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Lack of spare parts, be warned


tigerman
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Getting fed up 

All these companies like Eflite and  Arrow are promoting their new EDF and pushing you to buy all these nice new EDF, but and in my opinion it is a big but. Both Eflite and Arrow do not back these EDF with spare parts. Try getting spare parts for say Eflite 80mm F 16 or Arrows F15!!!!!! 

Almost impossible. The only company that surport spare parts for their EDF is Freewing/Motion RC  but the down side of trying to get spare parts from Motion RC is they use Fed Ex and they keep loosing my parcels 

I have stop buying anymore EDF because of this spare part problem ?

Edited by tigerman
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Lack of spares is not specific to our hobby.

It applies to practically every aspect of life these days, particularly the motor and electronics industries.

It is not just a U.K. problem either. It is a consequence of what has happened in the world over the last three years and the disruption to production.

Not only of manufactured products, but also production of natural products.

We have had the party. Now we are getting the hangover.

The question is, when we recover will we want to go partying again ?

The answer is that as a species, probably yes as we never learn.

?

Edited by kevin b
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So what is the point of spending £600 on a Eflite 80mm F16. Have one heavy landing and that puts the model out of commission because there are no spare parts in the UK. Funny they seem to be able to keep the kits fully stock in the UK but not the spare parts. Rip off comes to mind. They are happy to sell you a £600 kit but can not be bothered to keep spare parts for that kit 

I have gone back to building my own again. These expensive Foamy EDF are just a cash cow, easy money and once you have brought the kit you are on your own 

Any one want to buy a Eflite 80mm F16 minus a front landing gear???? 

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Contacted Jon a couple of weeks back and discussed at length model suitability and engine compatibility. Selected engine and less than 2 weeks later got a call saying it was ready for collection (could have been posted, but I was returning a 150 for service). 

 

Installed, second flick and it started, no adjustment and it was off for a noise test and fly.

 

Sorry, but my days of hammering ultra expensive lipos with edf's has passed.

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Chris w

36 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

Contacted Jon a couple of weeks back and discussed at length model suitability and engine compatibility. Selected engine and less than 2 weeks later got a call saying it was ready for collection (could have been posted, but I was returning a 150 for service). 

 

Installed, second flick and it started, no adjustment and it was off for a noise test and fly.

 

Sorry, but my days of hammering ultra expensive lipos with edf's has passed.

Well there you go. A company that cares about it's customers. Laser are first class and  Jon is very helpful even if you want info and it is not a Laser. May be these big companies like  Horizion Hobby should look how Laser and Jon treat their customers. They could learn a lot from how Jon/Laser treat customers. Shame a lot  more companies do not respect their customers

No more Foames for me back to the workshop and start getting out the Balsa ?

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Surprisingly, the Americans really rate Horizon Hobby's after sales service........ I think the UK market is small, so they treat us with distain.

 

Curiously, I'm moving more towards my noisy, wood, i.c. planes these days.  Got 3 serviceable at the mo', with 2 more in the build process.  Wasn't any particular reason I don't think.

Edited by GrumpyGnome
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Again rang some well know model shops who do spare parts for models and both told me the just can not get Horizion Hobby to send them any spare parts for the Eflite 80mm F16. They said there is nothing they can do, it is out of there hands. It is not a case of it will take X amount of time to get them from the USA. They just can not get spare parts for the Eflite 80mm F 16 

Bear that in mind if you are considering buying the Eflite 80mm F16. My advice is buy the Freewing 90mm F16. Then you can get spare parts for it and it is cheaper. Whish I had done that now. Never going to by an Horizion Hobby model again 

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2 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said:

Surprisingly, the Americans really rate Horizon Hobby's after sales service........ I think the UK market is small, so they treat us with distain.

 

Curiously, I'm moving more towards my noisy, wood, i.c. planes these days.  Got 3 serviceable at the mo', with 2 more in the build process.  Wasn't any particular reason I don't think.

If you build it,  you can fix it.
And the general moan about spares isn’t confined to Horizon. I read a couple of weeks ago, a major car producer had no spares to repair a current production model. While the factory was in full swing producing the same car, with the missing spare fitted. Capitalism in action.

Mind, I’ve been in this hobby a long time and I’ve not noticed any particular worsening in spare availability. It’s always been pants.

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Just had a reply from Horizion Hobby Europe 

They confirmed they will not ship anything to the UK due to the EU complication. Funny how do all these Horizion Hobby Kits get here then. Be warned if you buy a Horizion Hobby model you will not be able to get any spare parts for then now 

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With the exception of smaller, FPV type models (usually direct from Banggood / Aliexpress) I’ve now turned my back on foamies and ARTFs due, in part, to the problems experienced by Tigerman. Due to the spiralling cost of batteries etc I’m also building more models for IC and why wouldn’t you when there is a British manufacturer providing some of the best glow engines there are to be had, who also provides a spares service and is also on hand to personally help with engine related problems. This is not a blatant plug for Laser but is, for me, just pure common sense!

