I have just recently found a web site by Jack Stafford Models. Does anyone have any experience purchasing from them and if so how was the experience? How is the quality of the kits? Did you have to purchase a great deal of hardware to complete the kit? They have my interest because of the general aviation planes.
Thanks
chopper man

Jack Stafford kits are "Builder's Kits". Unless you have done several kits, I would pass on the JS kits at this time.

From personal experience with the Rearwin Speedster:

The plans needed to be updated to incorporate newer engines/fuel tanks, techniques, etc. (current were circa 1960 ).

Items on shown on ONLY one view (needed a minimum of 2 views to properly locate )

Quality of wood ranges from excellent to VERY poor. Same with the die "crunching" of parts.

I have a substantial amount of experience building (3 scratch built and numerous kits), and I was ready to tear my hair out several times during the construction of this plane.

On the plus side, the plane is an excellent flyer.

I am finishing up 2 Jack Stafford Aircoupe's,
The kit quality is excellent, the plans do need some work but if you have experience building some kits you can think your way thru it without too much trouble. I found the quality of wood to be excellent in both kits except one piece of sheeting that was warped a little, could have been used but I had extra sheeting available.
Steve at JSM is a very nice guy and will help you out with anything you need, the customer service from JSM is #1. The planes look very nice(see my thread in this forum) and should make for very nice Sunday flying planes.
The kits come with the basic hardware ie:control horns,landing gear, screws etc: You need to purchase the control rods of your preferance as well as hinges. Most experienced modelers tend to scrap out kit supplied hardware and use what they are familiar and comfortable with.
I would not hesitate to purchase another JSM Kit.
Anthony

Thanks for the info. I am interested in the Twin Comanche or single engine Comanche. Do have any experience with either one of those or have you talked to anyone with experience?
Thanks
chopper man

I agree with Cubnut's comments. I built the Ercoupe as well.

Expect your Commanches to be similar as they were all produced by Jack Stafford around the same time frame (70's). If you don't have some kits under your belt, you may get a little frustrated. But remember, RCU wasn't around back then. You'll have plenty of help getting your kit built...worldwide!

The new owners say they are working on re-doing the plans and instructions but I have no way to know that they have done that yet.

Simply plan on spending time thinking things through and if they HAVE re-done all the plans and instructions then at least you'll have a pleasant surprise.


Don

The Top flite Piper Arrow is the 1st kit that I have built in about 25 years. So far it has gone well with a few challenging moments. But all and all not bad. I think you're correct when you say the help is out their. I think I may just go for it unless someone with a great deal more experience strongly recommends that I wait and give it some more time. As always I welcome everyones opinions.
Thanks
chopper man

I built the Ercoupe about 6 years ago. I get MORE comments about the Ercoupe than any other plane I have. I love it. When it looked like JSM was out of business, I panicked and bought two Comanchees from Ebay.
JSM models are a little more difficult to build and they do force you to draw from previous experience, but you will learn more building a JSM kit that any other kit out there. But that doesn't mean that you have to be a building guru to build one. It just takes a little more thought, thats all.
I strongly recommend them to anyone that wants to take it up a notch. The wood is good, and the airplanes have very scale profiles.
You MUST take a look at Cubnut's Ercoupe !!!! You will be sold !!!!

Here is a pic of mine...............

PilotFighter,
Have you built the Comanchee's as of yet. I would be interested in hearing your take on building that model. The Ercoupe looks great. Thanks for the advise.
chopper man

No, I haven't gotten around to them yet. I have been working on an old Sig Bonanza.
The Comanchees have glass cowls available and now they have molded windscreens which is a great plus. Many of the older models looked a tad off because the windscreens were too flat.
I have seen one fly. It was FAST !!! And they are large enough to carry good retracts.
Somebody will show up that has one.

I have built the Piper Comanche single and it flys great with a OS 61SF. The kit is not a beginners kit and requires quite a bit of work(shaping & sanding). I covered mine with monocote since I don't have the patience for painting. It flys very simliar to a P-51 since the wings are almost the same. I like scale airplanes but also like a plane that is fast and agile. The Stafford Comanche fits the bill. I recently purchased the Comanche twin but have not built it as of yet. Its a great looking plane and will be my first twin. The kit was purchased from the current Stafford models website and I received the kit within 8 days. I checked out the contents and plans
and it appears to be a little more work than the single I have. I intend to power it with two RCV 58 4 strokes
with Airtronics R8000 for guidance. Now I just have to find the time to build it which is always in short supply this time of year for me.

Thanks for the info. When did you purchae yours? They say that all of the kits are now laser cut. Did you find that to be true? They were also going to inprove the building instrustions as well. Did you see that change as well? Would like to get more input before I purchase.
Thanks
chopper man

Chopper Man

All of the plywood parts are laser cut. The balsa parts are machine cut and sanded. Yes, we are slowly going thru each kit and updating the plans and instructions. It's taking some time to do this as we both have Day Jobs. Do a search here on RCU for the Twin Comanche, a guy in England posted some nice pictures as it was being built.

John Colby
Co-Owner JSM
www.JSModels.com

Thanks for the info. Would you recommend the single or the Twin Comanche. Have you updated the plans for either kit as of yet? I'm looking forward to purchasing one or the other or if I can convince my wife, both!!
Thanks
chopper man

Chopperman.. THANK YOU.
I've been looking at the twin for quite some time now but had heard the same thing about the plans. This will only be my third kit so poor instructions scared me away. (for now).
If the twin instruction have been updated I know what I'll be ordering next week.

Randy


doh.. Might need to rent a room if the wife finds out I bought another plane.

I mentioned to my wife of wanting to purchase another kit. Needless to say, she said nothing. I'm still going to get it anyway

I really love the ovation mooney from jack stafford. I was able to go hands off in 20-25 mph winds on the first flight. solid as a rock. Could not ask for a better flying airplane.

THE OVATION IS A BUILDERS KIT. HAS LOTS OF ROOM FOR SCALE DETAILING BUT IT IS NOT A BEGINNERS KIT. THE ALSO IS A GREAT FLYING AIRCRAFT.

I built his single engine Comanche years ago. It was a good kit, with, what I thought were, good plans. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but it was many years ago. I put in it the largest engine available to me at the time, a OS MAX .50 with no muffler, just a back pressure plate. That might date me and this build. It was marginally powered I thought. Today, it would be much different. I would say, go for it. His kits fly well and have good lines. I have considered building the twin myself.