Another recommendation on the Yak is to imrpove the beveling of the control surfaces at the hinge line.

On my Elevator/Rudder I had to leave a noticable gap to get the 30-40 degrees throws (needed for 3D etc). Same for ailerons.

Also a fiberglass cowl/wheel pants would be a nice addition. SAE (instaed of metric) hardware would also be nice.

THIS POST IS NOT RELATED TO ANY ISSUE WITH NITROPLANES OR THEIR PRODUCT BUT RATHER TO A QUESTIONS POSED TO ME FURTHER UP IN THIS THREAD. BUT IT MAY ALSO HELP ANYONE BUILDING THE YAK 54-140 THAT IS ALSO SOLD BY NITROPLANES. http://www.nitroplanes.com/cmpyak54arf1.html

OPJOSE
Just take your time with the YAK 54-140. Remember that any extra glue that you use in this thing will turn into weight you have to add to the nose later. I am using a Moki 1.80cc 2-stroke, 2x1400mah packs, servo isolator, On board glow driver with 2 cell driver battery plus all high torque servos. I changed all the hardware out for Dubro 60 size horns, I also used ROBART hinges all the way around. Make sure you pit the fire wall for better epoxy bond and I put a 1/4 wide x 4 inch long piece of carbon fiber on the rear horizontal stab to help strengthen the rudder mounting area . I did not use the wing springs but instead use bigger allen head bolts and blind nuts I think they were 6/32 to hold the wing on. The anti Roll pins will not line up where marked on the fuse and wing just be aware of this before you start to drill. Take some 1000 grit paper to the wing tube as it is almost to tight to fit in the wing. Get rid of the stock tank and use a Hayes or similar brand. I went with a 12oz... The plane is on the heavy side and will land faster than most. It will also tip stall easier due to the high wing loading. Don't bother putting on the wheel fairings as they will just break off right away. Also the stock foam wheels are not great, I say use them till they fall apart. The canopy is very brittle and will crack easily so watch out for that when mounting. Other than that have fun with it,...
P.S. Be careful with the elevator throw as this plane will snap with to much input

arvind-rao
Not to jump in on your post to Nitroplanes but if you are referring to the New YAK 52 that they just released -- http://www.nitroplanes.com/yak523d5056n.html -- The cowl is fiberglass as well as the wheel pants. Also the control surfaces on mine lined up pretty dang close and yes it will 3D very easily, but I do suggest using ROBARTS or similar hinges and not the CA hinge that come with the kit. Also a bit of BINDER Tape on the hing gap is suggested. I also think that SAE is not going to happen as most everyone in the world is metric the USA is pretty much the last hold out on that one. Just my 2cents but thought it may help... Happy flying

I know that you cannot please everyone and those who buy a value priced plane should not expect it to be perfect. Furthermore, with a value product you should expect to require some upgrades out of the box. I bought my P-51 Nitroplane with this clear in my mind. I planned to upgrade hardware and I knew the manual was far from perfect thanks to this forum. I overcame the manual problem by downloading the very similar Hangar 9 manual (which is excellent). I am not here to bash Nitroplanes or vent because there is a place for their product. I will however share my expereince so others know what to expect:

1. The manual is very bad. Overcome this by downloading the Hanger 9 manual.
2. Don't expect any support. Nitroplanes does not return phone calls or emails. (At least not mine) This must be one way they keep their prices so low.
3. You get what you pay for:
- The covering is low grade and poorly applied.
- A lot of things don't fit right so expect to do a lot of sanding and cutting.
- You might not get all of the hardware (I didn't). This is OK because you will probably want to upgrade anyway.
- My canopy was scratched so bad from vibration in shipping that the top is translucent not clear Hangar 9 sells a nice replacement that seems to fit.
- The retract wells do not cover the entire retract. This is OK if you don't mind a bunch of dirt in your wing. I ther****rmed a patch for this.
- You will definately want to replace the engine mounts and reinforce the firewall for a big 4 stroke.
- The fuel tank mounting leaves a lot to be desired. Expect to buy some balsa to build this up to keep the tank from moving around.
4. Be sure to measure and re-measure everything. The lines on my firewall were off by .3 inches. Mounting my engine referenced to the lines would have been disaster.
5. Check the structural integrity of the fuselage.
- My fuselage had broken or unglued joints.
- This can be fixed with a syringe feeding 30 minute epoxy through a long tube and inspecting every joint with a small mirror and penlight.

