F4 Phantom

[Aros]

Well since you are one of the only ones I've ever heard having this issue with this model there won't be any taking one of our best-selling EDFs off the shelves.

[Griffon Wings]

I own the 8s Version and she fly fast , also take off are done from grass and i never had problems ( unless rain from day before ) .
Pilot error , on a turn for landing , a tree dediced to hug it with many brunches ... . Poor judgment, my mistake.
then got the 8S F-22, but that’s another story, another great jet.
does happen , at times , to find a not so good apple in the basket, unfortunate, but happen. To all .
I got more then few from Motion and i must be lucky most of the times, and , IF , i have a tiny or big issue costumer service , no matter who , always take care of the situation. I guess when you love something or somebody it’s easy to forgive.

Just a personal opinion. No more no less.

[yohay@aol.com]

All, I have been flying for over 25 years, and have a few mrc 3df planes.
to he e f4 6s is a fog, sorry.
I had 2 of them now, both the very same behavior.
Not impressed, waste of good money.

[yohay@aol.com]

Aros, bought the f4 6s from mrc.

[yohay@aol.com]

Had 2 other guys with me, who can testify to the poor performance.
I know it's not fun to read bad comments, and I wish I had a better report, but they is the truth.

[Aros]

Did you calibrate the ESC to make sure you are getting full power? It sounds like you are not getting the full throttle power response you should be getting. Also, I am not sure why you are hesitant to contact our customer support? They could assist you to help determine the cause of the poor performance.

[Ks.jetflyer]

Mine is from the initial batch. Flying 6s with the old outrunner set up. While not a speed demon, it's no slouch. I like the set up, lighter than the 8s or inrunner version. One of these days I might change to the newer outrunner fan.

[Aros]

That was my experience as well. Bought the first batch 6S and loved it.

[Madness]

I am very new at flying planes (started 1 year ago) but I have been racing electric TC competitively for about 20+ years (Reedy races, ROAR Nationals, Triple Crowns etc.. and I can safely say I know a thing or two about electric components and batteries. By no means I am a technical expert but sometimes I get bothered by condescending comments in these forums. As a modelist, I have an expectation of what a good product should look and feel like. As far as my experience with the MRC F4, it wasn't horrible but at the same time was a little bit surprising that I wasn't getting the performance I read about from people on forums and you tube videos. Again, never complained directly to the supplier, I just suck it up and try to make it work. This does not mean I have to shut my mouth and not share my experience, if you don't like it or do not agree that's ok but it is still my experience. I repeat it again, my F4 in particular DID NOT PERFORMED as it should be. In my case. 2.5 minutes of regular mixed throttle flight time out of a new (and pre-cycled) 6,000 mah battery in a calm wind day IS NOT normal.

Did I calibrate the ESC..of course! It will be a mistake not to. Why did I did not contact customer support you say, because the two times I have done it they have come up with really condescending responses! First was my 90mm F-18, maiden flight crash because on take off the power cut off. Sent CS pictures of the EDF bay with the motor cables detached and they still said that it was not possible. I suck it up and bought everything that was damaged and then going thru the forums I come across not one, but two people that had the same problem. This tells me that the problem was not me, it was a QC problem that MRC could not or did not want to address. Again, did not make a bit fuss about it, just bought the parts (fuselage, canopy, retracts etc.) because at the end this is just a freaking hobby, if you can't afford it you should not be in it right? Then it was a MIG 21 Fishbed that I bought, the aileron were completely detached from the wing. I get it, there is a thin part of it that can break apart WITH USE but the actual hinges should be solid right? Well, THEY WERE MOVING UP AND DOWN AND LEFT TO RIGHT!, still MRC told me that that was normal...so normal in fact that they sent me instructions on HOW TO FIX IT! If it's normal, why do I have to fix it? I took the wing to about 5 hobby shops in South Florida and they all told me the same thing, you should not fly that wing like that. Again, I bought a new set of wings and surprisingly enough they are in great, great shape. Funny, the ones that came with the brand new plane did not look like the replacement ones, go figure. Have around 10 flights on the plane and the ailerons are intact. That's the funny part!

And, the good old OV-10 Bronco, don't get me started on that one...

You see, after all these "mishaps" I have never, ever talked trash about MRC heck, I believe I even said I'll buy one of their products again when my bitterness goes away. Have being a product manager myself, I have a good insight on problems that could arise on production batches and so forth and it's not always the distributor/dealer fault when bad products gets into customer's hands. That does not mean that on my case, they have been assertive. Again, having owned a lot of premium r/c surface products (Mugen Seiki, Serpent, Capricorn, Team Losi, Team Associated, Schumacher, Infinity, Team ORCA, Infinity, Trinity, LRP, Muchmore, Yokomo etc..) it has been very surprising to me the inconsistency in quality of these air models.

Again, I take it as they come but don't ever, ever expect me to not voice my opinion and share my experience on products that I have acquired with my hard earned money.

