splais

My Feedback: (25)

Yes, I may have been a little harsh. But it is clear they did not have an answer or even a suggestion on what to do with the throttle servo lead. I did solve the problem by taking a chance and cutting a hole in the wing spar at the front of the receiver area. There was a hole through the center wingroots that allowed me to thread the lead through. But they should have figured that out and put it in the manual.

I have not yet seen extraordinary customer service from them. When I received the Tetherite gear from them and it was so weak it would not hold up a 4# plane they said I could send it back and they would send the "good" gear. My question is, why did I get the weak one in the first place. I said I really needed the gear and could they ship out the replacement at the same time I sent the bad one back. No, they couldn't do that.

I'll tell you what extraordinary service is. It's a spinner company that sent two spinners with the invoice inside because I needed them in a hurry and didn't have my wallet to give them a credit card number. It's an engine manufacturer that I sent a $600 engine back to because I had crashed it and told them so. When they fixed it and sent it back they told me not worry about it, it was covered by the warrenty! That is customer service.

I have no heartburn with OMP; but my contacts with them have been average at best. I guess I was a little jaded because I had serious problems with my Katena ARF. I had RCU remove a comparison thread I had going on the EF Edge vs the OMP Katena because I was having so many problems with the Katena that I felt were not a fair representation of the product.

In any event the Kadena is now done. It is a nice looking profile and is about 4/10 of a pound lighter than my EF Edge. But at this time, and with the two planes I received, there is no comparison between the two. The EF Edge was in a whole different league in quality and design. Perhaps this new version of the Katena will level the playing field.

Spacey

Splais

*sigh* If i'm not mistaken this is the second time you are bashing OMP....muff. Did you even bother to look at the price difference? Should that not clarify things already? Did you even bother to read the posts made by omp regarding the first shipment of the arf? Did you even bother to ask them about it? STL made it VERY clear that the first shipment was not their ideal! I was not even interested in the arf and I know this? And jumping on the horse over a throttle servo lead? No way sir! First time I've seen a modeller do that. It's is such a quick and easy thing to figure out. No degree required to figure you simply have to cut a little hole in the LE sheating to take it into the fuz? Please do not have another thread deleted? This thread has been very informative for all of us. If not for you then so be it. I can clearly figure from what other people have posted that this arf is more than its money worth already, even with the average quality covering. Your arguments are ridiculous regarding the customer service omp has and I will vouch that they are one of the best companys I have dealt with. I am very sure that there are loads of people that will agree with me on that bit.

And no I do not work for OMP. They did not give me anything for free ever except great advice and piles of help when I needed it. I did not have to give them anything in return money wise. I have only ordered one kit from them and they have given me loads more in return! I will stop now, just felt I had to tell you that I do not agree one bit with what you are saying. Once again I will apologise to everyone else for making such a miserable post, just had to speak my mind quick.

cropdusterdave

My Feedback: (2)

I was able to engineer that stupid little servo lead thing so quickly I guess I didn't even have time to think about it. Can't hardly hate an airplane because of that. The Tethertite thing was addressed too.

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Splais,

You have called and talked with Dion on the phone, we have given you answers and suggestions on everything you have asked about. The Katana ARFs were first runs and this was clearly advertised. The problems you complain about are minor and most builders with minimal experience don't even blink. The throttle cable is a no brainer - get over it. You even complained about gluing on the wing fairings? Dude, this is a Katana - that's the way the wing is designed!

As we do with all our designs, we continuously improve. Even he kits have improved tremendously over time and the ARFs will do the same with each run. Also it takes 3-4 months between ARF runs so just because we say the new improved version is coming out, it won't be available until this fall. I think most folks who have been around the hobby understand this.

Geeeesh!....

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

OK guys to clear some things up. This limited run model was sent to us from our ARF manufacturer in China and new partner Excel Models. Obviously, especially if you bought the plane, they can build great flying and very light ARF's. This plane has been flying in several countries around the world before it made it here to the States for some time. This design is completely different then Matt's Katana Kit and has never been implied as the same. This ARF is not an OMP product as of right now, however we are going to support it like it's one of ours. I can assure you that the next round of ARF's will address any of the minor bugs that was shipped with this version. Most importantly the covering and the manual and any other feedback that YOU THE CUSTOMER have given us.

Now this was the first ARF I have ever built. Of all the planes I ever owned I bought RTF. For me it was just the best solution to buy RTF as I just wanted to learn to fly as fast as possible (ok I'm really just a big sissy, I admit it). But when I got this ARF the only time I had to open the manual was to get the CG. Take a look at the picture of the contents. The control rods were already z-bended so once I screwed in the servos I just picked the right control rod that matched. 2 of them were the same size (ailerons of course). Basically I got this plane at 3 PM UPS and by 9 AM the next morning I was on the field without the loss of 8 hours of sleep. If I would have had a sharp tip soldering iron to remove the some of the covering, I would have done it in 3 hours. However it took me about 4.

