Rat1

After having issues trying to get replacment parts for both my Slo V and my F27 Stryker I have come to the conclusion that I am done with ParkZone/HobbyZone. Seems they dropped the ball on a few things such as fuselages and other important things.

I am more then slightly miffed that the fuselages for both the Slo V and Stryker are back ordered again. And what upsets me even more is that I can not get a stock colored Fuselage for my Stryker. I do not think I should have to paint the bare white one and I know there are ways of shipping the stock colored one so that the color does not get rubbed off.

At one time I was a walking advertisment for ParkZone but that has stopped.

I asked ParkZone via email about a possible way of getting a colored fuse and they said that I should try and match up some paint from the hobby shop or just buy a new complete kit. Why the heck should I buy a complete kit when all I need is a fuselage (20.00 dollar part)?

The reason for my needing a new fuse is that my model was not balanced correctly from the factory making it very tail heavy thus not wanting to fly correctly. How I found this out was I found a post about a bolt being imbedded in the nose cone from the factory. I checked mine and there was no bolt imbedded in my nose cone. I even probbed around in the hole under the quality control sticker with a pick and there was nothing. I had to add weight with lead weight to balance it out. Balancing would have been much easier if ParkZone would have mentioned were to check the CG at in the manual but this is something that ParkZone does not seem to feel is important. I had to search the net to find the info I needed.
So from trying to fly an imporperly balanced plane, I had crashed it a few times which ment it had gained too much weight from glueing and packing tape. This I feel was not my Fault due to improper quality control by ParkZone.

To try and get some of the nimbleness back I removed the plastic cowls and hogged out some foam to try and lighten it back up again so it would fly the way it was ment to fly.

I emailed ParkZone about all this and they replied by saying that if I felt it was due to an assemble problem on their part that I could send it back for them to take a look at. Well this would not work due to the fact that I had to heavily modify the plane by hogging out the foam and also since I had to build my own nose cone due to it breaking off and getting lost in the tall grass.

I was planning on getting a Super Decathalon but I decided against it. I feel ParkZone/HobbyZone should work on there current inventory first.

So I am done with them. I had ordered a Fuse from the Hobby Store for my Stryker but it is back ordered. So now my models sit without being able to fly them.

I have three daughters that are wanting to fly their own planes and I have decided that they will all get Mountain Models Magpies with slowfly wings.

Yeap I am done with ParkZone/HobbyZone.

It will take some serious effort from ParkZone/HobbyZone to get my support back.

It will be nothing short of a complete Fuselage for my Slo V and a complete factory colored Fuse and decals for my Stryker from me to even think about them again.

spaz4plastik

So where is the CG supposed to be on the Stryker? I dont remember any bolt imbedded in mine either. I have only one brief flight that ended in some light damage. I'm no Ace but it didnt seem to respond correctly and the winds have been to strong since to take it back out and try again. Glad you posted so I can check mine before I go back out.

Rat1

I set the CG on mine so that it balances out just infront of the finger holds. Some have used the. Before it was balanced to the rear of the finger holds and all it did was drag its butt around in the sky, that is if it flew at all.

spaz4plastik

I had a problem hand launching it. I threw it into the wind and nose up and it smacked the ground in less than feet. The 2nd launch was harder and nose up higher. I got to the TX in time to keep the nose up. Seemed like it was too much work for a foam plane! I am holding out for a better experience than you have had because so many people rave about this plane. I am going to take time to check out the CG and whatever other things I can find out before I dig any holes with it!

