FERNDALE AIR FORCE

I'm seriously thinking of buying some plantraco gear. My problem is that I don't know how well it works. Does anyone have any experience with this gear?

Mike Taylor

My Feedback: (1)

When it works, it works pretty well. Bud claims their customer service is great, but there are a number on very dissatisfied customer of their gear, me included. I got two systems and the second one had a dead channel (not that unusual). Because I had not opened the box until I was ready to install the gear, Bud said I had had it and abused it and wanted me to pay form repair.replacement and postage both ways. That sucked...

FERNDALE AIR FORCE

Mike, I sent them an email shortly after I asked the question about them. The person that responded was both dismissive"so the aero ace flies so what.." and unhelpful. If the gentleman that responded had taken a few minutes to review the threads he might have taken a different tone. But, he told me he hated the threads because people come up with theories about the physics of flight that aren't true. Since I'm the guy that came up with the stir stick mod for the aero ace that was like a stick in the eye.

I bought a GWS Slow Stick to learn three channel on. And once I'm comfortable with that I'll Buy the Nano Bipe. I don't understand plantracos problem. Tim

Neurotex

Thanks Tim, I needed a good laugh this morning.
He hates the threads because, "people come up with theories about the physics
of flight that aren't true." You gotta love it!

And yes, the aero ace does fly!

Mike Taylor

My Feedback: (1)

I think Bud hates the threads because he can't control what people say about his gear. He flamed me in public and made an enemy that knows how to nurse a grudge...

gfoveaux

I purchased Butterfly in April of 2006. Be aware that if your order is over $200 you will get a bill for $29 from a company that clears the import of the package from Canada through customs. My calls to Plantraco to complain that the website ordering is deceptive and miss leading fell on deaf ears. No mention is made of the extra shipping fees I would receive. Did not realize the Butterfly was coming from Canada and that my two calls to Plantraco cost me over $10 because the number is in Canada. Can provide documentation if requested. Buy elsewhere!

alpena aero

Hey....I'm on Plantraco's S____ list also, I bad mouth them on Wattflyer forum for not answering emai---still can't get email answers from them. Bought a 900 system almost 2 years ago and still haven't had a decent flight....Would like to go to bigger motor but can't find out what will work, other than buying and trying....Tried a M20 LV 4.2:1 but it browns out the receiver. Works great on Microbatics receiver. Oh well, A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE!!!

FERNDALE AIR FORCE

I'm building a cox micro warbird now, but I'm also thinking about a scaled down slow stick. I'm pleased that I held off from buy the plantraco gear. For the prices listed I can build out a couple of micros , Tim

packyj

The cox birds are a blast to fly. As far as weight on those we've got two flying over 6 ounces and even one 4 channel w/ 180 motor over 7 ounces. Anything near 5 and they fly like a dream.

plantraco

Yes, "when it works". (tired of the digs)

Mike, I am very sorry that you feel dissatisfied with Plantraco service and product. Yes, it sucks when you have to spend money to return something for repairs. Maybe we were wrong to ask you to pay for shipping both ways and a repair charge - maybe not though.

If you think you were really treated wrong, tell us. If you like what you received, tell everyone.

Since your original return, I think we have had a few dozen receivers with a similar fracture to a FET. In the end, it was our layout that might have put more stress to one area of the PCB - we are going to thicken the PCB on the next run to strengthen it. But this problem doesn't usually crop up unless you have inadvertently bent the receiver PCB. It's possible to damage things Mike, you know that I am sure. Maybe you did damage it - is that possible? impossible? I hope you can mellow out a bit on the negativity about Plantraco - I think your comments are damaging enough. I'd rather sent you a couple hundred dollars as a bribe than have to see our company slammed in the forums. Seriously.

I'd rather talk about airplanes then defend our company on these forums - that's why I have mixed feelings about these things. It's very easy to have a big voice on the forums. This thread surprises me. I had hoped that our innovative lightweight designs could be the focus of discussion, but I came for a look and I see a pack of wolves. If the customer feels slighted, they sure can make you pay on the forums. I know very well that the customer is always right, but I usually have faith that our customers are also reasonable men - so much so that I feel we can ask the customer to pay for a return. Heck I do it if I have to - actually, if I have something that gets broken, I fix it myself, or buy another one. Big deal, so you broke a micro receiver - that's no surprise - all micro gear can be broken easily.

**************

I did not mean to make an enemy out of you Mike - I think I probably talked to you for your particular service call - I can't remember, but it's normal for the customer to pay shipping back to us for repairs. We do the repair and ship back on our tab. If a unit has been damaged by the customer (determined to be the customers fault), yes, they should pay shipping both ways - that's fair I think. If we made a mistake because you are 100% sure that you did nothing to contribute to the damage to your product - tell us - we are not unreasonable - we are regular people just like you.

Mike - please learn to forgive and forget. I am tired of the negative spin. Put yourself in my shoes and take a look. Every pancake has 2 sides guys.

plantraco

Hope you don't feel like a sucker buying our equipment.

We have a telephone and email address - it's listed in your instructions manual and on our website too.

What you should look for is your current draw of the motor and prop and compare that to what your battery can supply.

If your M20 motor draws 1.2 Amps and you run with a 90mA cell capable of 600mA max current draw, you'll have a brownout problem.

This is very easy to determine, and we can help you with that - it's our pleasure to do so anytime.

plantraco

That is a problem sometimes with UPS, not every shipment, but never with Express shipping. Call UPS and tell them you are not paying!

