Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Hello Modelers,

I know I may be late in the game but, I am looking for some input on the ARF's at the website nitroplanes.com It seems to be pretty cheap. I am not looking for cheap, I just cannot find the plane I want anywhere else. I am looking for a Pitts and this site seems to be the only one to carry an ARF. Does anyone know if the quality of the products are decent. If you could let me know I would greatly appreciate it.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/pispch4042ar.html

Andrew

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Their covering is crap, their support is non-existent, and replacement parts are a needle in a haystack. The directions are better left in the trash (wrapped around the horrible hardware included in the package).

If you want a cool airframe to make into a project, figure the directions out for yourself and replace 90% of the hardware, and not care about gluing the covering down once a week, then go for it!

*there are always exceptions.

I will help you find a Pitts from a better vendor;)

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Kyosho makes some pretty nice stuff:

http://hobbytrains.com/detail.asp?Pr...=KYOSHO_11073B

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Thank you very much Joe, I really appreciate it. If you have some other sites where I can get planes with some cool air frames let me know. I kinda get tired of the standard Tower and Horizon.

Andrew

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

I have built several Nitro Plane models. As with many Chinese ARFs these days, They have there issues, but........... They do have a support thread on RCU (never had to use it), and the prices are very reasonable as you have seen.

Now, as for the planes, yes, the manuals are almost worthless, yet I have gotten some control throw and CG info from them that was helpful. Their covering is not crap IMO, in general. As he said, there may be exceptions, but the ones I have built were good. Actually, less than the normal re shrinking, on mine anyway. The material can be fixed with covering my local HS usually has. I always seal all the edges down on any ARF I build, whatever the brand. So continual gluing I just don't have to do, on any ARF. The airframes are well designed with interlocking parts that are laser cut as with any ARF these days. The fiberglass parts fit well and the paint matches the covering. Clear parts like canopies are as good as anybody elses. And if they need paint on them, they are painted. Most hardware IS crap, but that is almost a trademark of these inexpensive imports. Just replace the stuff you need to. No big deal to me.

I know guys that use the oem stuff and have no problems. They are equipped with CA hinges. I have used them and not used them and either way had no problems. I always seal all the surface gaps with clear Ultracote anyway. Add some support or glue to the gear mounts and fire wall as with any ARF.

As with any airplane, if you intend to overpower it, as many of us do, take a look at beefing up what you need to or you will likely be disappointed.

Conclusion, If you see something you like, and you know your way around an airplane, and are willing to do what it takes to do it right without cutting corners, then you will save some money with their planes and have a good flyer.

Happy landings:D.

P.S. The P-38 in my avitar is one of theirs. I did a lot of work to it to make it more scale, but at 90" it was the best plane of its size out there as a place to start for my project, and it was but a fraction in cost of the competition. It looks great, and it is among the best flying P-38s out there at any price. I had two engine failures early on, one about 8 minutes in on the maiden no less, and the second right after take off, and both times I brought her home safely on one engine. This is one great flying P-38.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Yeah, quite a few of the planes on nitro are BUILDERS ARFS !

If you go in knowing they will need attention and possibly more... you won't be surprised. I have bought from them before and wasn't dissapointed. But many are, especially after comparing to other arf providers. It can be a bit dicey, its a good idea to ask around like you are doing..

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

That sums it up pretty good.

My Yak's covering looks great and hardly ever needs to be shrunk, however when it does shrink it pulls away from the edges, the color separates from the clear film, etc. The design was stolen from a top designer (with the instruction manual) so the airframe is great. Covering looks great but is crap, all the hardware had to be tossed (or cut off the plane and tossed), I can't get replacement landing gear (they sent a generic gear that wouldn't work) can't get a new cowl or canopy if I need it, etc. I definitely got a project, but I saved some money. I knew what I was getting into though, which made it OK. I wasn't at the stage of the game where I was ready to spend $450 on an airframe.

There are tons of places to get planes, depends on what you want. You talk to people and find new sites all the time. Or you can search by manufacturer. If you want bang for the buck with cool scale-like planes, Black Horse Models, Phoenix, and Seagull are all (pretty much the same) great companies where you will be impressed every time you open a new ARF.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Does anyone know of another distributor of CMP planes other than nitplanes? I'm interested in the 120 Corsair, but I want to purchase from a company with atleast some customer service.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Anyone familiar or own the nitroplanes Christen Eagle? It's a nice looking 1.20 size bipe to me and I'm interested.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

ohnoucdat, try AK models, or Quik Tech models

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Thanks prop wash, you wouldn't happen to have links to them would you?