Rat1

First off do not throw it up. Throw it straight out under full power. When you throw it up it just stalls out due to not having enough speed then it noses into the ground. Once it is up to speed it will climb under its own power. I manual trimmed mine out so it will not climb unless it is under full power and then it climbs slowly. When I want fast level flight then I just give it a click or two of down trim on the TX. I hate a plane that trys to climb under full power. Mine will hold level flight at 1/4 all the way to 3/4 power and will climb just slightly at full power.

cadetman

Rat1
i sympathies with you completly but dont give up a brill plane because parkzone wont run there supply outlets to suit your needs
i know its frustrating for ya but the F27 is an out of the Box RTF and many people including you and i have had and will have countless Joyful flights with them
with regard getting the stock colours on a bare fuse there are ways..
one of them is to use water slide decals sheets that you can run thru a regular printer then slide them onto the wings,
i know it would be a pain to paint the bare fuse but a little practice on white card and you will be amazed at the results you could get
just use light distance spraying. almost like dusting the paint on
the C-Of-G i have to admit is a Silly ommision on there part and i have to state i have found it difficult to get the info
but thats what this forum is for
in No Way am i trying to defend parkzone but geting new fuse for 20 dollars is Brill
that would be like buying a new shell for a car for 1000 dollars and just slipping the subframe and engine in !! Result NEW CAR
i know if i bust this fuse here it will take weeks to get a new one in the U.K.
Good luck in locating a new fuse and try the painting idea
and lets be honest here when its 200 feet up doing 50 mph will you notice any imperfections
cadetman

cadetman

[img][/img]
this is available in FMS as a Bitmap file if its any use for the water slide decal idea

chasferr

My Feedback: (1)

It seemed to me that it was met to be tail heavy. We took it right out of the box and the first thing I noticed is that it was tail heavy. However, it must be made that way because after the initial alveron adjustment, it flew like a champ. Is it possible that the posts that are having problems are trying to balance the CG when it doesn't need it?

cimmy

I don't have any real experience with park zone how ever I do with hobby zone, I have a zig zag 2 racer very tough little boat. I do have to agree they don't supply any of there parts with out a fight The problem with the company is that they supply to beginners. And they don't feel that they have to support there toys because most people buying them are not really into the hobby and will just go and buy a new one. Provided that they make it easy enough to get one which they do.My suggestion is to get a $35 GWS slow stick and try and move your receiver and servos over to it. You will have a new plane and parts a very easy to get of them.
mike

Epoxy Cup

Yes agree with the previous post. It seems Park Zone supplys to beginners and is not very enthused about supporting their product once it leaves the hobby shop.
Try GWS at least you can purchase all the parts from many sources. Its not a good experiance to buy one of these, crash and be stuck without your plane for need of a $2.00 part.

chris2fly77

My Feedback: (6)

If you want more stable and better built planes go with E-flite Gypsy or Funtana 3d. They are more rigid and fly where you point them. I have never been a fan of foam planes at all they are too lite weight and you have to fight with them to keep them in the air. I will not fly anything unless it is balsa and monokote construction. Just my opinion and sorry about your experience with parkzone. Happy Flying.

hrwatson68

I have to reiterate that I have had no real problems with my Stryker (WHICH ROCKS, AND I LOVE IT!) I have about 14 flights on it and just went to the next lower hole on the elevon mount. It responded faster which was scarier at first, but is is fun fun fun. Anyways, My LHS has all the parts to repair or replace the stryker, cub, slo-v, etc.

And as far as the paint goes...

I am dissapointed that Parkzone can't spray us up some fuses, I think the factory paint is killer! I am confused though about how to mask a bare fuse for painting... I have used some tape to hold down the hatches, and found when you pull it off, paint comes off with the tape, so is there a solution for this problem?

Oh, and as far as the launching goes...
Parkzone says to launch the plane, then give full throttle which I am doing with no problems(I have launched into wind and with the wind this way and have no launch problems whatsoever)

Rat1

To each his own I quess. As of right now I perfer foam to balsa due to the simple fact that if I do have a mishap I can be back flying in less then 20 min with a little 5 min epoxy or foam safe CA. You have mishap and dork a balsa built into the ground and you are on your way home to spend a few hours to get it backtogether again.

Lets not talk abotu fuel powered models. The two strokers are oily noisy and the smell of unburnt fuel in the area is a big turn off for me and alot of people. Never seen a 4 stroke model in action in person so I can not say much about them.

