firewall. Ripped out on the 2nd takeoff roll with only a Saito 100 in the nose.

Last weekend I watched the wings fold during a pull from level flight. During the post-mortem we found that the spar had been made from nothing but thin soft flimsy crap that could barely even be called wood.

I am now VEEEEEEEEEERY leery about H-9. What a huge ripoff. And this poor guy simply doesn't have the budget to replace it.

Just a heads up, guys. Be careful !

HMM HAD MINE FOR 5 YEARS FLY THE CRAP OUT OF IT SPINS ECT. DID YOU GLASS THE CENER SECTION? AND DID YOU USE 30 MIN EPOXY ON WING HALVES . WHAT SIZE MOTOR . OS90 IN MINE FLEW AT 1/2 POWER. NO ISSUES AT ALL.

I too have had one for years, and while it hasn't flown much, it does very very well. My only complaint is the wire landing gear is wobbly on rough surfaces. That sounds like he didn't do a very good job building it. H9 is not know for selling junk. I've had the P-40, the Funtana 90 and a few others, all good planes. I wouldn't knock an entire line of planes just because your friend had issues. It could be as simple as one plane on a line that didn't get enough glue, or improper assembly. Either way, probably not the plane's fault.

If he is that dissapointed, contact horizon and see if they will replace it. I have heard of these issues with other H9 planes and horizon replaced them. I have heard that their customer service is really quite good. On a side note, I think its a good idea to inspect the entire plane when you get it to make sure the glue joints are solid. I added some extra epoxy to my P-47 im building as a precaution. Nothing wrong with playing it safe. Its possible that they got a bad batch of wood for the spar. It happens. All my planes are H9 and im pleased with their quality. Contact Horizon before you let it upset you too bad and see if they will take care of the problem. Good customer service can change your outlook on a company in a big hurry.

I have one, no problems at all very sturdy plane, flies well, the only problem was the SAITO 100 POS...and the landing gear is cheesy...pretty weak gear. Hangar 9 really should put better gear in the P40.

Gee, and all this time I thought that ARF stood for almost ready to fly, not almost ready to fix.

Bill, AMA 4720

It's kinda like RTR with cars... it only "Implies" ready to run... it actually means, Ready to Rebuild...

A little glue now is better than alot later. I guess all the posts I have read that involved experience payed off rather that someones THOUGHTS!!!!

That comes pretty close to flaming, degrading, insulting and embarrassment, and probably a couple of other things that will get you in trouble with RCKen.

Bill, AMA 4720

Im entitled to a response to your comment. You highlighted my comment and added your input, so I did the same. Double standards? If you want to fly your planes without inspecting them and strengthening any areas you see fit, go ahead. It was just a comment to save issues and if the threads are read about any of the H9 warbirds, it seems most guys strenghten firewalls for piece of mind. I was just sharing information I have learned on these threads. Ideas are never a problem. Smart remarks such as yours are. Take it for what its worth.

Well, then, there, now.....

You don't need to worry about me reinforcing any of the H-9 stuff, or any other ARF/RTF/RTC or any other combination of things that may come to mind. I roll my own. I build my own, and don't for a minute trust what Jose Nguyen put together with hot glue in his shack in downtown Hue. And, I've been doing it for well over 50 years now, so I just might have enough experience to suit you.

Bill, AMA 4720

The original thread was about an ARF. The P-40 in particular. Not all of us can, or have time to build with other obligations, but we, like you, still enjoy the hobby. Im sure with your experience, you have built some fine models. To highhorse, im sorry for turning your thread into a bickering match. I was only offering some ideas I have read upon, and tips to make my warbirds a better and more enjoyable experience. I was hoping to pass these on to you. Thats what these threads and forums are for. I hope your friend can get it replaced. Again, contact Horizon and tell them of your friends issues and take some pictures if possible. I have heard of to many guys getting planes replaced with issues like these. I hate to see someone who doesnt have the budget leave the hobby due to an unfortunate mishap. I hope all works out well for you.

Troll

Nope, no troll here. I have a lot of friends who have purchased these so called ARF's and have had the landing gear blocks fall out, the firewalls fall out, and the wings fold, even though they followed the instructions to the, "T". I agree that Horizon will normally make things right, but why not make them right to start? Things such as these issues tend to make a lot of people fall out of love with the hobby, and most of them will never return. As before, why not make them right the first time? How many new guys know to do these fixes? The problem children are not all warbirds either.

Bill, AMA 4720

How much experience does the guy have? If his budget only allows for One plane,- why in the world would it be a warbird? Warbirds are known to be kind of a handfull. I would think a war bird would BE A 3RD OT 4TH plane.

Why did he do what he did?

