Ripmax in Administration.

[Learner]

51 minutes ago, Kim Taylor said:

Not sure where 'round here' is, but you might want to look at the .gov website for agricultural workers minimum wage before making sweeping statements like that.😉

Kim

Which is why they have to import workers

[aidan mcatamney]

I'm saddened to hear this news about Ripmax.  As everyone has been saying, this company has been around for a long time and they are a big part of our hobby.  I totally agree with the man who said that the hobby is cheap if your not breaking anything.   I've been flying rc planes since 1986 without a break in between.  I'm a member of a local club and I always get asked the same question.   "Is that not a very expensive hobby you are involved in" ?  My answer to that  is always the same,   "It's only expensive when you are out wrecking planes every weekend ".   I've only ever used Futaba radio and receivers and the transmitter I have is a Futaba 9c super with 2.4 module that I bought in 2000 and 23 years later I'm still using it.  I do also have a brand new 9c super still in its box  that I bought 12 years ago as a back up just I case, but so far I've never needed it.  I have a good supply of Futaba 7 channel faast receivers in all of my 17 planes, all artf and most of them over 10 years of age .  I take turns at flying them and that gives them all a rest and they are mostly IC powered.  The only thing I have to buy is the fuel and try my best not to crash  and have good safe flights everytime I go to the field and bring the plane home in one piece.  This is what makes the hobby cheap for me as I probably won't ever have to buy a plane again.   I do hope Ripmax survives though.  

[Nigel Heather]

5 hours ago, aidan mcatamney said:

I'm saddened to hear this news about Ripmax.  As everyone has been saying, this company has been around for a long time and they are a big part of our hobby.  I totally agree with the man who said that the hobby is cheap if your not breaking anything.   I've been flying rc planes since 1986 without a break in between.  I'm a member of a local club and I always get asked the same question.   "Is that not a very expensive hobby you are involved in" ?  My answer to that  is always the same,   "It's only expensive when you are out wrecking planes every weekend ".   I've only ever used Futaba radio and receivers and the transmitter I have is a Futaba 9c super with 2.4 module that I bought in 2000 and 23 years later I'm still using it.  I do also have a brand new 9c super still in its box  that I bought 12 years ago as a back up just I case, but so far I've never needed it.  I have a good supply of Futaba 7 channel faast receivers in all of my 17 planes, all artf and most of them over 10 years of age .  I take turns at flying them and that gives them all a rest and they are mostly IC powered.  The only thing I have to buy is the fuel and try my best not to crash  and have good safe flights everytime I go to the field and bring the plane home in one piece.  This is what makes the hobby cheap for me as I probably won't ever have to buy a plane again.   I do hope Ripmax survives though.  

All very valid points, but one thing that jumps out - why do you have 17 planes - as my wife will tell me when she catches me looking at another aeroplane “why do you need another aeroplane, you already have three” and you could easily swap that ‘three’ out for a ‘one’.

 

The point I have been trying to make is that we like to collect planes, most of us have many more than we actually need, many of our purchases are made by the heart, if our brain had a say it would possibly stop them.  In the last 10 years or so, the low prices have made those heart-driven purchases relatively easy.  But these days with prices close to double it is a lot easier for the brain to step in and say “yes I know you want it, but you don’t need it and look at the price”.

 

And I’m not saying that anyone is going to give up the hobby just saying that those impetuous impulse buys are going to be rarer.

 

I’m also not disagreeing that the hobby in the 90s was more expensive, the issue is that the hobby has seen a step change with the price of ARTFs, kits and plan builds nearly doubling of a very short period.

 

That won’t drive us out, but it might temper our spending and it might discourage new joiners.

 

And that is bad news for the likes of Ripmax.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Nigel Heather

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

What was your wives last shoe count, Nigel ?.🤐

[Learner]

58 minutes ago, Nigel Heather said:

All very valid points, but one thing that jumps out - why do you have 17 planes - as my wife will tell me when she catches me looking at another aeroplane “why do you need another aeroplane, you already have three” and you could easily swap that ‘three’ out for a ‘one’.

 

The point I have been trying to make is that we like to collect planes, most of us have many more than we actually need, many of our purchases are made by the heart, if our brain had a say it would possibly stop them.  In the last 10 years or so, the low prices have made those heart-driven purchases relatively easy.  But these days with prices close to double it is a lot easier for the brain to step in and say “yes I know you want it, but you don’t need it and look at the price”.

 

And I’m not saying that anyone is going to give up the hobby just saying that those impetuous impulse buys are going to be rarer.