As far as the way it flies, just read what the owners have to say about it, that will speak for itself.

Now as far as the landing gear issue. We have been using that light version of the landing gear for 18 months now, it shipped with all OMP kits and sold on the website. We have not seen any bad posts on that landing gear in the last 18 months as well, or at least I have not. As soon as we saw that someone was posting about the gear shipping with the Katanas was too weak, we IMMEDIATELY addressed the issue by only shipping the heavy duty version moving forward and posted that we would replace any bought in the last couple of months. I don't know why all of a sudden this gear is not working on the Katanas? Maybe the stance is different then on the OMP models? Or just maybe you guys are just letting us know now. Either way the issue has been resolved and we are going to take care of anyone who needs to be taken care of. Now we are replacing an $8 pair of Tetherite with a $15 pair of Tetherite, so if some people don't think that shipping it back to us is a fair deal, I'm sorry, but we feel that's more then fair. I have personally always had to ship back anything to have replaced to Tower or Horizon, especially when you are getting a free upgrade.

One other thing about the gear. The new heavy dutys will be shipping in all the .40 kits moving forward. Our cost of these from Tetherite have almost doubled, however the kit price is going to remain the same. The lighter pair was never a "cost issue" like was originally posted in this thread. We at OMP will never, I repeat, never replace cost with quality. They were lighter and we did not hear complaints from anyone, including our own OMP models which they worked just fine.

Thanks for your support and patronage as always!

PlanePlanter

My Feedback: (9)

I did the exact same thing
I don't understand some people beaf about this plane???? Before I purchased mine I knew it was a "Prototype" and that the new ones would have some changes.It was also VERY clear that the ARF's and the KIT's are two different planes. By far this has been the easiest ARF I have EVER put together.( 4 hours tops!) Dang good fly'in plane also! I have learned more in 2 weeks with this plane than I did all last year combined.
Let's all please remember that ARF stands for "ALMOST ready to fly" not " Open box,Put thumbs here,amaze your buddys "
As far a the customer service bashing that is going on in this thread..... I don't see OMP doing anything short of busting their own b@lls to bend over backward and help in ANY way they can.
To all at OMP a big THANKS! Please keep doing what you are doing!
............ OK I'm off my soap box now
Steve

CCRC1

My Feedback: (13)

I am going to chime in here in defense of OMP customer service.
I purchased one of the new ARF Katana's and there were some problems with it when it arrived (90% were from the UPS shipment and only 10% were production issues). OMP, specifically STLPilot, gladly exchanged my ARF for their new Katana kit and I also bought an extra 540 kit to have as a spare. I even got a discount on the two kits for my trouble. Dion I wanted to thank you personally for your kindness with my return.
I have also purchased (2) sets of the TPP14 landing gear from the OMP Booth at Joe Nall and with the two kits I just received I now have (2) more. I need the stronger version of this gear and I wrote STLPilot to ask how I could exchange them for the more expensive ones and I offered to pay the difference. STLPilot wrote back to me that I could return them and OMP would exchange them for the better gear, no charge!
Customer service doesn't get better than this my friends.
Dion, I will be sending the gear back for exchange, but I will be sending you some cash to offset your cost. I really appreciate you generous offer but I honestly don't expect you to give away your products. Thanks for the great support and understanding and I will gladly be doing business with you and OMP again. (Lets get that bipe ready for shipment )
Oh yea, while I have your attention, you guys need to have some decals made so I can put OMP on my planes.

Spacey

Decals! Yeah! We need big decals saying OMP.....wait don't they have those? Decals! Decals!Decals!

3d-aholic

My Feedback: (7)

I have NEVER repeat NEVER gotten a kit or an ARF --- that I didn't have to modify, even ever so slightly, for something my experience told me there was a better way. And in the one case, now, where I'm thinking back on an ARF that took 1 hour to put together 8 total pieces that I only modified one thing....there are at least 2 additional things I can think of now --- that should I build another one, I would modify. Its part of the hobby.

A. Holden

I've already crashed my katana...... it's easily fixed.... if you want to get into all those little details there is always scale aircraft- Profiles are like trucks -they aren't for admiring, they are for flying and crashing- lol- ... you can't become too attached to them cuz you're gonna mess them up- and what the hell does it matter if there is a small hole in the le of your wing? that's so minor- I never even gave it a thought-

I'm with the guys that say "less whining, more 3D"-



Alex

Texas 3D

My Feedback: (16)

[X(] what ??? you work for OMP and have never build a kit plane or ARF before the Katana ???