In my opinion, buying a Nitroplane kit is a tradeoff in time versus money. I have put together similar kits in about 6 hours and maybe 1 trip to the hobby shop. The Nitroplane took 18 hours, 4 trips and about $80 more than I normally spend on a kit like this. When all said this P51 will have cost me about $230. The Hangar 9 is $254. I will save about $24 making my time worth about $2 per hour (not counting the trips to the hooby shop).

She will fly this weekend. I will let you know how she flys.

Must have been just an issue in the planes I got (even the replacement tail had a gap) I agree on swaping out the hinges & I used the Hanger9 CA ones I already had

Also I am not sure on what kinda of f/g they use for cowl. I can see the cloth on the back, but the plastic flexes a lot & cracks very easily on doing so. It looks like ABS plastic with a glass backing

Attached are some pics showing the gap/max deflection my plane has...

arvindo_rao
Yes I can see how the gap would be an issue on yours. I would bet this is from the soft balsa that they were using. When the covering went on it most likely flexed the trailing edge inward. Hopefully on the new ones this won't be an issue. You definitely want to seal that baby with some hing tape or clear monokote,, Good luck

I'd consider cutting the CA hinges and using those nice dowel type hinges with the built in hinge points instead.

That should give you the desired travel, but you would be able to reduce the gap.

As Gotsky stated, you'd want to seal the hinge never the less.

I can understand what you are doing and the time it takes you to get set up again and to improve on the issues that have been made but i am a very happy customer and surely will buy again, also you are here doing something about it and that has to count for some thing, you already know alot of the things that need to be done but it is going to take time to get all the bugs out but your facing it head on and most important is that you are listening to the pilots and what they have to say as no one knows these things better then us pilots, i watched the p-38 film and the grass runway was rough, my twinstar a nice twin, i have noticed that flying off of the grass field has split some of the sheeting from all them bumps, i have never had a problem on dirt or tar but on a rough grass field it is very hard on a twin engine airplane, nitro your doing a great job keep up the good work.

This is a simple one to fix -pics need to match the plane , the P47 -you click on it and it does not match the plane , and the P40 color scheme is off as you scroll down , what color is it ? , Do you make your own versions of the 73" p40 or do you have the CMP or both ?
Seems like one of yours is brown on Tan and another is green on gray in the 73"size ,The brown on tan looks like a willshobby versions , can you let me know please .

I have had the 60 " size P40 very nice plane originally released by hobby people as Sportman avaition in a very ugly scheme , yours is much better but I wish you left the retracts off added the proper rails for rotating gear and allowed the purchaser to add rotating gear , the P51 style gear kills this otherwise very nice looking plane .

No complaint here,but i wanted to say that for the money you are getting a lot of airplane love my edge and looking forward to the cessna 310 twin have always loved this plane but not the building thanks for putting one out,,,Ron

Dear Nitro staff why couldn't you shipp planes outside US, I live in south america and had bought several parts and planes from other stores in USA, they ship the planes thru a forwarding company or usps with no problem, why you cant?
wm

One of the things i have noticed on some of the aircraft that I was interested in was that you posted pictures of the Type of aircraft that appears to be well done with a good outline but then that is not even one that you sell. Case and point. The Super Chipmunk. Also you show alot of color schemes for like the Cessna 310 and the Long EZ but what scheme does the kit actually come in? I have a buddy that has you little Extra and I think it is a great little kit for the money but improve the website to make shopping easier and then you can have some of my money

I love NitroPlanes. I've bought 12 motors from you. Can't beat the price and fast service but...too many shipping errors. I've gotten a shipment missing items that were backordered but never told that. Eventually only got 1/2 of what was paid for. ordered a brushless ESC and got a brushed one, etc. Need to get a better crosscheck on order before shipment.