 

I’m also not disagreeing that the hobby in the 90s was more expensive, the issue is that the hobby has seen a step change with the price of ARTFs, kits and plan builds nearly doubling of a very short period.

 

That won’t drive us out, but it might temper our spending and it might discourage new joiners.

 

And that is bad news for the likes of Ripmax.

I dont think a newcomer will worry about how much something was a year ago ,he'll look at todays price and  if he can afford it he'll buy it the same as I will. The problem becomes when its not available.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Learner

[GrumpyGnome]

Poor availability has been an issue for around two or three years already......

[Learner]

Everyones struggling with quality stock, yet there's crap in abundance.

A friend has recently ordered a hard to get new car online direct from manufacturer and the dealer he will be picking it up from has offered him £2000 (6%) more than list price to not take it away. crazy!

He wished he'd ordered a few.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Learner

[Jon H]

1 hour ago, Nigel Heather said:

why do you have 17 planes

 

i have 14 that fly, about 20 more waiting their turn. 

 

1 hour ago, Nigel Heather said:

The point I have been trying to make is that we like to collect planes, most of us have many more than we actually need, many of our purchases are made by the heart, if our brain had a say it would possibly stop them

 

Very true. If i had the room i would gladly have 4 50 inch WWI fighters over the one i have now. My Nieuport is lovely, but a pup, se5a and fokker dr1 to match it? Nice. I also have 4 1/5 scale Spitfires. would one do? sure, but with 4 i can have a MkI, V, XIV and XVI. If i ever spot a Pica MkIX i might end up with 5 spits.. Each would have a different engine, with respect to their full size equivalent, and each ould have its own paint job and all that. While they would all be spitfires they would all be different models. However, i need more room before i get carried away with all that!

 

 

[KenC]

45 minutes ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

 

 

Very true. If i had the room i would gladly have 4 50 inch WWI fighters over the one i have now. My Nieuport is lovely, but a pup, se5a and fokker dr1 to match it? Nice. I also have 4 1/5 scale Spitfires. would one do?

 

I can easily see how one could have way more than they could fly, to me its the joy of building and making it your plane. When the ones I have under way are complete, there will be a gap in my life that needs filling ! 

[Zflyer]

Never crashing and only buying fuel, that helps a business (tongue in cheek)

[Cuban8]

I have a very old recording of David Boddington on a TV hobbies show with Bob Symes (anyone under 50 won't have a clue as to whom I'm talking about,  so apologies.). When asked about some damage to a lovely Bleriot 11 that they'd just flown for the cameras, DB said that "there are plenty of two dimentional hobbies, but very few three dimentional ones, and one just has to accept that not all goes to plan" or words to that effect.

Very true. Very few R/C  model cars or boats are total right offs and building for static display has virtually no risk at all.

We do take a chance with our models and as DB said in the programme " we simply have to accept the risk, deal with damage and come out again".

I've had some moments when things haven't gone well, but I don't make a habit of crashing as my fleet of increasingly ancient models will testify. I don't push my luck and have never enjoyed the feeling of flying right on the ragged edge of any models performance and of course simply running out of personal flying skill. Back in the day, I wasn't bad with a fun fly and would probably have been able to hold my own in competition, if I was that way inclined. Inevitably, it met terra firma when on a slow and very low inverted pass.........got my push to go up and pull to go down mixed up on that occasion. That's the nature of that type of model and style of flying. Didn't have far to fall though, so only a broken prop and loose engine firewall to fix IIRC. Something like forty years ago, I spun a South Yorks Models Slingsby Firefly right into the deck! Developed a lovely flat spin that took me by surprise. Full autoratation and looked quite good actually. Maybe if a bit a higher then perhaps I might have saved it - but I doubt it TBH.

I view all breakages as failures that could have been avoided because of any number of reasons - models crash for a reason, not because of bad luck.

 

Not all flyers think as I do of course. Crashing is viewed as part of the hobby - the times I've heard "if you're not crashing, then you're not trying", I'm sure carries some merit if one is involved in competition or record breaking, or a person enjoys scaring themselves on a regular basis. A few just like to put on an exhibition with inevitable results to be laughed off down the pub. Not my MO.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Cuban8

[aidan mcatamney]

4 hours ago, Nigel Heather said:

All very valid points, but one thing that jumps out - why do you have 17 planes - as my wife will tell me when she catches me looking at another aeroplane “why do you need another aeroplane, you already have three” and you could easily swap that ‘three’ out for a ‘one’.

