housedad

GMS and TOWER engines are now listed as "on order" on the Tower website as of this morning.


They will be in soon, I hope.

CrateCruncher

My Feedback: (1)

Being that their previous status was "late April" and todays date is May 1, their status seems even more nebulous now.

XTOL

Take a look again. Tower and GMS engines now listed as "Late May".

Also note that the long out of stock Super Tiger engines are now listed
as "Late June".

Mike Hammer

asmund

he he, it goes on and on.....
just forget about these engines and get something else, plenty good engines out there

XTOL

I ALREADY did...in fact I should thank Tower for giving me a reason
to do just that.

This month by month saga has become rather humorous...

Mike Hammer

microsprint9

I'm sure the outage has helped the sale of Magnums, too bad all the magnum prices went up, go figure.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Magnum parts are just as expensive as OS parts.

I've been waiting on parts for the TH .75 since before last September.

Good luck getting any parts anytime soon. If you have a broken Tower engine may as well take it off the plane and buy a different engine if you want to fly that plane this summer.

Every month the Tower site says "Due late XXXXX" and then the next month, they just change the dates. "Due late XXXX" again.

I've been a HUGE fan of the TH .75 and I've sang the praises of these engines for a few years. Most of the regular users here are well aware of my love for the TH .75 engine. But, I gotta admit I'm downright PISSED OFF about the parts support. I've got a TH .75 with a busted carb and I had to finally break down and buy an SK .90 carb from Kangke. I've written a letter to Tower every month for the last 3 months, requesting info on parts availability. I never get a response from them. [:@]

I will start spending my money elsewhere. I used to love Tower. Every since they went to an employee stock ownership company the service has gone downhill like a rock falling off a cliff. It just gets worse and worse. I've defended Tower in lots of threads here on RCU. Lately, I am paying for quick shipping and the order doesn't leave their warehouse for up to 4 or 5 days. Quick ship my foot!!! I could have WALKED to Reno and picked it up faster!!

I'm a little irritated right now. Don't pay any attention to my ranting......

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

As I've previously asserted, the GMS factory in China where Tower, GMS, and Super Tigre engines are normally made has been diverted to make lead-painted Olympic souveiners. Engines and parts will become available shortly after the Summer Olympics are concluded in August. As this is based completely on my own imaginative speculation, I do reserve the right to adjust both my ETA for engines and my story as a whole should any actual facts become available.

jeffk464

Damn, I hope they have enough lead paint left to make our coffee mugs.

housedad

And the chew toys for the kids.

What is a Barbie without lead in her....... um, never mind.


I think they put that 'on order' listing up just long enough to tease me and play with my widdle mind. Oh, well.

summerwind

i bought one of the TH .75's based on the opinions written right here on RCU..............i even paid 32 bucks to get it on Saturday. when it came i was as excited as i used to get when i would get a new OPS racing engine back when i was in competition.
with a discount this 75 cost me 70bucks (foget the shipping), and i was simply shocked that the quality was as good as what i was seeing..............the bottom end was perfect, the fit of the piston/sleeve was what i could feel as being a screamer, and man what a screamer it was.................this engine took my 6.5lb, 1,000 square inch Big Stik straight up as far as the eye could see...................i mean you could have done a VTO with the Stik with this thing...........................but try idling it?..........forget it.................dead stick after dead stick and it was time to throw in the towel........................we tried everything right down to gluing the carb into the crankcase............nothing, this thing was scuking air.
for those who want one, buy it, try it, and good luck that you get one that'll actually make use of the carb that comes with it.

maybe the delays are from them re-tooling to solve the issues, and if so, i'll buy another one in a heartbeat..............for the price, they don't come any better than this for power, but if it can't idle, what good is it?

jeffie8696

Can't agree more. I bought a NIB GMS .32 and was really impressed with the performance so I ordered a GMS .47. and waited And waited And waited. Then gave up and bought a nice NIB Magnum XL .46A from a fellow RCUer. Got it cheaper than the .47 and it runs fanfriggintastic. Even likes FAI fuel. Go to the classified and screw whoever is responsible for the Tower delays. They better be offering a huge coupon to those of us that had to wait for half a year so far. Not that I am even willing to use it at this point. I have been buying tower stuff for 10 years now but this is nuts.

alcarafa

Hi guys dont get angry the history has nothing to do with tower, you will simply see no more GMS or Th engines ever again [&o], I wish I could've find parts for couple GMS's just dumped all of them away, 9 months waiting was enough [:@].