In the meantime, I'll keep working on my bird until it flies right!

[Aros]

Madness I'm not sure if you are addressing me specifically but I am confused, I was addressing yohay@aol.com out of simple curiosity. Yet your response sounds like you ARE yohay@aol.com... Please correct me if I am wrong. Everyone has a right to voice their opinion and share experiences, good, bad or indifferent here. I cannot comment on your experiences with our CS, especially since it does not resonate with my experience working for this company for almost 8 years. If you felt you were given poor treatment that is something we can certainly look into as the very genesis of this company is "where customers matter".

[Evan D]

As I said earlier in this thread we are all allowed our opinions (until it crosses some fuzzy line). But also remember this forum is not the average public forum, it was created and managed by MRC and what I would can motion/ FreeWing/ FlightLine fans post on here. Not to say, again, that if you have issues with a product you shouldn't do so.

But remember this is a forum, and MRC CS people are on here too, but if you truly want issues to be known or your issue to be looked at or corrected you should contact MRC customer service.


All that said, I'm sure you have seen or even had RC cars that were "dogs" and many, maybe all, that needed a mod or two or many to get how you want it. Why would you expect different from an RC airplane?

And 2:30 is not normal on a 6000 unless full throttle all the time. That would also be pretty hard on the battery. If you needed full throttle the whole flight to stay i the air then I agree there was a problem.

I am very new at flying planes (started 1 year ago) but I have been racing electric TC competitively for about 20+ years (Reedy races, ROAR Nationals, Triple Crowns etc.. and I can safely say I know a thing or two about electric components and batteries. By no means I am a technical expert but sometimes I get bothered by condescending comments in these forums. As a modelist, I have an expectation of what a good product should look and feel like. As far as my experience with the MRC F4, it wasn't horrible but at the same time was a little bit surprising that I wasn't getting the performance I read about from people on forums and you tube videos. Again, never complained directly to the supplier, I just suck it up and try to make it work. This does not mean I have to shut my mouth and not share my experience, if you don't like it or do not agree that's ok but it is still my experience. I repeat it again, my F4 in particular DID NOT PERFORMED as it should be. In my case. 2.5 minutes of regular mixed throttle flight time out of a new (and pre-cycled) 6,000 mah battery in a calm wind day IS NOT normal.

Did I calibrate the ESC..of course! It will be a mistake not to. Why did I did not contact customer support you say, because the two times I have done it they have come up with really condescending responses! First was my 90mm F-18, maiden flight crash because on take off the power cut off. Sent CS pictures of the EDF bay with the motor cables detached and they still said that it was not possible. I suck it up and bought everything that was damaged and then going thru the forums I come across not one, but two people that had the same problem. This tells me that the problem was not me, it was a QC problem that MRC could not or did not want to address. Again, did not make a bit fuss about it, just bought the parts (fuselage, canopy, retracts etc.) because at the end this is just a freaking hobby, if you can't afford it you should not be in it right? Then it was a MIG 21 Fishbed that I bought, the aileron were completely detached from the wing. I get it, there is a thin part of it that can break apart WITH USE but the actual hinges should be solid right? Well, THEY WERE MOVING UP AND DOWN AND LEFT TO RIGHT!, still MRC told me that that was normal...so normal in fact that they sent me instructions on HOW TO FIX IT! If it's normal, why do I have to fix it? I took the wing to about 5 hobby shops in South Florida and they all told me the same thing, you should not fly that wing like that. Again, I bought a new set of wings and surprisingly enough they are in great, great shape. Funny, the ones that came with the brand new plane did not look like the replacement ones, go figure. Have around 10 flights on the plane and the ailerons are intact. That's the funny part!

And, the good old OV-10 Bronco, don't get me started on that one...

You see, after all these "mishaps" I have never, ever talked trash about MRC heck, I believe I even said I'll buy one of their products again when my bitterness goes away. Have being a product manager myself, I have a good insight on problems that could arise on production batches and so forth and it's not always the distributor/dealer fault when bad products gets into customer's hands. That does not mean that on my case, they have been assertive. Again, having owned a lot of premium r/c surface products (Mugen Seiki, Serpent, Capricorn, Team Losi, Team Associated, Schumacher, Infinity, Team ORCA, Infinity, Trinity, LRP, Muchmore, Yokomo etc..) it has been very surprising to me the inconsistency in quality of these air models.

Again, I take it as they come but don't ever, ever expect me to not voice my opinion and share my experience on products that I have acquired with my hard earned money.

In the meantime, I'll keep working on my bird until it flies right!

[SanExup]

Madness I tend to look at other people's 'airplane ' issues as if it were my own model in front of me. And based on your initial description the questions about your ESC being calibrated or your battery being a dud, are the first place I'd start, so thus the line of questioning. I have inadvertently recalibrated an esc out at the field, out of excitement or whatever, didn't notice and barely got airborne. Fortunately it was a model I'd flown 100 times and immediately landed. I thought it was a dead battery, I've done that before too. These things do happen, even with the brightest most talented rc pilots/mechanics.