I have ventured into the foam type kits and am staying away from the ParkZone RTF models.

I no longer have a Stryker to speak of. I do still have the electronics etc from one but I burnt the fuse up in the burning pit. It would sure be nice if ParkZone would actually send out some fuses for the stryker.

I stopped in the hobby shop were I had ordered a stryker fuse yesterday and mine is still on backorder. Talk about pissing off the pope.

They were supposed to be back in stock in early december, I ordered mine in November, here it is January and still no parts for my Stryker.

woodduck-RCU

My local hobby shop has 4 fuselages for the Stryker. If you are still looking for one I would be more than happy to pick one up for up for you and ship at actual costs $19.95 + 1.25 tax and actual shipping costs. I think shipping would be about $3.50. The only difficulty will be finding a box to fit the Stryker.
I will pick one up tomorrow if they still have them. If your are not interested I will have a spare.
I currently have 2 Strykers, one is powered by a Mega 16/15/4 brushless motor and the other is powered by a Typhoon 15 outrunner.
Horizon Hobby just did not anticipate those of us building Strykers from parts rather than buying the whole package.
I would not give up on Parkzone , they have replaced motors that I have broken shafts and the servce has been excellent thru Horizon Hobbies I do agree that they should offer a painted fuselage they are tough to paint. To paint them you must cleanly them throughly with acetone, then use acrylic paint. I have a cheap airbrush connected to a $68 Walmart compressor and the paint adheres very well.

Regards

Wood Duck

By the way other members, this is a one time deal, I am not in the rc business.

straitnate14

My Feedback: (2)

i also heard of people putting 11v batteries in the stryker and taking 5/16 of each end off the prop and they were just screemers the guy said that they would beat a .40 plane no problem

and about the 2-stroke thing i agree and i just got a funtana 40 for christmas and i thought a 2-stroke was not worthy to be in a plane this nice so i went and got a 70 4-stroke for it and i love it sounds so cool and flys greatand is very easy to maintain. right now i'm buliding a crazy sparrow with the stock setup

boss_blueangels

That's really too bad about the backorder problem... I guess when/if I need to get a new one, order several at a time. I appreciate the "warning" about the problem.

As for balance issues, that's really dissapointing. Mine right out of the box tracks across the sky like an arrow. Hands off and trim levers centered, that thing goes perfectly straight and level at half throttle.

But as for the complaint about the paint... it says that they only supply unpainted/white ones right in the manual. So, to expect it to be pre-painted I'd say is a bit much. Sure, it'd be GREAT if they did that... but I feel that since it does mention it (a couple of times actually) I wouldn't even give it a second thought. Also, I figure it gives you a chance to customize it more.

At our local hobby shop they have an entire section of an isle filled with hobby/parkzone parts including wings, canopies, engines, props, everything except the fuse for the Stryker.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Rat1,
Yea, I know the feeling, no fuse/no flying, I have 2 on order now for aprox 1 1/2 months. I went into the LHS, yesterday to check on it and some Cub parts, guy at counter said if he got anything in from PZ he'd be lucky if he could sell it, seems packaging from PZ is a problem along with quality control. He told me he had 4 fuselages for Cub so damaged he wouldn't sell them, and showed me the wing I was buying was missing the covering at the front. Oh well, since I couldn't fly either I took parts from my stash pile(read: what was left) and built an " UGLY STICK", Cub tail assy and running gear, Aero bird wing, piece of stick balsa, hand built landing gear, I figured if it crashes and burns, so what. Guess what, it flys like its on rails! Can putter around at !/4 throttle,or blast along at full. Thanks PZ, if it wasn't for your lack of parts I probably would have never thought of building it. Maybe I'll build one with the Stryker running gear next.

BJ

Rat1

Woodduck, you got a deal on that stryker fuse. If you can do paypal I will get the money out to you. As long as shipping is not too much that is. Hate to pay as much shipping as the actual part. It is 30*f below zero right now so it does not look like I will be doing much flying for a bit.