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Giantscaleairplaines.com
Has anyone had any experience eith this companys products?
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Giantscaleairplaines.com
I've talked to or read about many of their planes. Of all the comments I've heard, one person said he had a positive experience. Here's a Google search:
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_q...s.rc.air&hl=en -Ben |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
Go to any helicopter forum and post the same question about HHI (Hobbies & Helis International); then sit back and watch the fur fly.
Or, better yet, just ask if anyone knows Irwin? You'll get an earful. The same guy that runs this infamous place is behind GSP.com. He is THE most, shall we say, "controversial", vendor in the model helicopter industry. Sounds like he is spreading his charm and talents to the big plank field. "Caveat Emptor", pilotrc. There are two kinds of customers who continue to deal with this guy; those who have been hosed, and those who will be. Steve |
GSP
I purchased 2 planes from this company this spring. The .60 Extra 300 and the .40 P-47.
They are not worth the money - they are built and covered very cheaply. They fly pretty good though, once you get them together. They don't include fuel tanks, wheels, etc. and have really cheap hardware and terrible instructions. The parts don't fit well together and the covering comes off after the first couple flights. In my opinion, they are $79.00 arfs not $200 and $250.00. |
GSP
I had a pleasant experience with their 90" span Staudacher ARC. From what I hear, the Staudacher is one of their few quality planes. There have been a lot of complaints about their ARF's. If you're looking for a quality ARF, check out any of the World Models planes. They make some of the best arf's on the market.
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GSP Arf's....
I think there are two distinct series of ARF's from them, the giant ones and the smaller ones.
I have the 55" P47 and I like it very much indeed. Except for weak retract mounts(par for the course for arfs!) it is a great model, flies wonderfully, and was a tremendous value for $170. As far as service goes, they charged me $30 for shipping and it arrived the next day. No complaints. As far as Irving Sinar goes...I would take anything you read on the net with a grain of salt. Really. Like Sal DeFrancisco of Northeast Sailplanes, people just love to pick on him. People love to slag off on people on the net. The larger ARF's may be made from a different factory, so I cannot speak about them, but the smaller series are all very nice. |
quality...
Oh, and my experience was very different from wombat's....my covering has not come off after some fifty flights, nor has the hardware been a problem, nor did I think it was cheaply constructed, nor did I have any problem with the instructions or the fit of any parts. Two evenings and it was in the air, and it flies up a storm.
Saito 56, Spring air retracts, six pounds exactly. |
Giant Scale Planes
As a follow up to my previous post, I have found some of my old reviews on these planes and have listed them below. I don't know if they revised the planes since this spring but these are some of the problems I experienced with their planes:
.40 P-47: 1. The instructions were terrible - a few drawings and that is it. They were of no use at all. 2. The fiberglass parts were thin and cracked very easily - also there was a big ugly seam in the cowl. 3. The paint on the fiberglass body and cowl was not very good. The silver was blotchy and the green had chips on the edges. 4. The hardware was cheap - all the screws stripped out and the pushrods were softer than lead. Not to mention they were all metric - so standard clevises didn't fit anyway. 5. The aileron servo covers/holder were made from abs plastic - I replaced them with wood. They also did not provide any solid material to screw them into - just thin balsa sheeting. I cut away under the sheeting and added plywood pieces. 6. The retract area was not large enough for Dave Brown retracts. I had to cut all the wood out and redo the retract area in order for them to fit. Also, the wheel covers provided were white abs plastic. I reinforced them with fiberglass and painted them silver to match the plane. 7. Mounting the wing required you to drill a hole in the wing for the dowel - which was very difficult because it came to a point in the center. The wing is foam so there is not much support for the dowel. I enlarged the hole to 2x the size and filled it in with epoxy. 8. There is a wood brace in the middle of the fuse - where the control rods are supposed to go - I had to cut away most of it so the rudder and elevator could operate properly. 9. They give you a wood piece to glue into the vertical stab so you can mount the rudder (they left out the hinges btw) but they didn't give you any covering to seal the wood which didn't fit anyway. Luckily I had some silver monokote laying around. I also had to cut the hinge slots for the rudder. 10. The covering on the wings and tail had to be re-ironed down - it was not sticking at all. 11. The canopy is made from some cheap semi-transparent material - it looks cloudy. 12. Glueing the horizontal stab was quite a job - I had to sand about 1/8" off one side to get the stab straight - which left a huge gap on the top. I used epoxy to seal it all and it was a mess. 13. The wing doesn't fit in the saddle at all - I used foam tape to attempt a seal but there is still a gap. The fuse is fiberglass so I don't know what to do at this point. 14. The tailwheel is cheap, I replaced it with a bolt on type which was easy to do because the tail was open in the back. 15. And finally, the stickers are computer generated - it looks like they used a 50 dpi ink jet to print them - they are horrible! Extra 300 .60: 1. The servo tray covers on the wings do not look or fit very good - they are covered in white and the rest of the wing is multi-colored. 2. The covering does not stick very well at all from the factory. I had to re-iron the entire plane. 3. A lot of sawdust inside the wing - I took an air compressor and blew most of it out. 4. The wing does not fit the saddle at all - there is about 1/4" gap all over. I cut the fuse away and got a tight fit on the wing, recovered the area and added foam tape. 5. Firewall, wing bolt plate and other wood did not appear to be glued very well. 6. No pull-pull rudder setup 7. Kit did not include wheels, quality pushrods, spinner, or fuel tank. 8. Instructions consisted of a booklet with only vague pictures and arrows. 9. Cowl and wheel pants are painted one color while the rest of the plane is 3 colors. 10. Stupid tail mounting - hard to position and glue correctly. After a few flights, I noticed the elevator was flexing and causing the plane to snap because it was held together with a cheap piece of wire and the servo was only connected to one side. I have about 10 flights on both planes and the trim covering has peeled up and will not stick back down. The fiberglass parts have hairline cracks. Perhaps my expectations are higher for arfs, but these are not even in the same ballpark with Yellow Aircraft, World Models or the Great Planes arfs that I have assembled. |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
<<People love to slag off on people on the net...>>
Oh; so I suppose all these guys who claim rude treatment, bad service, cheap products- all these guys just decided to pick one poor hapless slob and "slag off" on him? Steve |
GSP Arf's....