Edited by Ron Gray
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Surely actually making your own flying models, even from a kit or from a plan, even using modern "different" materials, is what we did years ago ?

 

All you need is basic woodworking skills that used to be taught in schools, or from your dad.

 

Make the models your self, even from foam etc., a win win. Win and enjoy the "making" proccess, win again when you fly it. It's aeromodeling at its best.

 

However, if you have loads of money, just "buy" your enjoyment, and scrap it when you break it, or learn to repair it !

 

A ready made Rtf model may look good, but a "self made" model is better in my eyes, more " credibility" especially free flight....the true aeromodellers.

 

Stay safe out there and enjoy.

Edited by Rich Griff
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2 hours ago, tigerman said:

Just had a reply from Horizion Hobby Europe 

They confirmed they will not ship anything to the UK due to the EU complication. Funny how do all these Horizion Hobby Kits get here then. Be warned if you buy a Horizion Hobby model you will not be able to get any spare parts for then now 

Was discussing this exact point only the other morning - getting those E-Flite spares delivered to the UK is almost impossible and also expensive. Just be aware there is a scam going round the internet, especially on FB,  with supposed E-Flite models being offered at a fraction of their usual cost -if it sounds too good to be true it very probably isn't true.

The situation with Durafly is almost as bad - spares are in short supply and need to come from the HK Global warehouse, with eye-watering shipping costs, especially if it's a small item.

At least Motion RC EU do carry good stocks of spares for their main model brands, but then there is the issue you've identified with FedEx and delayed deliveries.

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Whilst it is a good idea to inform everyone about the lack of spares situation it might be more productive to use the forum to find ways to mend the broken item!   What is so damged that it couldn't be repaired by a competant modeller or model engineer?  Paying a model engineer a reasonable amount to repair an item ( I am assuming it's it's a retract or something of that nature ) might be a solution.......       

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I was just having a conversation with a customer about the lifespan of models. I have some models that are tapping on for 15 years old and have a group in the 7-11 year range. I know many of us here on the forum have models that are getting on in years but i think generally most people dont and i have even had people scoff at me for flying a model that old and not throwing it away. 'i would be bored of it by now' is the common justification for getting something new. As pointed out already not building the thing limits your ability to repair it so there is a skill issue too. 

 

Its not just model flying, but society in general is throw away in nature and horizon probably figure that its not worth stocking spare parts as most will just buy another model. To use your example of binning a model with a broken u/c, i have seen it happen. They take the rx out and burn the whole lot on the field, servos and all. Next week they are back up there with a new model. It really makes me angry when i see this sort of thing. 

 

On the other side, horizon used to have really good spares support when they had a facility in the UK, now its all in europe i am not surprised it is a dogs dinner. 

 

 

 

 

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19 hours ago, tigerman said:

Chris w

Well there you go. A company that cares about it's customers. Laser are first class and  Jon is very helpful even if you want info and it is not a Laser. May be these big companies like  Horizion Hobby should look how Laser and Jon treat their customers. They could learn a lot from how Jon/Laser treat customers. Shame a lot  more companies do not respect their customers

No more Foames for me back to the workshop and start getting out the Balsa ?

 

Thanks, i do my best. 

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Interestingly, I broke the mount on my righthand retract while landing my Eflite 1.5m P51 heavily a few weeks ago. I couldn't get HH in the US to send me a spare and HH Europe wasn't interested in delivering to the UK. There were no replacements to be had in the UK, but I persevered and eventually found a replacement on the Aerobertics.be website. Got my card out and ordered instantly. It got a bit delayed by the Easter weekend but finally arrived the day after Easter Monday. Couldn't be more happy with  the service from Bruges.

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2 hours ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

I was just having a conversation with a customer about the lifespan of models. I have some models that are tapping on for 15 years old and have a group in the 7-11 year range. I know many of us here on the forum have models that are getting on in years but i think generally most people dont and i have even had people scoff at me for flying a model that old and not throwing it away. 'i would be bored of it by now' is the common justification for getting something new. As pointed out already not building the thing limits your ability to repair it so there is a skill issue too. 

 

Its not just model flying, but society in general is throw away in nature and horizon probably figure that its not worth stocking spare parts as most will just buy another model. To use your example of binning a model with a broken u/c, i have seen it happen. They take the rx out and burn the whole lot on the field, servos and all. Next week they are back up there with a new model. It really makes me angry when i see this sort of thing. 

 

On the other side, horizon used to have really good spares support when they had a facility in the UK, now its all in europe i am not surprised it is a dogs dinner. 

 

 

 

 

Agree with repairs, I have a Jazz which is 30 years old, converted  to electric and still going  strong, what is your oldest?

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Just now, john davidson 1 said:

Agree with repairs, I have a Jazz which is 30 years old, converted  to electric and still going  strong, what is your oldest?

 

I am actually curious about this more broadly but dont want to drag this off topic. Ill start a new thread. 

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