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Yeh, you get him Ulf! If Dion could build a robot to build his planes and control the robot from his computer he'd do it! He's some kind of computer genius vodoo doctor. lol It's all fun. Oh by the way we do have OMP stickers in three different sizes. Thought they were already on the website......will ge check.

Quicker

All ARFs are like this. Even the much heralded EF Edge 540 has issues. The aileron servo/pushrod install is a PITA! I ruined the stock set of pushrods and had to go buy new ones to replace them. The fuse sheeting around the elevator servo cutout pulled loose when I put the servo in...had to re-glue. I'm just used to it, and I view these as minor issues.

sport10

Also do not forget to mention the issues reported about the weak motor mount on the EF Edge. The motor mount seems to be made of thin plastic to me.

aviti

My Feedback: (54)

Splais - Not trying to gang up on you but all this info was disclosed about the aircraft just like Dion said. I doubt you will ever have this much information available to you from a manufacturer/distributor BEFORE you buy again....

Have fun with the darn thing....it was never so easy to get a light good flying profile in the air....

TailTwister

My Feedback: (1)

I've got something to say about OMP and how they treat their customers. I called Dion three times to get ahead of the pack on ordering. The first two times, he gave me tons of information, but refused my credit card number. Why? Because the product I wanted was not ready to ship. On the third call, he was happy to take my order. How many times have we pounded on a company for the duration of a backorder? I appreciate the integrity it took for Dion to refuse my money on bahalf of OMP. Hundreds of companies would have taken the money, and some of them would have lied about the expected delay. OMP (Dion specifically) wasn't going to risk the reputation of the company for the sake of an advance sale. Thank you Dion! And also, Dion and Mike both said it was not their plane. This was a "turn key" operation. Both said they were working on a second run. Both posted here to try and help you. Give them a break. My 7 and 5 year old girls have a rhyme for situations like this, "You get what you get, and you don't make a fit." It's a good plane, now go fly the darn thing. If you hate it, sell it!

As for deleting the OMP Katana vs EF Edge thread, I had not been aware of it, but thats pure crap. I believe I posted a couple of thoughts there, and I guess I'm one of the ones not fairly representing their product. So, here it is again! First off, there is a coolness that the EF Edge has, that the Katana ARF does not. The EF Edge is a generation ahead of the Katana as for the design. Now with that said, I sold my EF Edge, and replaced it with the Katana ARF. The Katana is 6 ounces lighter, and in my opinion (and for my taste) the Katana ARF flies better.

So, who do I go see to delete a thread that I don't agree with? [:@]

splais

My Feedback: (25)

OK, I'm going to post one last time against my better judgement. First off I would like to apologize for pissing everyone off. That was not my intent. I started my little project with absolutely no preknowledge or judgement of either company. I thought it would be really great to post a comparison of two planes I expected to be great little builds. The Edge came first and was a surprisingly quick build and high quality plane. I anticipated the same thing from OMP. This is were things get a little screwy and I probably could have handled it a little better. IF I had been aware of the problems I was going to have I probably would have contacted OMP and seen about sending the plane back. But you know how things go, you start something want to finish it and so you fix a little thing here and a little thing there. But all of a sudden you realize you are in a mess. I was so disappointed I probably approached the problem incorrectly. I think we all realize that even the best of companies can have a bad product come off the line every once in a while. I deleted the thread because I did not believe the problems I was having were representative of OMP. It was my thread and I saw no point in ignoring problems or in writing about things I though were not representative. By the time I realized this things had already gotten going.

It took many hours over 4 days to finish the Kantana. They are both finally done and are nice looking birds as you can see from the pic. They are identically equipped with Hitec 5625 servos and YS63 engines. The Katana will fly this weekend.

I do not feel it would serve any purpose to go into my problems with the Katana and will not do so. I will, however, state that there seems to be an ever increasing trend on RCU of polarization among brands and people jumping all over anyone that posts having any kind of problem with a plane. I personnally feel like people should post their experiences, good and bad and let people make up there own mines. I also think it is an unwinable arguement to address issues of what companies should or should not do, what buyers should or shouldn't know ahead of time, and just how far we should go in talking about problems.

I was also pleasantly surprised with the totally acceptable tone of the OMP reply to this entire issue, several posts above. So I'm going to consider this entire thing as a learning experience and move on. In that vain, having built these two planes side-by-side, I post below my build comparisons of the two planes without addressing those Katana issues I consider to be unusual/onetime problems.

The EF Edge had better covering and what I considered a better overall design. You, may not agree; but this is a personal preference issue more than anything else. I liked the throttle servo mounted in the fuselage. I also liked the layout of the elevator and rudder servos better. The slot in the bottom of the fuselage for the servo leads was a really nice easy solution. The vertical stab was already installed and a nice touch. The control surfaces on the EF Edge are larger than the Katana and the Edge has a longer wing cord. I have no idea if these things make a difference in flight characteristics. The Edge has a double beveled elevator.

