nosram

Aerobear I think you have hit the 'nail on the head', its most likely down to surface preparation. The fiberglass mold will most likely have release agent on it, so that the fiberglass component can be removed from the mold. If the release agent isn't completely removed from the fiberglass component then the paint will not stick.

My canopy, to my knowledge has not been hit. Contrary to the 'spidersweb' as described by Ryan, both mine and Wryman's paint pealing both exhibit parallel cracks. In other words the cracks do not exit from the epicenter of an impact. It is more likely that the separation happened as a result of a thermal event....possibly by being exposed to hot or cold temperatures in a motor car or even a garage.

I have also put CA on my cracks. If that arrests the situation I will cover up the damage with a decal. A complete re-spray would be OK, except for all of the detail on the front of the canopy.

Nick Marson

aerobear

My Feedback: (4)

Even if the release agent is washed off, the surface still needs to be sanded. An abrasive pot scrubber pad may be good enough. This is the labor intensive part that is very tempting to skip. If you do a re-spray, don't skimp on surface prep.

nosram

Agreed Aerobear. Here are a couple of images taken with my cell phone of my friends canopy. This is as the canopy appeared out of the shipping paper. The box had been stored in a garage for a little over a year.

Pretty nasty, these had progressed a lot further than mine has yet.......

mxcop114

My Feedback: (5)

Nick,

I understand your frustration with the canopy issue. Before I go any further I want to make you aware of something. Extreme Flight RC is by far one of the best and most reputable ARF companies in the industry. Chris Hinson and crew take great pride in not only the quality and performance of the products but also in providing the best product support in the industry. It's not just an opinion, it's a proven fact that I'm willing to bet 98% or more of the E.F. customers will strongly agree.


You have to understand that while you may be a good honest person the folks at E.F. are lied to more than you can imagine by customers who damage their planes and attempt to fraudulently obtain free replacements parts for their aircraft. I have spent plenty of time at the shop and have witnessed Curtis, Chris and Melissa dealing with this numerous times. You have to take into consideration the time that you had the aircraft before having this issue, as far as they know you could have 150 flights on the plane or could have bumped the canopy. If they gave free replacement parts to everyone that called claiming issues they would have gone out of business. Keep in mind, it is clearly stated that there is a 30 day warranty period from the date of purchase, you are well beyond that but even so they usually work with people depending on the circumstances.


I'm honestly surprised that they didn't replace the canopy for you, or at least offer you a discounted canopy. I will personally look into this and see if I can help you resolve this issue and change your negative opinion to a positive one. As I said before, they lead the industry with just about everything from quality to performance to product support. I see that there are others here who have had the same or similar issues with their canopies cracking. It appears that one of the distributors has replaced a couple canopies but that doesn't necessarily mean that distributor contacted E.F. and let them know that there may be an issue. The canopy is fragile, most light weight fiberglass canopies on pattern ships are fragile and could easily crack or chip paint if bumped, bent, left in the sun light for a extended period of time, etc...


I know there are a lot of people who have the plane and have not had any issues. I have one of the first Vanquishes produced from a limited first production run, from the same batch that Archie got his from and haven't had any issues with the paint chipping. Most of the other planes are likely from the same batch that yours was from, who knows for sure what is going on but I will bring it to their attention that there are other planes that appear to have the same issue in this thread since they don't get in here often. Stay tuned...

Lee Morey

tele1974

An RC modeler?
If so tape it off. Pull up the loose paint material. Fill the weave with finishing resin and micro balloons. Sand and paint.

ltc

My Feedback: (3)

nosram,
Just out of curiosity, did you send Extreme Flight a link to this thread, so they can read for themselves if there are others who have possibly had the same issue?

nosram

Lee,
Thank you very for your post.
I completely understand your point about dishonest peopletrying to obtain goods for free. For many years I owned Nosram SpeedControllers, in the UK. The scenario you mention happened almost on a dailybasis. Even without the internet is was definitely not to my advantage to upsetmy customers. Word travels fast. Thebest example that I had was when an individual removed the electronics andreplaced it with a prototype board with some old TO220 transistors. In thepackaging it looked plausible. Of course the shop assistant replaced it with anew one! When I saw it I burst out laughing. Actually it was added to ourrouges gallery. Imagine how many mothers I had on the phone stating that her 14year old wouldn’t have connected the red wire to the black. Man I have even done that myself!
Back to the canopy, I have no doubt that Extreme Flight is avery good and reputable company. I wasannoyed by their complete lack of help. My first phone call and email with pictures were ignored. A follow upemail a week later produced:
Ichecked and had not received another email.
Due to the amount of time since the airframe was purchased, there really isn'tmuch we can do from a warranty stand point but we do offer replacement parts onour secure website here:
http://www.extremeflightrc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=154
Or you are welcome to give us a call to place an order as well.
Thank you,
Curtis Cozier
I would have been quite happy to purchase a replacement at areduced price, say at Extreme’s Flight cost + a some, but when I called to discussthe matter I was totally dismissed by Curtis, which didn’t bode well. As far as he was concerned mine was the veryfirst example of this occurrence.
Mine is an honest claim, no more than 15 flights and noknocks. The paint is peeling off thecanopy, presumably as a result of lack of surface preparation. Of course I would love a replacement canopy.
Thank you once again Lee,
Nick Marson

nosram

Itc,
I did not send them a link. I would hope that they are aware of and monitor the thread. That would be good business practice.
Nick Marson

