Hi all,

What company/make of electric ARF kits is generally considered to be the best in terms of quality of build/parts etc ?

Are there any a beginner should be wary of ?

Thanks,
ants.

I've had good luck with the Hanger 9 planes from Horizon

Look at the Hobby Zone, Park Zone, & Eflite planes on the right

http://www.horizonhobby.com/RC/Default.asp

There are a lot of quality products out there. Great Planes, Sig, Hangar-9, World Models and many others. I imagine there are a few over on your side of the Atlantic too that we may not see here. Just try to avoid companies with poor support and deals that sound too good to be true (because they usually are).

I didn't notice that you were on the other side of the pond.

Graupner is #1
http://www.graupner.de/de/

Greenmodels or Maxford are also excellent

So is Cermark

So far, Hanger 9 is the best. I'm trying out the new Kyosho, people tell me the quality is like the Hanger 9. One thing I've learned over the years of building ARF aircraft is some kits are better than others. You might get a fantastic plane from... let's say Great Planes. The next Great Planes you buy that might be a (different model) nightmare.

What I do is I read the Reveiws at RCU, then I look for the build forum of that plane you are interested in. If you see someone having a SMALL problem with something, then THAT is my warning that the plane might be more advanced to build than my building experience. It all depends what the problem is.

There was a problem of the Cowel fit with the Hanger 9 Fokker DVII, but I managed to make it fit without butchering the plane. Don't be afraid to ask questions here if you run into a problem. A few gave me idea's on what to do... to solve the Cowl problem.

I like to say I'm a good builder... but then I get a ARF that's so bad I have to humble myself and say "I'm a Lower Intermediate Builder." I personally can't go buy a plane by what the factory states for a skill level. There job is to sell a product... right?

Hope I helped.

I bought 4 Hanger 9 Ultra Stick 40's over the years - On one of them the the fuselage wasn't square at the wing mount area. I got the wing square and the plane flies fine.

Thanks a lot guys, really helped a lot, as so many makes to choose from for someone new.

Will check out all your recommendations.

ants.

The kit builders would say that if you put together ARF's you are NOT a "builder", merely an assembler... I seen this on many threads here...

As such there are indeed varying levels of experience, and some ARFs are best tackled by people with other ARFs under their belts.
Though by your sixth ARF you should be able to tackle most.

Best quality - Premium

Hangar 9
Sebart

Best quality - Average price

World Models

Best Quality - Budget

Blackhorse
Seagull

I mostly agree with this list. I was impressed with the quality of my SebArt Sukhoi 30. The quality was better than my three H9 planes and all of my other ARF's. It was also the first time I used all the stock hardware in an ARF. My Ultra Stick 40 also had issues including a lack of glue on the firewall. Luckily, it seperated before I ever flew the plane and it still flies today. I also still have my original H9 trainer.

I vote for KMP, ESM, YT international (all the same)
Instructions are not so great, but the planes are beautifull.

Plopes ... KMP PC21? Its arriving to one of the LHS in 2 weeks and I can't wait to see it!