Turk1

Same seems for JBA 56 engines too.Kangke says it will take abt.2 months to provide again.Why? I dont know.

Broken Wings

My Feedback: (20)

I use HB engines, (I know, they're old technology) but I don't have any problems getting parts for them through MECOA. They have a trade-in program for the engines they sell. Randy has been great about getting me the parts I need. I ordered a set of bearings and they were the the exact replacment "Made in Germany".

I had a problem with some gaskets that I bought as they were tight and I broke one. He sent me a new set with instructions to soak them in WD-40 prior to installation. Worked great.

It's a shame when you buy an engine and can't get the parts you need to keep it running. It's got to be "Frustrating" to say the least.

summerwind

NO.......it's not Towers fault at all, but may be due to a government policy.............here is a cut and paste from another topic that was posted in RC Scale which really wasn't the right place to post.............true or false........who knows

>"I have read everything from OS suing, trade disputes, bad stock management, pushing different products, devaluing of US dollar reality is, it is hurting modeling. The engines affected are the GMS, Tower, and Super Tiger essentially Hobbyco/Tower controlled products."<

and

>"I think we are going to see a lot of this from items coming from Chiina. The Chinese goverment is shutting all the factories around Bejing for months before the Olympics to help the air pollution clear. Depending on where an item is made we could see shortages."<

jeffie8696

No matter. I have a new favorite. K&B engines. They rock. I have 2 Sportsters and they both perform flawlessly and way out of proportion to their size.

OH WAIT , uh NO K&B engines are horrible if you have one you should send it to me to be rid of it. [)]

simitar1

My Feedback: (60)

I just got off my 4th call to Tower regarding the Carb for my Tower 46. I have had the Carb, and or just the carb body, on order since October. They tell me they have 4 buyers in China right now trying to get the flow started but not to expect anything until sometime in March. That is 6 months since I crashed, I purchased the replacement plane and completed assembly, and there it sits, sans engine. I can buy a new Tower 46, those they have, but no support parts. [:@][sm=thumbs_down.gif]

I've heard all the explainations and everyone is very sympathetic but that doesn't put my plane in the air. I would think, taking care of the customers who have supportd you would have a high priority but, in this case, Hobbico (the parent company of both Great Planes and Tower Hobbies) isn't even balancing providing new product with supporting existing product.

I'll still get the Carb or body which ever comes first (in March) but I'll not buy another Tower engine. Also, I'll sell the one I have when/if I ever get the parts to repair it. [:'(]

rainedave

My Feedback: (1)

Here is one solution, credit to asmund:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/210756.asp

$47.99 with free shipping.[sm=bananahead.gif]

David

asmund

Stick another brand of carb on it and go fly. I was going to give you a direct link to www.himodel.com but it seems as they are sold out on all carbs for 40-52 engines. When they are back in stock you can get a complete new carb for about 20$


Edit: Oh I forgot about that exeptional offer. A carb at 20$ plus shipping or a complete new engine at 47$ shipping included, desicions desicions

simitar1

My Feedback: (60)

Tower told me there is no substitute. Even if there is one outside Tower, I would still want the remote setup which limits the probabilities.

simitar1

My Feedback: (60)

Many, Many, Thanks. I just completed the order. What a deal. Take that Tower[sm=punching.gif] I know the Magmum is not the powerhouse the Tower 46 is but it will do nicely.

rainedave

My Feedback: (1)

You're welcome! Put your Tower .46 muffler on the Magnum and I bet you get a good 500rpm boost, if not more.

David

asmund

Yes, switch the mufflers around and be not surprised if the Magnum is as powerfull and maybe even more powerfull than your Tower Those Magnum XLS engines are real bad ass[8D]

rainedave

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks again asmund for finding the great deal.

David