RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

OK Alex since your online. Where is the Stuka! Why it is the only model no one wants to sell and only I want to buy...:D

I want a Stuka!!!!!

Cheers......

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

You just have to build it... :)
I personaly have not seen many ARF out there.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

I have ordered a model from Alex, and although I have not seen it debited to my account yet, I have had some responses from Alex via email. I am really looking forward to receiving my 50 Corsair. I live in Dubai so I can foresee some shipping troubles, but hopefully I will at least get something I can fly in the future!

Seems like there are more 'happy' customers than 'unhappy' ones. I agree with the comment made by someone earlier, sometimes there are customers whose custome we could all do without, I for one have dismissed potential business, at the risk of bad publicity, in order to avoid dealing with some negative customer attitude.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Maybe this will help refresh your memory!
john


>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
>> Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2005 10:47 AM
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: broken plane
>>
>> I dont know weather you remember me. I purchased one of your 300s on
>> ebay.
>> I bought it around 4-28-05. Yesterday I took it up for the first time.
>> It
>> flew great for about 5 minutes, then it made a funny sound and the
>> whole firewall came out of the plane. To make a long story short,
>> plane is a complete loss, found engine and servos, but plane is a loss.
>> Is there any thing that you can do to help me on this issue?
>> jshipatbeck
>> thankyou john
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Hi John,
Thank you for refreshing my memory.
From comunication below you can see we have tried to help you.
Perhaps little more cooperation could have helped in this matter. We did not receive pictures, firewall or the plane to verify the problem.
I stated clearly why it is needed.

Please read from bottom up.
Thanks.


From: AKM [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 7:17 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: broken plane


Hi john,
To be able to help you,
I need either pictures or the whole plane.
The reason for it is that I have to submit something to the manufacturer.
Pictures with your firewall with engine just as it came of the plane.
I also need to see what engine you have used.
Please help me out here.
Thanks.




Alex @ AKM

AK Models
1601 Wetherby Drive,
Iowa City, IA 52240
http://ak-models.com/
Download Our Catalog here.



-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 1:34 AM
To: AKM
Subject: RE: broken plane

Can not find digital camera. Have better idea. As a show of good faith, if you will pay the postage, I will send you the actual "firewall". Then you can see for yourself that two sides of the firewall have, had no adhesive ever on them. As you would stand behind the plane the right side and the bottom left and middle were "never" glued.

I know that when you buy things on ebay you just take your chances, and I do commend you on even responding to any of my emails. (there are people who would not) So if this is just my bad luck, let me know and I will go on. It is just so obvious what happend.

Let me know if you think there is anything that you are willing to do.
Life will go on either way.
have a good day
john in missouri
.
> Can you send me a clear picture from few angles? Just as you have it now.
>
>
>
> Alex @ AKM
>
> AK Models
> 1601 Wetherby Drive,
> Iowa City, IA 52240
> http://ak-models.com/
> Download Our Catalog here.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2005 11:47 AM
> To: AKM
> Subject: RE: broken plane
>
> It was clearly manufacturer defect. the fire wall just came undone
> all around the out side. glue was not any good. sorry I did not make
> that clear.
> john
>
>
>> Hi John,
>> I am afraid I can not help you much here.
>> There are way too many things that could have went wrong in flight.
>> If it was clear manufacturer defect I could see what I could do.
>>
>> Alex @ AKM
>>
>> AK Models
>> 1601 Wetherby Drive,
>> Iowa City, IA 52240
>> http://ak-models.com/
>> Download Our Catalog here.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
>> Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2005 10:47 AM
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: broken plane
>>
>> I dont know weather you remember me. I purchased one of your 300s on
>> ebay.
>> I bought it around 4-28-05. Yesterday I took it up for the first time.
>> It
>> flew great for about 5 minutes, then it made a funny sound and the
>> whole firewall came out of the plane. To make a long story short,
>> plane is a complete loss, found engine and servos, but plane is a loss.
>> Is there any thing that you can do to help me on this issue?
>> jshipatbeck
>> thankyou john

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

It is the pilot's responsibility to make sure thier plane is flightworthy. You should check all glue joints and reinforce them if nescesary during assembly.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

oceansfiftyseven is correct "pilot's responsibility to make sure thier plane is flightworthy" It dosent require 30 days of waiting and five e-mails.
Like with all of life, if I knew then what I know now.
john

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Hi jship,
Please read all e-mails,
Witch part of the service was UGLY?