NitroStaff1
I see that you now have the fuselage set, Tail feathers and cowl in stock for the YAK 52. I know you said there is no way to pick items up this time of year so I was hoping that you could send these items to me via UPS or Fedex. Thank you again for your time...

Ok ... You asked for it. Here goes:

1. Nitro Model and Raidentech and other sister companies in CA have the same shipping agreement with FEDEX, hence the shipping/handling prices you charge are EXCESSIVE!
2. Nitro Model and Raidentech and other sister companies in CA compete for customers using prices fixes that force the customer to pay higher S/H.
3. Nitro Model and Raidentech and other sister companies in CA have different prices for the same product - UNETHICAL!
4. Nitro Model and Raidentech and other sister companies in CA do false advertising by offering COUPONS that are not honored after the web purchase is approved - UNETHICAL.

Other than those listed above, many thanks to Nitro Model and Raidentech and other sister companies in CA in bringing to the USA great products at rock bottom prices.

I have the .40 scale P-40, and the manual is not readable and does not cover all aspects of the construction. Plus what engine should be used for in-cowl setups? You should recommend some, not just sizes. Also I would like a pilot to go in mine but every time
I call for help I get a run-around. Your marketing photos have a pilot in the cockpit, yet you cant tell me what size or where to get one or where yours came from. I appreciate your concern, but it wont help if you don't make any changes. I wont buy another nitro-plane even if it is a nice model. SUPPORT IS CRITICAL.unless changes are made.
PHIL

I have the .40 scale P-40, and the manual is not readable and does not cover all aspects of the construction. Plus what engine should be used for in-cowl setups? You should recommend some, not just sizes. Also I would like a pilot to go in mine but every time
I call for help I get a run-around. Your marketing photos have a pilot in the cockpit, yet you cant tell me what size or where to get one or where yours came from. I appreciate your concern, but it wont help if you don't make any changes. I wont buy another nitro-plane even if it is a nice model. SUPPORT IS CRITICAL.
PHIL

i was wondering if i can get spare landing gear for my giles 202 i have been waiting all summer??? i broke one of them. thanks Bob

SGT0264:

Believe it or not, the manuals included are actually better than many other Chinese and Korean planes...

My CMP Yak only has one large breakout sheet and nothing else.

The assumption is that you have built a couple of ARFs before you tackle one of these.

Nitroplanes don't build these things so I doubt you will get much help in this area.

Most people only refer to the manuals for C.G. and measurements, and little else.

You are better off posting to the boards if this is the first time you build one of these.

But really this is pretty much up to you... vis-a-vis which engine, etc.

It's a .40 plane so any engine in the .40 range up through a .51 should fit w/o problem. You may be able to get a larger one in there.

e.g. one of my .30 planes has a .46 engine in it, but this is something I did w/o any help from a manual.


Pilot figures are redily available from many sources.

Tower, Hobby Lobby, WM, etc.

I wouldn't be so quick on the draw with these guys. These are INEXPENSIVE planes.

If you want full directions and step by step guides, try the Great Planes, airplanes.

Come back to the Nitroplanes type planes after you get a bit of experience and you'll have no problems.

I'm not trying to be an apologist for NP but you don't have some things straight...

Actually this was addressed in another thread. The shipping rates are not unusual or excessive based upon their response, as far as I can see. How much did you pay for shipping?

This also relates to the next point...

How so? If there are the same company they are not competing.

Hobbico does not "compete" with Tower, yet both are the same company and Hobbico and Tower use fixed prices.

Tower is part of a much larger conglomerate that includes many brands. All of these brands are centrally priced, and often vary depending upon where you buy the product.

This is not competition in any sense of the word. It's a normal business practice.



Again this is not unethical. It's SOP.

You are free to buy something else from somewhere else.

There ARE alternatives.