I hope you do fix the rhino and get it back in the air!

[Madness]

Madness I'm not sure if you are addressing me specifically but I am confused, I was addressing yohay@aol.com out of simple curiosity. Yet your response sounds like you ARE yohay@aol.com... Please correct me if I am wrong. Everyone has a right to voice their opinion and share experiences, good, bad or indifferent here. I cannot comment on your experiences with our CS, especially since it does not resonate with my experience working for this company for almost 8 years. If you felt you were given poor treatment that is something we can certainly look into as the very genesis of this company is "where customers matter".

I am not pretending to be anybody here, as an administrator of this forum which is managed by MRC you can verify my information in your CRM system. My name is (edited by Mods for privacy). To be completely honest with you, the last issue I had with the MIG wing was the last drop that spilled the water. How come 5 different experienced hobby store owners and/or managers all agreed that there was an issue with the aileron yet the response from your team was that that was "normal"?. I would at least have asked for the references of those stores to discuss with them their findings. Furthermore, If your people would have asked me to send the wing back for inspection I would have done it too..at my cost. Granted, you guys did issue a $20.00 credit which I appreciate but the damage was already done. I bought my wings and the bird is flying, that's all that matters to me.

[Madness]

Madness I tend to look at other people's 'airplane ' issues as if it were my own model in front of me. And based on your initial description the questions about your ESC being calibrated or your battery being a dud, are the first place I'd start, so thus the line of questioning. I have inadvertently recalibrated an esc out at the field, out of excitement or whatever, didn't notice and barely got airborne. Fortunately it was a model I'd flown 100 times and immediately landed. I thought it was a dead battery, I've done that before too. These things do happen, even with the brightest most talented rc pilots/mechanics.

I hope you do fix the rhino and get it back in the air!

Thanks! I have already bought a new Castle Edge ESC 200 Amps and I'm going to replace the EDF with a Wemotec/Hacker combo. Can't wait to get her out to the field!

[Madness]

As I said earlier in this thread we are all allowed our opinions (until it crosses some fuzzy line). But also remember this forum is not the average public forum, it was created and managed by MRC and what I would can motion/ FreeWing/ FlightLine fans post on here. Not to say, again, that if you have issues with a product you shouldn't do so.

But remember this is a forum, and MRC CS people are on here too, but if you truly want issues to be known or your issue to be looked at or corrected you should contact MRC customer service.


All that said, I'm sure you have seen or even had RC cars that were "dogs" and many, maybe all, that needed a mod or two or many to get how you want it. Why would you expect different from an RC airplane?

And 2:30 is not normal on a 6000 unless full throttle all the time. That would also be pretty hard on the battery. If you needed full throttle the whole flight to stay i the air then I agree there was a problem.

Hi Evan. Yes, I did contact CSR for other issues but at the end of the day, they were not resolved. Again, never complained and just did the troubleshooting and repairs/upgrades myself. The issue with the MIG was the one that really got me reeling off and just couldn't stay silent any longer.

In the surface world, at least on competition grade products, I have never had a "dog" product. Don't confuse making a mod to personalize performance you want out of the product with having the latter work as it was intended to. They are totally different things. If for example you get a nitro engine and after break in and constant tuning the engine does not work right do you think I have to modify the engine to make it work right? Absolutely not! Something is wrong with the product.

As far as the flight time, yes, I was surprised it came back with those numbers given the performance I was getting . Took a long time to take off and it flew rather slow. I re-calibrated the ESC twice and in the last flight of the day the landing was a little bit rough because I was struggling with the power and damaged the front retract. I just bought a new ESC and EDF, hopefully the bird is going back in the air soon.

[Hugh Wiedman]

As usual, I'm late to the party, but find some of the complaints very surprising. I have 2 of the original 6S F-4's and did quite a lot of customization to each adding additional weight over the stock bird. At the time, they came with the 1750 Kv outrunner. They both took off of grass fine, and flew, at least IMO, fairly well, including vertical performance. I recently upgraded both fans (as well as my F-18 that had the same old outrunner) with the 12 blade, 1835Kv inrunner. They now fly incredibly well, taking off of grass in 1/2 the distance of the old fan at 100 feet or less (with TO flaps), are blistering fast and climb like a missal. I'm rarely at 100% throttle, even while climbing. I can't compare with the 9 blade inrunner as I've never had one, but today this EDF is all I could ask for. Flies just as well, if not better, than the 8S version (there is one flown at our club) as it carries less weight, but just not quite the same flight time. I'm still getting just under 4 minutes of very aggressive flying on an HRB 6000 or a RT 6250. So I have nothing but praise for it, probably more to do with the upgraded fan. It's now a real blast to fly, and the sound of the 12 blade is oh so sweet! It actually takes off in the same distance as my Avanti (but do not use TO flaps there) and climbs just as well, but top end the Avanti has a slight edge.