Because it was what he wanted. No fault there.

The H9 Warhawks I've seen flew so good there would be no reason to consider them other than sport planes that look a lot like warbirds. Matter of fact, a buddie's P40 is why I did the H9 Thunderbolt and it was why I just finished the H9 Corsair. None of them have the limitations that scale planes seem to have. They fly great. I would have no reservations with the Spitfire or Mustang of the series. It's a good group of planes. As for their being ARFs, no doubt. Close inspection and more glue. Added a layer of aircraft ply to the liteply firewall. Swapped out some hardware. Just what recent experience with ARFs has shown to be needed. Today's model builders have to learn what's pertinent today. I'm lucky because I started into ARFs with what I learned years ago. But everyone has to learn "ARF assembly" things nowadays if they're going to fly 'em.

Maybe the title of this thread should of read: MY H9 P-40 is junk.

I had a hanger 9 SU 31 loose a wing in the pattern getting ready to land.On inspecting the remains I found that the spar webs pulled out of the grooves in the upper and lower spar caps.The reason they pulled out was that there was very little glue in the groove.It would of been impossible to inspect this area before it was assembled.To be simply put this stuff can only be inspected during assembly at the factory.Very poor qaulity on a very large airplane that has the capability of killing someone.It hit the dirt less than 50 ft from me and my truck.
I also had to put fiberglass reinforcements on the engine box,it was falling apart at all the seams.

Truth is that EVERY ARF has the potential of being really pretty junk. It's just probable that the better brands have less probability.

H9 usually produces good flying, nice looking, decently manufactured models. They're one of the "good probability" suppliers. Their 60 size warbird line is one of the best. But look at the Corsair's reputation and you see that the supplied retracts have a shaky reputation, the wing has folded for a number of people and there've been a few other incidents. And then they came out with that Raptor thing. Heavy, marginal power, VERY marginal prop, CG over main gear (amazing), very short gear, nose design flawed, marginal flight performance, and BILLED AS A TRAINER.

Yeah, H9 needs to step back and get their Quality Control back under control. And include their design staff in it.

But truth is, they got to be leaders in the ARF industry by providing mostly good stuff.

There ARE exceptions, however, normally " you get what you pay for". Don't expect an #1- classy ARF with NO problems for a $100.00. More times than not , you will have to do something to it. Extra epoxy here, a little C/A there, replace some cheezy hardware. That is just the facts of life, why should our hobby be an exception? Guys, when you see an ARF that normally costs a couple hundred bucks for a hundred bucksIT AIN'T GONNA BE THE SAME PLANE !!!!!!!!!!!! So stop whinning about your "junk planes" , MAN UP.!!! You bought it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fix it & go on or build your own !!!!

As I see it (an outsider looking in) the problem lies with the new flyer who does not know that there are some rebuilding issues that are required, and purchase an ARF expecting it to be just that. They follow the instructions, and then suffer the consequences. I have looked at the instructions for the so called warbirds in the .60 size. Nowhere does the instruction manual even mention adding glue to the known weak spots, nor do they mention fiberglassing the wing center sections. These are the guys who lose interest in this hobby when they suffer an immediate loss on the first or second flight due to structural failure. So knowing that these issues are there, and are real, how do we address them? Do we ignore them and hope that the distributor will have the manufacturer correct these issues, and continue the blanket condemnation of anyone who questions these issues, or do we demand that the purchaser get what they paid for? The selling price does not necessarialy seperate the junk from the good stuff.

Bill, AMA 4720

As I see it one person had a problem with their H9 P40, mine works great and is easy to fly and very sturdy.

Stickbuilder is just flaming everyone over ARF vs. Kit and it has no place in the discussion. Attitudes like Stickbuilder are why people think of Kit builders as SNOBS...towards people who do not do what they do...build your kit, let other people do what they want to do, stop lecturing the world on Kits vs ARFs...also that person that is building that ARF in China, Vietname, etc has more experience that most builders, they are working 8 hrs plus on an assembly line building airplanes and putting monokote on...that person might have covered thousands of planes by now, at least hundreds....

Come to think of it, this is the ARF OR RTF forum, not KIT building...

Why not come up with a duke it out ARF vs. KIT forum or ARF VS. KIT CAGE MATCH! and everyone can go in there to trash each other?[:-]

[>:]Yeah, Yeah, Cage match, that's the ticket. Let's get it set up &maybe go for pay-per-view. We could make millions!!! We could buy all the RTF-ARF- kits we want. When people want to argue we will be on thier side no matter what !!!!

Yeah, Cage Match with Weapons...Fight to the Death! Winner take all!

HBO, Showtime, Pay Per View...I can see it now!