If you look you can sometimes buy the models here even more discounted than they already are.



This needs attention, and it should be posted to this forum.

They seem to be attempting to rectify such things. You may want to look at the other threads where they have asked for more information and have cleared such things up.

The web offers they have posted have always worked for me, though the stuff disappears rather quickly after they send out the e-mail offers. You may have missed one.

However the Nitrostaff should address this for you.

Those "Rock Bottom Prices" always have a caveat.

I sometimes buy stuff from Hong Kong Vendors on E-bay, but I know that this means that it will take a while to get to me and that I'll be paying a lot for shipping.

You can buy from say a more centrally located source (Tower) but you'll pay more... sigh...

From what I see above, your main complaint is shipping prices...

How much did you pay?

I believe I paid 35.00 or so for shipping to the east coast on an Ultimate 120R which is a LARGE plane in a LARGE box.

The plane arrived in an outer shipper box protecting an inner box... take off 15.00 for that shipper box, and it's about right.

A lack of response! I've bought 2 of your airplanes and have been generally pleased with
the value. Kit components are sometimes useless. I received 2 right hand gear legs in one kit and the tailwheel wire was not long enough to extend up to the rudder. Okay, I made all
new stuff. BUT, the last model I received (the 40 size Zero did not include aa assembly manual. Now, I am an experienced modeler and can figure most things out, but I need to
have an idea of what the designer intended. You know, such things as cowel location and
mounting intent. The CG location would be nice.
I received this kit over a week ago and have stopped building it while waiting for some meager response from Nitro about providing me with a manual,,(yes, I know they stink)
but still, they give us some hints.
I had in mind to put a 4 airplane package together for xmas and put a call through to see
if I might save anything on shipping. No response.
I cannot deal with a company that provides absolutly zero customer service.
I know you've got a container load of planes coming in at the end of the month. Merry Xmas,
keep 'em!
Marshall(a dissatisfied customer)Thorpe

This is not a flame! I like your planes. I hate your service!

flyermt
You know i am trying to give them a chance to explain things to us and after reading what you had to say, im not a good builder so i might as well pack it away so i guess that good deal or not im going to keep on paying good money and get the beautiful planes that i have been flying, you have surely changed my mind there just is no need of them not sending something as simple as that out to you, there going to go out of business this way, i am so glad that we pilots can get together with arguing with each other and learning together about what is out there and where not to venture, thanks guy's im not even going to send my order in now i was thinking bout getting something to put on ski's but the snow would be gone by the time i got the ski's

Thank you for responding.
I have built several kits, most of them Top flight, .60 sizes. I guess I am used to thier quilty.
Although I am no expert, I do understand what you are saying.
This is my first ARF
Thanks again
Phil

I was a bit taken back when I first saw the manual on my first NP ARF...

I put the box away and built two other ARF planes first from different vendors.


Then I built the NP ARF (an Ultimate 40s)... thanks to a few suggestions here, I had no problems with it, and by that time about the only things I needed was a basic layout (what goes where) and the C.G. figures.


For anyone considering a NP plane, be forewarned that you SHOULD have prior experience with building ARF kits
first as the manuals are not the step by step guides that you may see with other planes.


They are pictoral walk throughts.


On the CMP kits that Nitroplanes (and many others) sell, the manuals (what manuals?) is a rolled sheet with a blow up diagram of the plane.

THAT's IT!

If you can't deal with this, try something else first and save your own sanity and frustration.

You tell them opjose, and to think that i have a hard time with a good kit what would i do with one from np and the price may be cheap and the plane may be alright but it is not like my cap 232 from great planes of course i had a friend build it and another friend build a giles 202 for me and to just look at them, they are so beautiful and i shake like hell when i fly them, my friend told me to use a little rudder on my vertical climb with my ys-160dz and i said i know but i cant stop my hand from shaking a few flights in and just my knees shake then im good for the day i calm down a bit but i have such a great time with a solid airplane and i do mean it is solid and so well made i think i will stick with great planes