What? No more Spektrum?!

[Grantham Kid]

A newbies enthusiasm can quickly be destroyed by poor quality products and can lead to disillusionment of the hobby. If they receive good products they are more likely to continue in the hobby. Manufacturers that provide bad products are cutting their own throats if new hobbyists find they are forever encountering bad quality, easily broken purchases. They will soon say 'enuff is enuff'.

[Bandiferous93]

Where is there any fun when you're waiting for parts, or better yet, told you'll have your parts at the end of June and here we are in August

You don't have any other models? That's why many of us have a hangar full of stuff to fly. One's down waiting on parts? Boo hoo... Fly something else. Better yet, have entirely different categories. I fly airplanes for a while and then I concentrate on helis or quads or weird VTOL stuff. Heck, I have enough UMX foamies that I could probably fly one every day for the better part of a month and not fly the same one twice. So one model becomes unflyable for whatever reason? Next!

[Bandiferous93]

Chances are you'll start to see a bunch of complaints, the same ones over and over. Then you'll call them and they'll say they haven't "personally" viewed the paperwork to see the problem. So then they want you to send a bunch of pics and they'll call you back back in a week. They don't. So then they turn Mr. Pitbull loose on you. ( Surely a drill instructor from Parris Island. ) His job is to make you feel so stupid you can't explain the problem effectively. So that requires another call to HH and another hour on the phone With still no correction to the problem in the in the first case.

This precisely why I wait for any HH model to become available on Amazon. You have 30 days to return it, no questions asked. No calling Horizon product support and dealing with those bozos who are always "Gee, I've never heard of that problem" when there's often HUNDREDS of pages with zillions of posts about problems with a certain model at places like RCGroups. And, they even have reps commenting in those same threads! I got sick of fighting with HH just to get them to even email me a damned pre-paid return shipping label. So, that's what I do these days. Order it from Amazon, fly the crap out of it right away and if it auto-crashes itself or starts having any problems? Foam junk goes back in the box, taped up, and returned. In fact, I just got my FOURTH E-Flite V-22 Osprey. The first three either killed themselves or had serious issues out of the box. All returned for full refunds. No muss, no fuss even if HH was the vendor on Amazon.

[Valkpilot]

Sorry hear this, Bill, but I can understand. A couple of us who started when we were "older", almost quit several times due to the "misery of defeat". However, we supported each other and we continued till we got better and better. I must admit that I started with Horizon Hobby product from the local shop but mine was a much simpler plane - a Radian sailplane, simple rudder and elevator. The hobby shop support was quite good with this plane and we never suffered the aggravation of lack of parts when we needed it. As I progressed a little more, I went on and discovered HobbyKing and the huge selection of "easy to fly", cheap planes. The parts support wasn't too bad but I had to get used to waiting for stuff to get to me, which sometimes took weeks.
I've concluded that starting off with Horizon Hobby and your local hobby shop and not picking the right plane to learn on is a rough way to go. Even though they market the Kingfisher and Turbo Timber as "trainer" planes, if you are a complete novice, they aren't really that good. Sure, they look good and has eye appeal, but ............................. (you know the rest). They aren't really all that inexpensive nor are they truly (IMO) beginner planes. You can succeed with far cheaper planes that don't have all the trainer bells and whistles. They are of a size and weight that when you plow them in, they break too easily. A smaller, lighter or a more floaty, slower plane with less stuff to deal with (eg, ailerons) can develop confidence and skill with less frustration and cost. 2000 bucks (if that's not counting things like TX, RX and batteries) in your first year is a hellish price to pay for something that's supposed to be a fun hobby.
I may have started with my local hobby shop (and Horizon Hobby) but I didn't stay exclusively with them.

One of my biggest problems is that the nearest "local" hobby shop is an hour's drive. There were 2 closer, but one went under when the latest generation of the family that ran it took over, and the other was a Hobbytown USA, and it went under. Though truly, my biggest problem is that I'm a pilot in a train engineer area, that being the predominant hobby around here.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

You don't have any other models? That's why many of us have a hangar full of stuff to fly. One's down waiting on parts? Boo hoo... Fly something else. Better yet, have entirely different categories. I fly airplanes for a while and then I concentrate on helis or quads or weird VTOL stuff. Heck, I have enough UMX foamies that I could probably fly one every day for the better part of a month and not fly the same one twice. So one model becomes unflyable for whatever reason? Next!

You know its guys like you that keep me from joining a club. You are a tumor. The kind that will back into your car in the parking lot and not tell you about it. I've got lots of planes. But putting out a bunch of money for a piece s**t isn't something an intelligent person would do. So, Mr Boo Hoo, why don't YOU go fly something else and leave the rest of us alone so we don't have to smell you.

[Woodcock]

Hmm, I don't really know how to react to some of this stuff. Best not say a word. Good morning all.

Woody

[Aros]

Alright folks, don't make me pull this car over. Please keep it civil.

[F22trainer]

Just wow...

[Gilatrout]

LOL your right. I've managed to retire more air-frames than most guys do because I can build repair and problem solve. That's what makes the hobby great. I just hung this 1/4 scale N-28 up at the LHS over 17 years old and I couldn't stand it sitting in the shop. Now others can enjoy it.

Mike

Hal's? I need to get down there again. Nice shop, and a nice plane

[MikeT]

Yep Hal's still plugging along.

Mike

[Catdog]

Horizon just lost any an all my business. Shame.

Boo Hoo

[Catdog]

Spektrum isnt all that great so your not missing anything

[Valkpilot]

LOL your right. I've managed to retire more air-frames than most guys do because I can build repair and problem solve. That's what makes the hobby great. I just hung this 1/4 scale N-28 up at the LHS over 17 years old and I couldn't stand it sitting in the shop. Now others can enjoy it.

Mike

The way you have it hung reminds me of the "trapeze" system they used on the Akron and the Macon:

[MikeT]

Spektrum isnt all that great so your not missing anything

Ahhh , the old my radio is better than your radio............................................. ..............................

Mike

[Bandiferous93]

You know its guys like you that keep me from joining a club. You are a tumor. The kind that will back into your car in the parking lot and not tell you about it. I've got lots of planes. But putting out a bunch of money for a piece s**t isn't something an intelligent person would do. So, Mr Boo Hoo, why don't YOU go fly something else and leave the rest of us alone so we don't have to smell you.

Well, if you keep buying pieces of sh**t, that's on YOU. I was talking about ONE model here. And, remember...nobody likes a hater, so you're the one who, in reality, needs a tune-up in the attitude department.

[RCjetdude]

I think it is time for both of you to stop.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

You know what, youre right. I won't let my attitude toward a couple of people infiltrate an otherwise informative and helpful website. If I don't like what you say then I'll move on to the next topic. There's no reason for me to start a crack in the foundation of a good website.

[xviper]

You know what, youre right. I won't let my attitude toward a couple of people infiltrate an otherwise informative and helpful website. If I don't like what you say then I'll move on to the next topic. There's no reason for me to start a crack in the foundation of a good website.

Oh, you didn't start it. We can all see who started it. Likely 2 people who know each other - one with 8 posts, the other with 35 posts. Could even be the same person. I'm sure the mods will be keeping an eye on them and also be able to see what their IPs are.

[Aros]

They have been appropriately dealt with.

[F22trainer]

They have been appropriately dealt with.