why are they so expensive??
 

Im not talking about the turbine itself but the plane. why are the arfs so expensive for a jet?

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

Try building one from a kit or better yet scratch to the level that a decent arf is and you will understand.

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

The Baby Boomerang always makes me wonder about pricing. When other similar sized wood ARF's have a prop up front the price is usually half or less.

Still, they are very popular, so it's probably a case of charging what people are prepared to pay. - John.

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

I have also often wondered about the pricing of the Baby Boomer. I'm sure if it had a prop on the fron it would be 1/3 of the price.

In saying that, it flies extremely well! A bit of R&D has gone into the design. So I guess your paying for the time spent on the design.

Greg

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

In most jets there are more expensive materials used such as CF and Kevlar..Also, the volume of sales is in the few hundreds vs, lets say, Great planes that sells thousands of their ARF prop models. Hence the price is less (they also have the buying power unlike jet mfg'ers). If you look at some of the IMAC planes, they are almost the same price as a good jet ARF. Again, supply and demand and lower volume keeps the price up of these "specialty" planes....

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

Volume...Volume....Volume.....

Put a prop on the front and you'll sell far more airframes than a turbine version. Tooling and production costs are rolled into the kit price. sell 2500-5000 prop units as opposed to 250-500 turbine units and the costs come down substantially!

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

At one time I felt the same, why so expensive but now that I have spent 4 years building one from scratch I would gladly pay the price just for the time saved if my project was available as an ARF. That doesn't even include my materials cost which is probably as much as the cost of a comparable ARF.

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

I also marvel at the cost of SETUP, nevermind materials and production.

When Alan (or anyone else) make 2 or 3 trips to China to tweak prototypes in pre-production and make suggested improvements during production...that's easily $10-15000 in expenses.

How many kits do you need to sell to recover just that cost alone ?

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

they are not expensive.. have you calculated already how much your car depreciates each year? ;)

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

Quite a lot, given that I have a VW Passat.

Every time some part falls off (which is about once every 3 months on average over the last 4 years) I figure that's a few hundred less that the remaining parts are worth. The value of the parts that have fallen off on the freeway (underbody heat shield, turbocharger parts, front grill and associated bodywork, lights, etc., etc) would easily pay for an average ARF ! :eek:

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

Gordon, that´s not bad at all...if you had bought a VW Phaetom instead you would had easily payed for the entire ARF factory!

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

For what I lost on my complete LEMON of a mercedes , I could have bought a fleet of turn-key BVM UB's...........

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

One reason is its so labor intensive to produce an arf. Like stated earlier-try making one yourself. I paid $1800 for a complete Tam a-4 minus electronics and turbine. I dont feel it was too expensive at all. Buying a good but used a/c is quite affordable IMO-

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

Believe it or not, in most cases, labour is the least expensive in the orient. Epoxy resins, Kevlar, CF and fiberglass are the main costs.

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

You know what they say about people who drive Passats!!!![X(]

Village People...... OOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhh...

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

That may explain why I had such a good time playing the Village People slot machine during our recent cruise !! :)

The Passat would be gone by now if Honda would get their ***** in gear and get the Accord Deisel Wagon over here pronto. (http://www.mpgomatic.com/honda_accord_diesel.html) Big enough to carry one jet if I can't be bothered using the Savana (at 10 mpg) for some long trip.

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

My take is a bit different…

Price is almost strictly based on whatever the market will bear.

Manufacturing costs, volume, location of dealers, scrap rate from QC, logistics, etc, etc, etc, all add to the equation later, which then generates a profit margin.

That profit margin (forecasted) determines whether or not the initial investment is made, and if the product ever comes to the market. Its cases where the final price is overestimated and/or the manufacturing/distribution costs are underestimated, which result in lower than expected profit margins. That typically drives the unfortunately common story of retailers or manufacturers having trouble or going under in the worst case…

The correct route is to ensure the price is high enough to keep volume yet ensure some safety room on profits, while I’m sure most are working like crazy to minimize costs and stay afloat on such a small market size… Sweat equity often helps, which means the retailer really isn’t making what they should be for all the work they put in.

Kelly

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

I also drive a Passat TDI and would dump it in a heartbeat for that Honda. Engine and transmission, never had a single problem. Everything else falls apart faster than I can fix it :(

RE: why are they so expensive??
 

What did you expect from a VW:). You do know what VW stands for and why it was made to start with, right?;)

Gordon, get a real car man, How about the BL Maxima[&:] or a 2L Rover[:@]. I had one of those, it used to pop out of 2nd gear[>:]