[QUOTE]Originally posted by w0mbat
[B]As a follow up to my previous post, I have found some of my old reviews on these planes and have listed them below. I don't know if they revised the planes since this spring but these are some of the problems I experienced with their planes: .40 P-47: 1. The instructions were terrible - a few drawings and that is it. They were of no use at all. -They were adequate for me. Not much to building this one. 2. The fiberglass parts were thin and cracked very easily - also there was a big ugly seam in the cowl. -The glasswork on mine was VERY nice. And light. 3. The paint on the fiberglass body and cowl was not very good. The silver was blotchy and the green had chips on the edges. -I did not have those problems. And the paintwork lined up neatly from the fuse to the cowl. 4. The hardware was cheap - all the screws stripped out and the pushrods were softer than lead. Not to mention they were all metric - so standard clevises didn't fit anyway. -No problems with the hardware. I did replace the wing bolts with US ones, though, as I do not have any spare metric ones if I lost one. Good practice. But...I used all the kit hardware, otherwise, with no problems. 5. The aileron servo covers/holder were made from abs plastic - I replaced them with wood. They also did not provide any solid material to screw them into - just thin balsa sheeting. I cut away under the sheeting and added plywood pieces. -I used them as is. I put a drop of odorless CA into each screw hole and have had no problems. Ply pieces would be better, if you plan on removing the servos often. The strength of the ABS servo covers is not an issue. I do wish they were prepainted in silver, though. 6. The retract area was not large enough for Dave Brown retracts. I had to cut all the wood out and redo the retract area in order for them to fit. Also, the wheel covers provided were white abs plastic. I reinforced them with fiberglass and painted them silver to match the plane. I used springairs. Like most ARF's, I found the retract mounts weak, especially since I fly from grass. I soaked everything in thin CA, which helps only a little. If I did it all over, I would take an extra few hours to really beef this area up, and find some matching covering to cover up the reinforcement. I did not use the plastic wheel well covers, or the wooden gear doors. 7. Mounting the wing required you to drill a hole in the wing for the dowel - which was very difficult because it came to a point in the center. The wing is foam so there is not much support for the dowel. I enlarged the hole to 2x the size and filled it in with epoxy. -I did not have a problem there. If I recall correctly, this kit had an unusual metal dowel instead of a wooden one. It worked. 8. There is a wood brace in the middle of the fuse - where the control rods are supposed to go - I had to cut away most of it so the rudder and elevator could operate properly. -I did not have that problem. 9. They give you a wood piece to glue into the vertical stab so you can mount the rudder (they left out the hinges btw) but they didn't give you any covering to seal the wood which didn't fit -Mine fit. anyway. Luckily I had some silver monokote laying around. -I left mine bare. The rudder covers it. I also had to cut the hinge slots for the rudder. -Yes, you have to cut the hinge slots for the rudder. 10. The covering on the wings and tail had to be re-ironed down - it was not sticking at all. -Mine did not have that problem. 11. The canopy is made from some cheap semi-transparent material - it looks cloudy. -My canopy was fine. Fit well, too. I liked the indentation molded into the fuse for it. 12. Glueing the horizontal stab was quite a job - I had to sand about 1/8" off one side to get the stab straight - which left a huge gap on the top. I used epoxy to seal it all and it was a mess. -Mine fit perfectly. 13. The wing doesn't fit in the saddle at all - I used foam tape to attempt a seal but there is still a gap. The fuse is fiberglass so I don't know what to do at this point. Mine fit perfectly. 14. The tailwheel is cheap, I replaced it with a bolt on type which was easy to do because the tail was open in the back. -I used the stock one with no problem. 15. And finally, the stickers are computer generated - it looks like they used a 50 dpi ink jet to print them - they are horrible! -I did not use them. I did not look to closely at them, but they did not look great. "Perhaps my expectations are higher for arfs," Maybe... but these are not even in the same ballpark with Yellow Aircraft, Heck, no. But the Yellow Aircraft ones cost a LOT more. I like this plane. I did not have the same experience as you. I would recommend it. |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
Originally posted by Steve Campbell <<People love to slag off on people on the net...>> Oh; so I suppose all these guys who claim rude treatment, bad service, cheap products- all these guys just decided to pick one poor hapless slob and "slag off" on him? Steve Have YOU ever bought anything from HHI? Stick to your own experiences, that should be enough. |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
<<Have YOU ever bought anything from HHI?>>
EasyTiger, before you run so quickly to Irwin's defense, perhaps YOU should take a look at some of the heli forums like Rotory.com, RunRyder.com, and do a search on HHI. I too know Cousin Irwin personally. I bought a lot of stuff from him. I have more first-hand experience with him than you can imagine. I also know a lot of things about him that generally don't see the light of day. For instance, check out HHI's ads in helicopter or general R/C magazines. The word Shuttle, in reference to the Hirobo product, is spelled Shu**le. Now, I wonder why that is? Why don't you ask him? And don't take "legal concerns" for an answer. "Legal problems" is more correct... EasyTiger, with all due respect, you are defending someone that you really have no clue about. But that's okay, and your concern. Just remember what my post above said about the two kinds of Irwin's customers. Have a large day. Steve |
Defending Irwin...