We mention that you should use UPS Express shipping on the order form - it's quite clearly written there - please go to our order form, and run an order through and have a look when you choose the shipping method. It's in BOLD lettering too. Not deceptive - it's clearly there for you to read.

Having said that, yes, if UPS doesn't shape up, we are going to switch to another shipping service. We use UPS because they don't lose many packages. When we used airmail, we had lots of lost packages - so we had to switch to trackable reliable shipping several years ago. Now we are sort of trapped with UPS in that way - we like the convenience here, and the trackable service, but their weird policy of including clearance fees with express and not with ground shipping baffles me too.



PS - Did you at least enjoy your Butterfly Livingroom Flyer? I hope you did.

plantraco

Let's stop nursing the grudge Mike - Life is too short. Let me make it up to you somehow for goodness sakes!

plantraco

Hi Tim

I think I said that stuff, but it's taken a bit out of context here.

I dismiss the Aero Ace as a noisy toy that gives good bang for the buck, but is not in the same league as the models you can make yourself using our proportional radio system and magnetic actuators. It's also not a Plantraco product, so our time on the phone for customer service should be directed towards our own products that we can help you with. Maybe that's why I was dismissive. Dual throttle is an economical way to control a model, not the best way. Not in the same league as our Butterfly Livingroom Flyer. Still, they are nice and if you like em - that's great.

As for the theories of physics - well, what I was saying there was that even though people are wrong about something on the forums, you'll find people quoting the wrong stuff over and over again until it almost seems like the truth! I have newbies calling us daily asking questions that don't make any sense technically - then when I ask them where they got the idea and they tell me it's from the forums, and I look at where they got it, and then I realize they don't know ohms law - well - that's what I was talking about the "laws of physics" - but hey man, that's just 2 guys shootin the sh*t on the telephone. I like talking to our customers. I think Jason handles the phones better than I do though. I easily rub people the wrong way I guess. I think I remember the call, I thought we had a very good conversation? no? I'll be the first to admit that I do not understand how an airplane flies. Anyways, I should not be doing customer service! I should stick to what I do best - dreaming up stuff at Plantraco. Come on guys - show us what you can do with our gear. If Plantraco isn't giving you service like you expect, phone call to us and ask for the boss and give him a piece of your mind directly and personally, bashing us online just causes a big mess I have to try and untangle, and it doesn't bring you lighter receivers and cool models faster. We need your support guys! We're working hard for you at Plantraco - I mean that seriously.

FERNDALE AIR FORCE

Plantraco, Bud?, my conversation with your organization was via e-mail. The question I asked was about range and how your product campared to the aces flight area. I acknowledge that the Aces I fly are mod'd and can do things stock Aces can't. They are quieter than than my cox p-51. But my original question was just about range and speed, of your product as compared to the stock Ace bipe. The answer I got was that while the Ace flies.... And I don't remember the rest. For $300 you need to tell me my Ace is great and this will be even better. Not, the plane you are flying is a noisy toy but it does fly, please buy our product despite our inept presale customer service. Once you buy our product our customer service will be better. Please do not read reviews about our product online. A person named Mike hates us and is posting bad reviews because he hates us. There were no problems with his plane. He just thought it should fly at least as well as an Ace. Get real. I also have a loud online mouth. I like the concept you have, but I don't trust you for the cost of the flight pack. Tim

PS, did you read the thread starter? I was ready to buy a flight pack and a set of your profile planes. Tim

Heli007

Thanks for letting me know gary I was going to purchase a butterfly this week and I'm gonna cancel my order. I don't like to see others helping themselfs to my credit card especially customs[>:] If there is a charge they should let the consumer know beforehand. Whats up with that? Plantraco I think you should listen more and not be so quick to cut someone off. What guys write here is due to there experiance with your products. If you want people to write more favorable reviews then you need to listen to what people are saying and not be so quick to dismiss. And yes the customer is always right Heli007

plantraco

Yep, we do have a notice on our web orderform about shipping, it's right there when you select shipping method, it's bold too.

UPS is terrible for doing this to our customers, and it's not every one, it's mostly unpredictable if they are going to charge customs clearance fees or not

Still trying to get UPS to fix this - they know about it.


BTW - you can order from one of our dealers in the USA if you like.

Butterfly and Carbon Butterfly are great fun, and very well built.


We read and listen - many improvements to our system have come from wish list requests on the forums. Forums are a mixed blessing though.

Anyways, have fun with Micro R/C Models.

Cheers!

FERNDALE AIR FORCE

Plantraco, I ship things to Canada on a semiregular basis. Customs takes a bite when the paperwork is wrong. We have to charge extra for our canadian customers because of the extra paperwork. I am shipping via UPS as well. Out of curiosity, is anything Plantraco's problem?

BTW, You guys were getting trashed on another thread on the cost of the carbon butterfly, I was one of those that stood up for you.

Tim

nebuchadnezzar

There are a couple of US companies that sell Plantraco gear and if you order from them you can avoid the customs charge. The new series 2 tx sounds pretty good and I'm thinking of getting one (still hoping to find a used system somewhere!) I bought a used Butterfly system from a friend who had broken the tiny wires to the hinge actuator, but I fixed that, and cleaned the battery contacts and flew it in my living room - hope to get into our gym soon. If you bust up your butterfly too badly the Ikara Firefly rubber powered from Hobby Lobby is pretty much identical and you could put your gear on that. The little Kolibri looks like it would suport it too.