Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

I just want to let all of the guys and gals of RC flight to not use these websites (same company). Customer support does not exist, and shipping charges are off the scale. Do not let the prices fool you, as you will pay about $40 in shipping. In comparison, I just bought TWO ARF kits from Tower Hobbies and shipping was $8.99 for everything. I have cancelled two orders just to have them shipped anyway weeks later after I asked to have them cancelled. These are not opinions, just facts. Buy at your own risk. Just a heads up people. We're all in this together.

PS I tried to be as nice as possible.

Blue skies and tailwinds,
Darin

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

We don't want tail-winds, we want mild steady winds right smack on the nose on landing!!! :D

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Hmmmm,
Landing the other direction turns them into headwinds. No gusts of course. They are my winds, so I can make rules like that.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

:) Yup.. you're right!! But, it's sailors that look for a good rear wind or a following sea.. :D

As for the content of your posting, some companies make money on shipping (that's not to justify that practice which I believe is kin to grand theft in some instances). As you said, they are the companies to avoid. And, that's why Tower is still in business. They are fair with their shipping. I ordered three things from them (Tower) one time, one item was back ordered. They shipped the two at one shipping charge and the third item, when it came in, at no shipping charges. That's why I keep going to them for my mail order business.

DS

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Ew, Tower Hobbies,[:'(] make sure you always buy a covering heat gun and iron with each airplane they sell [sm=confused.gif], and while you're at it, get a set of epoxy to strengthen the weaknesses they are known for. On the positive side of mail order China made stuff, try https://ak-models.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?, his shipping price is fantastic, and his planes are flawless in every way, and I get my shipments the same week I order, double boxed, the right way. He's also about 40% cheaper than Tower. His customer service is top notch. I only bought about a dozen planes from him this month and resold them at the local field. I'm sure he's busy now with more orders. Only thing that's unusual is the naming and color choices for these planes. For instance, his "trainer 65" isn't really a trainer at all, with a fully symmetrical wing and the longest fuselage in my garage to date. The wing has no dihedral. It could run like a pattern ship with a .91 or 1.20 on it! One local customer built his as a low wing conversion which was actually pretty easy to do. You can't complain about the prices and quality here, just the color scheme doesn't thrill me. I just ordered my fifth FONG. It flies fantastic. 3D for $54.95, $12.50 Priority Mail 2 day shipping! He's got 4 left, sorry I ordered so many...

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

You need to qualify that. Tower sells Sig, Goldberg, Great Planes, and others. I don't think they can be responsible for the contents of the box. Blame that on the manufacturer not the supplier. In other words, don't shoot the messenger.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Pilots want tailwinds more than headwinds CG. Tailwinds get you to your destination faster. You only spend a small portion of the trip taking off and landing at which time you choose to land into the wind (if able). There are some airports that don't give you an option. One way in and one way out.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

OK, read all the RCU forums on covering issues, then go on my $80,000 purchase orders from them in the last three years just on ARFs from Tower Hobbies, Hobbico, and Great Planes and you will understand it's a chronic problem. The Phoenix models don't use Monokote, it's some sticky stuff that shrinks too fast from mild heat and it hard to match should you need to repair it. It doesn't stick well after a few flights either. I've sold over 500 of these ARFs and generally have had nothing but complaints about the covering from MOST of these products after a handful of flights. Another words, they suck. Read how the control surfaces fall off on Phoenix in spite of being pinned. Read how some are completely under rated for power. How many cringe at the thought of a Dazzler on breaking in two on a gentle landing? They are plagued with problems. Check out the LONG scratch and dent list of returns and incomplete kits they sell. Read how people automatically toss the hardware out because it's junk. It's almost accepted practice to build up firewalls and landing gears on these. RC Report routinely shoots down the structural problems of many reviewed models they test.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Hey.. no arguement from me on some of your points. My only issue here is that Tower ships out what they get. If you want better results, go to your LHS and see if they can improve that ratio. So far, I've had no problems at all with Tower. In fact, one time I ordered 6 servo's from them. They accidentally shipped me 5 of one kind and one of another. I called them, they told me to keep the wrong one and they would immediately send me the correct one. So, I was ahead one servo on that deal, and it was not a $19.00 standard servo, either. Same thing happened with an engine. I ordered one part and somehow, I got an OS .25 in the mail. They said to keep the engine and sent me out what I had originally ordered, without shipping costs.