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Clearly GOOD.

I am from Spain and have already bought four planes from AKM. Good and fast service, always got response to my emails. Another member of my local club has also bought a plane and received it OK. I needed some paperwork to clear import duties and was sent to me in minutes.

Communication has been always good and requests answered.

Now, something to improve, confirmation of shipping, this, for international orders, is important, shipping time to Spain is almost two weeks, so it is important to receive this confirmation.

Keep trying hard!

Juanjo

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Well, finally got around to send an e-mail about my screwed up ignition to AK-Models. He was super quick to respond, but haven’t heard back from him. I do however remember when I purchased the SPE 40cc that they had fast shipping with tracking numbers and fast replies to my e-mails. On the other hand, the ignition on my engine is a POS. Not sure what he will do from here, still waiting. Overall, happy customer so far.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Get ready for a lot of TALK. He is big on B.S. Maybe the president is responsible?
john

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

I am sure your right jship. He was real quick to respond to my e-mail, but once I replied with more details, I got nothing back. It really sucks because I don’t feel comfortable enough to fly this plane with out it being a 100% and now I have to fork out more money of my own to fix it. I have put way to much money into this bird to just take my chances. Oh well, life is all about taking chances, but I wont be shopping there again, FOR SURE. To bad cause I was real interested in his new Yak-54 50cc. [:o]

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

You must be mad because I did not send you new plane just based on what you told us.
You did not provided anything we asked for, how do we know what was wrong with the plane?

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

We did reply to your e-mail last night, did you receive it?


From: AKM
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:26 PM
To: XXXXXXX
Subject: RE: SPE 40cc engine


Hi Drew,
Yes, BCMA Engines sell this modules as an up-grade to the engines, I believe they are $85.00 or something like that.
I think BCMA also replaces carbs on some of their their engines and adds velocity stacks to make them run better.
We sold this engine straight as it comes from manufacturer, no upgrades.

I am not an expert on gas engines, but have been around some and they all pop irregularly at low RPM even 4 stroke engines do that.
CDI auto advance ignition must be better over all for all range of RPM, but I do not think ignition that you have is bad, it is not as advanced as the up-graded version is.
If your engine runs reliably, I would not think ignition is bad.

Let me know if you had other problems like continuous spark or quit all together.

Alex @ AKM
AK Models
1458 Wetherby Drive,
Iowa City, IA 52240
http://ak-models.com/





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: XXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 1:32 PM
To: AKM
Subject: RE: SPE 40cc engine


Hello Alex,
The problem is a popping noise at low RPM range every two or three seconds, but goes away at full throttle. I have checked the timing and adjusted the carburetor every which way and replaced all fuel lines, the tank, and spark plug, still does it. I have talked with a lot of people with these engines and they have had the same issues with this ignition. Once they replaced it with the CDI auto advance ignition, problem solved.

Drew



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: AKM [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 1:24 PM
To: Drew Appleby
Subject: RE: SPE 40cc engine


Hi Drew,
What kind of problems do you have with your ignition?

Alex @ AKM

AK Models
1458 Wetherby Drive,
Iowa City, IA 52240
http://ak-models.com/





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: XXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 1:05 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: SPE 40cc engine


Hello,
I recently bought a SPE 40cc airplane engine from your site on 10/16/2006 and have had a problem with the ignition. Everything else is great, but after researching online found out that the stock ignition that comes with these SPE 40 engines are bad. The item showed to have a two year warranty on your site. I was wondering where I go from here on getting the ignition replaced. I have attached my pay pal e-mail to verify my payment to you for this engine. Please let me know what to do.