4u2nv-RCU

My Feedback: (28)

I am putting the finishing touches on my Vanquish(late to the party as usual). I am not thrilled by the canopy attachment method and would like something easier and more robust than the single pin hatch latch or the cumbersome blind nuts and bolts. I see the dual "push Pin" type on F3A Unlimited's web page and would like opinions and maybe a pic of an install if anyone has used them. Which type? Do you like them? Thanks in advance!

ltc

My Feedback: (3)

My BJ Craft Fantasista uses Style A latches that you described from F3AUnlimited. Very easy to use.
http://www.f3aunlimited.com/webstore...roducts_id=412

There is also a similar part/version from Secraft as well (larger, heavier)
http://www.espritmodel.com/canopy-lo...-loaded-2.aspx

I am also working on a 50cc electric conversion and am using these for the canopy (although I know you might not prefer bolts from your post)
http://www.espritmodel.com/canopy-lo...-m4-red-2.aspx

blake26m

Vanquish is a fantasic plane. I flew one all season last season and got great results with it. I have over 600 flights on mine.
Could i ask what timing and setup did you use for the Torque motor with the Castle ESC.


Thanks


Mikey

jetmech43

My Feedback: (9)

I use the red hatch latch from Hobby Lobby works great an never had a problem

g_mkoch

I used the secraft latches on all my vanquishes, very nice unit and always worked great.

blake26m

My Vanquish with wing fences.

randy10926

My Feedback: (19)

My Vanquish does not have the 4 holes drilled in the firewall for the torque motor. Any have a template for drilling these?



Randy

jetmech43

My Feedback: (9)

You can use the mount as a template

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Randy,

The Torque motor should only have three bolt holes. I built one recently for a friend that utilized the Torque motor and it had the holes pre-drilled.

My Vanquish has a Hacker Q60 7M and the motor bolts right up to the existing holes with blind nuts installed.

randy10926

My Feedback: (19)

did you take the mount off and then bolt to the motor?
Made a template and drill four holes for mount to use. Got three of the holes in the right place. But use the three pre-drilled holes sounds good to me. Too bad I am unable to get the mount off. It sure is bolted on good and tight.

Lets see should have the following ready for spring if it arrives.
Mythos 125e-8s Hacker
Vanquish 2M-10s Torque
Focus 2 -os140
Angel S 50- eflight 60
Splendor C-Z - BL50 - which I have been flying whenever the fields are usable.

I sure hope these last long enough for me to learn advanced.

jetmech43

My Feedback: (9)

I have the Fury which has 4 bolt mount and the mount came off pretty easy

Delicious J

Any recommendations on Hi-Tec or Futaba servos for the Vanquish?

I tried JR for the first time on my last one and did not like them. I am just trying to figure out what fits, the airframe has not arrived yet.

Thanks

JerMilosek

Delicious J,

What JR servos were you using?

I just switched to JR DS8231's and they are measurably better centering using a Budd Laser deflection gauge. They also respond to the smallest trim digital trim change.


J e r

Delicious J

I think they were 3711's on elevator and aileron and 8911 on rudder.

first time using JR and first time using servos that wouldn't center with any consistency.

Terribly expensive too.

Are using the ones you mentioned all the way around or a different one on rudder?

the price is definitely better. I suppose I could use a life pack seeing that they are not HV

i can't find anyone who uses hi-Tec in a pattern plane. Lol

hovermaster

My Feedback: (2)

These are what I used for a short time in my Vanquish, and they are for sale. I cant use them anymore due to a sponsor conflict.

2 x 9551 - $60 each

2 x 9650 - $40 each

1 x 9156 - $85

$275 for the bundle

Chris

Delicious J

This is a proposed budget setup that looks to be good performance. I would love to hear any thoughts......

HS7966HB $44.99 (aileron)

S9650 $54.99 (elevator)

HS7985 $66.05 (rudder)

flyinhigh1

I would be careful about servos, they make the difference on how crisp and clean your stops are and overall durability as well. I would not opt for the budget type. I have been flying my Vanquish for 3 years now using the Futaba servos listed and would recommend them. Just my thoughts........