You decide what you want to decide. I buy from my LHS as well as Tower, Horizon, and others and have been completely satisfied. You can't blame them for changes in temperature and humidity when you get wrinkled covering on a model.

DS.

Bruce... large oops there.. yep, you're right.. except in landing, of course, (except those one way in and one way out strips with those huge mountains nearby..) which is where I was coming from.:D Oh Aircraft Carriers too.. ha.. oops.

DS.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Oh I agree they have good value on servos and blunder frequently on orders where they don't want to process manpower and paperwork restocking it. I ordered two drive washers to a .25 FX, and instead they sent me the whole engine in the box. They certainly didn't want me to keep $160 in engines.

Tower is just a distributor.

What they distribute in an ARF is specifically the issue I was talking about, not servos, or customer service decisions that makes paperwork less for them, and a one time advantage for you. They certainly compensate customers with give aways and their marketing is the key to their success.

Because you didn't see wrinkles and covering falling off out of a half a dozen kits or so (average hangar), doesn't mean it's not a defect coming out in great numbers...read the sad reviews and posts all over the internet about it. You'd have to put your head in the sand to deny they have got an assembly problem. For the money, it's ridiculous in my opinion to buy another ARF there, but I would take advantage of their servos. Those who research find hardware far cheaper elsewhere too. If you ever had to deal with Hobby Services from them on the Futaba products, you'd shudder at the games and rip off tactics they use. I dumped my Futaba equipment when I saw the workmanship and labor on a recent repair. Horizon Hobby is far superior in customer satisfaction in that regard. But I'm sure relaying these personal experiences doesn't really matter much. Everyone will continue to do as they do until they finally get the pinch to open their eyes and see what else is out there. It's certainly been a gradual change for me. Selling a U CAN DO 3D is so easy to do, but a FONG is like selling any other off brand name to brand name shoppers. Just because something isn't well known doesn't mean the quality isn't there, and that the value isn't excellent. It's trial and error.

Didn't you look yet at A-K models? The best kept secret stays that way a little longer I suppose.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

And I repeat.. and you said it.. Tower is just a distributor, as is your local hobby store.

DS.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Is that all was said? Only on RCU readers are lost after one point...

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Ok. Enough. You obviously want some sort of an argument from me. Sorry, but I've been civil and won't go any further.

Bye.

DS.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

??????

I'm not quite sure what you are trying to say here. Care to elaborate?? Because if you are looking for a knock down drag out arguement here, it's just not going to happen

Ken

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Was that where this was going? Incredibly presumptuous I think. It's apparent the relationship between RCU staff and Tower Hobbies would make biased remarks like these. I'm done here. Back to the marketplace where I belong. Try to read the thread subject again. It wasn't about tail winds...

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Contrary to what you may think, there is no "relationship" between RCU and Tower Hobbies, or any other manufacturer or distributor.

Ken

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Ah, Tower Hobbies catalog search field at the top left corner of this forum page is just a mirage then. :eek: if you accept their advertising, that brings in revenue for you. Such business relationships, to me anyway, shows you'll compromise the complete truth to make a few bucks.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Yes, RCU does receive advertising revenues from Tower Hobbies as well as other RC related business, but the money that comes in does not affect what happens in the discussion forums one bit. The monies that come in have not affect on "the truth" that is put out in these forums. I have been a moderator for more than 2 years now and I have never once be instructed to do anything other than moderate by the RCU Community Rules. We do not do anything special for anybody just because they are an advertiser. Just because we sell them advertising does not mean that we compromise the truth in any form or fashion.

Ken

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

This post originally started out as a complaint against Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com. I've purchased one plane from Raidentech, my order was processed and shipped very quickly, and my shipping charges were around $8. I got what I paid for and I was happy with the service.

As for Tower Hobbies, they are the gold standard for mail order/online hobby companies. God bless Tower Hobbies, they make all of us expect more from everyone else in the hobby industry.