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Quik Tech Hobby - http://www.quicktechhobby.com/
AK Models - http://ak-models.com/

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Thanks Asmurphy, question are they affiliated with nitplanes? I can't find 120 corsair on AK I'll have a look at Quik tech thanks again

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

AK is not with nitroplanes, don't know about quik tech, here's a link to ak's corsair, shows low stock so might have to contact him, it's where i bought mine

http://ak-models.com/mm5/merchant.mv...Code=GAS90_160

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

junk

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

I have (5) planes from them. They are what has been termed a builders AFR. The hardware is use able. I have used the stock stuff on (2) and replaced it all on (2), last one is still in the box.

Here are a few things that I have found putting these planes together. The plastic covering is like Tower cote, flite coat, econo cote, and other medium heat coverings. They call it China coat. It does tend to pull away from the edges. I learned to use Luster coat, clear, gloss over the covering. The painted planes and the plastic covered planes. It seal the edges and helps hold it down.

Hinges are hit and miss. I have (2) that use a cheap copy of Robart hinge points. One set is very brittle and the other is a lot softer. The others use CA hinges. I tossed the brittle set of hinges and used the soft set. Most landing gear wire is SOFT. I had to replace it on one plane. After 20 or so flights it was a total low rider. I have used the metal push rods that came with the planes. I did replace the plastic snap links with better ones. They did not fit tightly on the threaded end of the push rods.

As with EVERY ARF I have put together from all manufactures, I re-glue where it need or where I can get. I used epoxy and triangle stock on the firewalls, just give the air frame a good going over.

I have gotten everything I have ordered from Nitro planes. I have had an issue but John took care of it in 2 days. You can find him in the sub form under ARF's.

I like mine, but they do take a little tweaking to get right. They fly very well and have held up well too. They are worth the effort and time to get in the air.


Dru.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

I can agree with the consensus regarding Nitro Planes ARF quality. I'm puting together a Bobcat 50. On mine I am using the round CA hinges but using clear Monokote to seal all gaps and keep the flight surface attached if the hinges should fail. The twin rudders were wrinkled beyond saving. When heated the covering pulled away from the seams so they are getting recovered in Dove Gray Monokote. It doesnt match the gray on the plane but it's not obnoxious either. I was able to use a couple of the pushrods but they are pretty much junk. The clevis doesnt thread on the rod very well nor do the jam nuts. The fueltank stopper is too hard to seal well to the tank or around the brass tubing. The fuel line supplied for the clunk line tore while puting it on. With the exception of the rudders, all of my compliants are about the hardware. Oh, and the manual. Throw it away. Even the black and white photos are confusing. Overall I can't complain. It was $128 delivered to my door! Just know that its a builder's ARF just like others stated. There are no provisions for mounting the fueltank or the receiver or battery. You have to devise your own plates and platforms and such.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

I have bought two planes from them, one of which I have not yet assembled. On the one that I did assemble (50" Cub), my comments would very much mirror those above: poor quality hardware, not the best covering (but OK), and more work to put together than the regular ARF. As for the manual, in my case, the pictures actually showed a different Cub!

I broke the plastic cowl, and I have not been able to get a replacement from them (have been told it's on order for many months now.) With all that said, the model does fly well, so it's a decision you'll need to make. Good prices, but not the best quality and you may not be able to get replacement parts.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Not sure why anyone would buy junk because it cheap and then spend alot of money fixing it up. The old saying you get what you pay for. Just not my bag of tea in my opinion. Good luck all.

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

About a year ago I bought the 120 size Pitts with the radial cowl. It was JUNK. The fuselage was twisted about 3/8" at the tailpost. Totally unfixable. They offered to send me a new one if I paid the postage to send it back but looking at everything else I decided if I'm going to send it back I'll just get my money back. Still, I lost the freight charges back. No more Nitroplanes for me, can't afford the freight!

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

Well I think of it as framed, unglued ! :D

Bought a cheap little cloned Hellcat, spent a couple hours regluing to my taste..................mmmmmm doughnuts



Ended up with solid little plane for very little...

Keep your eyes open going in ! Read all the reviews you can find...get your buddy to test fly so you can't blame yourself ! :D

RE: Input on nitroplanes.com
 

As the saying goes, 'you get what you pay for'. So, for their cheap price, you give up usable hardware (most of us have this stuff laying around anyway), a usable manual (most of us know either how to build an ARF or how to find out how on the net), and true ARF out-of-the-box readiness (but we know by now what we need to do to these ARFs in the way of covering, glue, gear support, and so on), customer support (they have a thread but I don't see much support however, I have not used it and consider myself on my own going in), and replacement parts for the most part (here again, I don't worry about this so much as some do because I can fix just about anything I need to including glass parts).

Given all that, knowing at the outset what I have, I personally have built several of their planes and have not been unpleasantly surprised by any of them. In fact, paying a lot more at times for other planes, and then being disappointed by performance, durability, or quality, has happened far more often.

If you see one you like, do your homework, then go for it. Your odds are good, if you take the time to do it right.