The EF Edge and OMP Katana tie for bad manuals. Tie on both having one piece wings and elevators which saves a lot of time.

I give kudos to the Katana for the external mounted wing servos, engine mounting rails and the nice large receiver/battery box that allows for quit a bit of adjustment for both lateral and longitudnal balance. I also give the edge to the Katana for visibility, it has more contrast than the EF Edge. The edge (pun) also goes to the Katana in weight. My K was .4 pounds lighter than the Edge.

TailTwister

My Feedback: (1)

I know you are trying to be conservative in your posts, but short of all of the covering falling off, I can't imagine what took 4 days. If you are trying to put together a comprehansive comparison, you should include those details. If you now choose not to compare them, then that's your perogative.

My Edge and My Katana went together in far less than a day's work (meaning 8 hours or less each). I was slowed due to the fact that I do the Mr. Mom thing all week, and couldn't just slam into it for 6 hours straight. There are laws about feeding children, you know...

I too was confused by the throttle servo wire routing. I called Dion, and he told me to cut the hole in the wing LE and in the ply spar. I did exactly that. I fly my Katana very hard, and have already cartwheeled it once. The spar is fine. As long as the drill or Dremel tool doesn't split the wood there, I think it's fine.

I used an HS-81 for the throttle, with a plastic snap on side mount that came with one of my HS-85MGs. My throttle servo is near the stock spot, but moved further back. It is all but touching the wing.

For the sake of a real tight waterfall, I double beveled my elevator. Harriers do not require anywhere near this throw, but I like tight waterfalls. I now can get 60 degrees easy.

I also added some custom lettering and tail artwork (PRO BRO stuff).

Even with those non-mentioned steps to completion, I'm sure I've got 8 hours or less invested in the Katana.

Sitting here now, I do not recall any stumbles in the EF Edge assembly. Like I said, it is a bit ahead of the Katana in design. Really, glue in the wing, glue on the tail, install the engine and radio, go fly. The Katana needed a little more than that, but not much more.

The books on both were for an experienced ARFer. I've seen some kits that were "builders kits", and nightmares to build. I once did one that the parts weren't even cut, just PRINTED on the balsa. For these two books, I'm reminded of the old Lego instructions, where they just show you what the step looks like when done. That's what these are like. My $300 AeroWorks Edge was the same way. Maybe OMP will have a new book for the next run. I think the EF book was a bit better, but not by much.

As to the flying, both are really good planes. Any pilot will be able to really show off with these two. My preference, considering on how I like to fly is still the Katana P ARF.

Quicker

I was EXCITED when I got one that had printing on the balsa. I remember tracing the parts onto the wood....[8D] Kids these days Next we will start getting upset people because they actually have to glue a (already completed) wing into the fuse. THE HORROR OF IT ALL!!!

TailTwister

My Feedback: (1)

Reply to Quicker-

[8D]

Spacey

Lol...yeah this things are pretty high tech considering! Has anyone ever built a dave platt kit? THE HORROR!

cropdusterdave

My Feedback: (2)

First plane I ever built/flew was a Sig Kadet MKII. All the parts were traced with almost unintelligable blue, slurry ink. It flew like shizz too. The Katana was my first ever ARF and I can't imagine an airplane being much easier. But I kinda like to build.

BTW: You guyzz' Katanas flat spin ok? I haven't mooved my CG back yet....it won't go even close to flat. I don't know if I'll even mess with it as I really like the way it's handling now and other stuff is no prob. (well, actually waterfalls could use a little more butt weight) I think I'll put a mini servo on throttle and see where that gets me.

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

Set the CG at 1150 MM. They say 1000, but it's not enough. That will do the job. Plane flys great real tail heavy.

Go inverted 1/2 throttle straight and level. It should not come down at all, it's even better if it starts to pitch up inverted, then it's good and tail heavy. It will harrier with barely any elevator.

cropdusterdave

My Feedback: (2)

OK... mine needs a bit of stick in the inverted. I'm definately going to add tail weight to this one...so I'll have to do a little tweaking. All my radio gear is back as far as it can get. I gotta big servo up there for throttle, though.

lxcoupe

My Feedback: (34)

Mine also requires just a touch of down inverted with the cg right at the recommended. I'm wondering if the stableness in a hover and tourqe roll will diminish by moving the cg back. With the YS-63 this planes is almost as easy as a foamy to hover. With almost the same type of foamy punch out. truly has to be seen to believed. Maybe I'll take a little lead with me next time out.
Al