As far as Nitroplanes.com, they actually work through RC Universe to provide customer service via the ARF forum. There is a subcategory under ARFs for Nitroplanes.com in particular where Nitroplanes.com reps try to answer questions and help with customer service issues.

If you wish to bash Tower Hobbies because an ARF that Hobbico didn't manufacture had its covering work loose while it was on a ship for a couple of months while travelling here from Vietnam or China, that is your preroggative.

If you want perfect covering every time, deal only with kits.

Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech are simply trying to carve out their own niche in this market. Tower Hobbies is simply trying to provide the widest selection of high quality and affordable hobby products to as many shoppers as they can, and RC Universe is simply providing an intellectual marketplace for hobby enthusiasts to exchange thoughts, opinions, and ideas.

Do business with whom you choose; but you should not be so quick to criticize others when you have no idea what kind of hard work and effort they're putting forth, nor what challenges or obstacles they are trying to overcome.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

I would like to know a little more about these 2 companies (Nitroplanes & AK-Models). I see that they have planes that I would like to try out....... How is the quality of the covering? Are they all covered with the stick-on stuff that Krosypal mentioned earlier? Already mentioned the shipping charge. So what else can you tell me about them?

Trevor

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

NITRO MODELS/NITRO PLANES seems quite interested in presenting good products.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4895412/tm.htm

Does any manufacturer ALWAYS hit that target? NO.

If you have a question about their covering, ask THEM in the above forum/thread.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Nitroplanes.com, Raidentech.com, and AK-Models all sell ARFs from a company called CMPro. They all sell other products, as well. CMPro ARFs are generally thought to be good values for the money, and user reviews for individual ARFs are available here on RC Universe. Nitroplanes.com also distributes its own line of ARFs that it sells directly. Raidentech.com also sells Nitroplanes.com ARFs. I don't believe that AK-Models resells Nitroplanes.com ARFs at this time; AK-Models has its own kits that it distributes, including the well known Simple Flyer kit made famous by the Real Flight simulator program.

The Nitroplanes.com ARFs are generally regarded as being nice airframes with decent covering, but they're often packaged with cheaper quality hardware and less-than-perfect instructions. Many experienced modellers buy their ARFs already knowing this. They replace the included hardware with DuBro pieces from their local hobby shop and they rely on their previous building experience to help them assemble their Nitroplanes.com ARF.

If you buy a CMPro ARF from any of these companies, you'll likely get a good plane for a good price, and you'll be happy. If you buy a Nitroplanes.com ARF from Nitroplanes.com or from Raidentech.com, you may need to put a little extra effort into getting quality results, but you will probably still be happy with the end result if you have the previous building experience to work through sketchy directions and substandard control rods and clevises.

A lot of other folks will have opinions on all three of these companies. Please search out these opinions before ordering an ARF to make sure that you know what you're getting and that you're experienced enough to turn a C+ quality ARF into an A quality R/C plane.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

You have to be very small minded to blame tower hobbies on defective arfs. They don't make a single item that they sell, they only distribute them. You say you've sold over 500 ARFS in the past, and, I assume, by 80,000 dollars in PO's over the past three years, Towr has been one of your suppliers for resale. If so, how would you like it if someone got on here and blamed you and your company for the defective products being shipped? That makes no sense at all. You didnt' make any of the products. nor did tower.

BTW, I like crosswinds the most. Nothing like a good challenge.

No dealings with Raidentech or Nitromodels. Sorry, I have nothing further to add to this post.

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

Thanks for the info.

Bruce, I know that I can ask THEM and I know where I can ask THEM. That's why I ask here.:eek: It's the old "if you want to know more about a chevy don't ask a ford dealer." I wanted non-biased opinions from people that have experience with both companies. Isn't that why this whole RCU forum exists? - So we don't have to rely on the manufacturers biased opinions when we buy?

RE: Nitroplanes.com and Raidentech.com
 

My point was that the mfg can tell you what was installed on the product such as Monokote, Ultrakote, sticky shelf paper or Sears paint. The RCU members can then tell you how it holds up. Use ALL available resources, don't ignore the one who SHOULD have actual facts at hand. Obviously they will be biased, DUHHH! Like you said, don't ask the Ford dealer where Chevy buys their bolts, they don't know.