I'm not going to defend Irwin. All I can defend is this one P47 model. Which is nice! I know he does not manufacture it.
It looks to be a product of AMD in Hong Kong, I'm not sure. It also looks to be the same line that is distributed by Lanier. Let's leave it at that. I dunno about HHI or anything else, only that I am happy with my Jug. |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
Giant scale planes, can't say anything about the product BUT
Sooner or later you will have to deal with "Irwin", let me tell you Irwin will probably win. This come from long time experience, going back to when He was in NJ. All I can say about Irwin is That I'd bet Will Rogers never met Him. The older guys should know what I'm talking about. |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
Guys,I'm going to leave this for now until the correct course of action is decided,but there are some rules in the works,very lenient ones,but one does pertain to personal attacks on a company or individual.This post is starting to go that way.I just dont want to this turn into a war of words.
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OK ----
OK guys,
You are all correct in your opinions. Steve, I know you are very well versed on HHI and on Irwin. I have had a lot of dealings with him when I was flying helis and I have helped several people with his GS planes also. Most of what you say is very valid and many people have had bad experiences with his company. BUT, on the other hand many people have a good relationship with Irwin. That is just business and chemistry. Both sides need to be heard. They are voicing experiences not making judgements. The judgement is for the originator of the post to make. Now, lets slow down a bit and do our best to not take this to a personal level. The fellow asked a good question and we should all be free to answer it to the best of our ability but lets also be tactful. Non of us are right and non of us are wrong in sharing our thoughts. Just stay on topic please. The fellow asked for help. He deserves to hear all sides. Be tactful. Bean 3DRC - Moderator at large |
Giantscaleairplaines.com
Thats my feeling too,I didnt want to make anyone feel I was coming down on them,I just didnt want to see this turn into an all bashing.Keep up the spirited discussion guys,it is coming in pretty handy as I was considering the Christen Eagle they have.
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gsp
I was also thinking about purchasing the Christen Eagle. I have heard some good things about their giant scale ARC planes but after seeing the 2 smaller ones I purchased, I will steer clear for a while! Besides, it seems a little high priced to me.
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Giantscaleairplaines.com
Tactful?? When talking about Irwin????? Major oxymoron, Bean...<G>
But I hear you; I'll zip my lip. Steve |
YELLOW AIRCRAFT
I know Yellow is expensive, and good airplanes..I have e-mailed them 2 times for prices...NO response...I guess they have all the business they need!
5:confused: |
YELLOW PRICES
Fivesquare,
down boy, : ) , if you tried to call since xmas. eve. yellow is closed for the holladays, the owner is taking a well deserved vacation and will be open on the 2nd. , but i can answer any prices or questions you have about any of the kits ! . if you want to email me offline or reply here, ( up to you ) i can likely help you . regards, scott reed yellow a/c factory rep |
GSP Arf's....
The LARGER GSP planes, the ARC ones, come from a different factory than the smaller ones, and any info about the little ones does not pertain to the large ones. Ask around the giant scale crowd about the big ones.
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Zip
Steve,
no reason to zip... lets just stay on topic and make sure that we don't deviate into the black abyse.... <VBG> |
GSA 540 T
I have one right here. Other than the covering, and the hatch (it is in front of the canopy - not really bad - just different), it looks like a very nicely built airframe. It is light. Now granted, if i was building it from sratch, I would have used different wood in areas, but, that is the world of ARF's. Now, I bought this used, and I am told it is one of the "older" ones, and the better built ones. But, judging from what I have in front of me, I would recommend this plane to anyone. Everything that I've heard/read about GSA is "Bad covering, bad hardware, but great flying planes.)
YMMV. Pug |
Giant scale Airplanes
OK-OK-OK I get the message. Thanks for your comments about giant scale airplanes.com Jim /Pilotrc
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