Thanks,
Drew

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Thanks Alex, I got your e-mail about 20min ago. Was not last night, but thats ok. I will keep running this engine and see what happens, but if it continues to get worse, we need to work something out. $85.00 is not much for some people, but is for me. Thanks

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

gapple12

You might try adjusting the LS needle. What you are describing is a symptom of improper LS needle setting. Or it could be something else, but might be worth a try to check it. I don't have this engine, but I do have a G38 that sometimes does that. Mine is on mag ignition, so the problem I have seen is fuel related, not ignition related. I hope you get your engine running to your satisfaction.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Thanks Jim Dines, I have turned the low speed every which way until it would not run. After every turn I would rev it up and back down to recheck, still the miss fire noise. It does not seem to lose power when everything is tuned right, so I will fly her anyways. Might just need more break in. I have had about 3/4 of a gallon threw it. I do however have a question. When adding the oil to a gallon of gas, do you fill the tank to the full gallon, or minus the amount of oil? Thanks for your help

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

I put the oil in the empty gas container, then put in 1 gallon of gas, so the filling action helps mix the oil into it.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

gapple12-

It sounds as though you have limited experience. Most people do blame the ignition first. "Well it's getting fuel. . . gotta be the timing" This is definitely a fuel problem. Two-strokes do not have cams and do not require timing advance curves the way you would in a four stroke. If you had popping at the bottom end, you would have popping at the top end if it was ignition. Because you have popping at the bottom end only, and what i have read not during throttle transition, lets take a look at you setup. Is the engine mounted inverted and where is the carb in reference to the fuel tank. Does the engine run for a while at idle and then it starts popping. The pricier ignitions do add some "timing curve" but if the engine is tuned correctly, this is not needed. One question what altitude do you fly at? Higher elevations sometimes do not create the proper venturi effect at low RPM due to lack of density. Just a thought.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Yes the engine is inverted and the carb is at the same level as the tank. The popping or sounds more like a misfire starts right away. It does this till about 3/4 throttle. Could this be cause my mixture is wrong. I remember going by what the oil bottle said, but could this cause a rough low end? I am in Texas and sea level I believe. Thanks for you help.

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

With a gaser it does not make any differance were the carb is in reference to the fuel tank.
With a gaser it does not make any differance mounted inverted.
john

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Check out this web sight www.brillelli.com

He will be more than glad to help you with you problem engine. With out any B.S

This guy is for real!!! http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=688

He dosent care were you bought it.

I have His engines. They are great and the service is to. You will not be dissapointed.

john

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

AGAIN GOOD.

I just received today in perfect shape my GILES 202-50 from AK. I ordered it on January 11th and received today Jan 25th, normal transit time to Spain.

Also again the only problem, having two weeks shipping time would be very nice to have a shipping confirmation, my experience anyway is that shipping is only 1 day after order.

Only good experiences with this shop, I would like AK to enhance the catalog, not all RCshops ship international. Some collegues from my local flying club are ordering and also satisfied.

Good flights!!!

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Just like to report my recent experience with Alex from Ak-Models, I purchased a super chipmunk 120, upon opening the box my canopy was broken. My previous experience with CMP products had been with nitroplanes, so when I saw the canopy all of these nightmare ran through my mind. From my previous experience no one would answer the phone, and it would take weeks to get someone to address my emails. With this in mind I looked up the webpage for AK-Models, I was happy to see a phone and email contact, I was even more surprised when I called the number and got Alex on the second ring. I explained the problem, took a few pictures and received a new canopy 5 days later. I am totally impressed with the way Alex handled my problem, I am saying goodbye to nitroplanes and hello AK-Models. Thanks Alex I will certainly buy from you again.
Lou

RE: AK-Models GOOD? BAD? UGLY?
 

Just received my P51, 140 size from AK Models. The model itself is very-very nice and I will have a ball detailing it out. The time from when my order was placed until delivery was VERY short and it was double boxed. The only thing that was different from most other ARF's I've built was that this one did not have a instructional book. Instead it had a black and white blueprint/schematic from which you take your cues. Anyone with any building experiance should have no problem, I kind of like that approach. I would say Alex is going the "extra mile"to make his customers happy. Would I buy another AK Model.......you bet!!!!!:D
Joe