 

The point I have been trying to make is that we like to collect planes, most of us have many more than we actually need, many of our purchases are made by the heart, if our brain had a say it would possibly stop them.  In the last 10 years or so, the low prices have made those heart-driven purchases relatively easy.  But these days with prices close to double it is a lot easier for the brain to step in and say “yes I know you want it, but you don’t need it and look at the price”.

 

And I’m not saying that anyone is going to give up the hobby just saying that those impetuous impulse buys are going to be rarer.

 

I’m also not disagreeing that the hobby in the 90s was more expensive, the issue is that the hobby has seen a step change with the price of ARTFs, kits and plan builds nearly doubling of a very short period.

 

That won’t drive us out, but it might temper our spending and it might discourage new joiners.

 

And that is bad news for the likes of Ripmax.

The reason why I have 17 planes is exactly what you pointed out in your post, that is , 10 plus years ago artfs were very cheap to buy and I was looking ahead knowing fine well that one day these very planes would be double the price and hey presto I was right.  So I made a good decision and I'm reaping the the rewards today that I have a surpluses of planes that will do me the rest of my life as I'm 60 years of age now and none of us know when we are going to croak it.  Plus also I had the money at the time and was more financially well off than I am now, so another good decision on my behalf of money well spent on the hobby that I've loved for the last 37 years.  Those planes are all over 10 years of age except two and each time I go to the field which is once a week, I take just one plane at a time and I'm always very careful with every flight and I don't take any chances.  I look after my planes well and keep them well maintained and airworthy at all times.  Also 17 planes is no big deal.  I have a few flying friends and some of them have upwards of 40 planes each.  One man I knew had over 60.  I've absolutely no regrets about spending my money on 17 planes that are as good today as the day I bought them and they bring me lots of enjoyment.  It could be worse, I could be an alcoholic,  spending all my money on drink and smoking cigarettes.   Thankfully I do neither.  

[aidan mcatamney]

47 minutes ago, Zflyer said:

Never crashing and only buying fuel, that helps a business (tongue in cheek)

True, but when your unemployed and little income coming into the house, you watch every penny lol

[Nigel Heather]

3 hours ago, Learner said:

I dont think a newcomer will worry about how much something was a year ago ,he'll look at todays price and  if he can afford it he'll buy it the same as I will. The problem becomes when its not available.

I wasn't suggesting that a newcomer would look at the rate of change.

 

Just that two years ago newcomers looking at a £150 would have been more tempted by newcomers looking at £250 today.  And that is before you consider the cost of living crisis.

[aidan mcatamney]

1 hour ago, KenC said:

I can easily see how one could have way more than they could fly, to me its the joy of building and making it your plane. When the ones I have under way are complete, there will be a gap in my life that needs filling ! 

In this hobby I have absolutely no interest in building.  My interest is just flying and if I have a crash then I'm able to repair.  I believe in keeping things simple and this has worked for me for the last 37 years and keeps me happy.  I very rarely crash as I take no chances, but when it does happen its no big deal,  I repair and fly again.  All the lads in the club are different,   some are like me with lots of planes and some are happy enough with just three or four.   Some are builders and fly very little and some fly regularly and only buy artfs like myself.   Whatever makes you happy is the main thing in this hobby.  Always follow your heart.  

[aidan mcatamney]

2 hours ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

 

i have 14 that fly, about 20 more waiting their turn. 

 

 

Very true. If i had the room i would gladly have 4 50 inch WWI fighters over the one i have now. My Nieuport is lovely, but a pup, se5a and fokker dr1 to match it? Nice. I also have 4 1/5 scale Spitfires. would one do? sure, but with 4 i can have a MkI, V, XIV and XVI. If i ever spot a Pica MkIX i might end up with 5 spits.. Each would have a different engine, with respect to their full size equivalent, and each ould have its own paint job and all that. While they would all be spitfires they would all be different models. However, i need more room before i get carried away with all that!

 

 

Luckily enough I've three spare rooms full of planes.   If I hadn't the room in my house to store them , I'd probably buy a shed lol.  

[Cuban8]

Nigel, I'm very tempted to ask 'crisis? what crisis'?

I see very little evidence of it. Supermarkets jammed packed - roads just as busy - expensive holidays still being booked - new cars still in evidence - pubs and restaurants that I visit on occasion very busy indeed, Donington Park packed with spectators for the WSB British round that we visited a few weeks ago.  I could go on.

Yes, my personal household bills have increased, but of course we have no mortgage or pay rent. which helps a lot.  A different situation for some clearly, but not everyone's in a state of crisis, that's for sure.

Does make you wonder.

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Cuban8

[Nigel Heather]

53 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

Nigel, I'm very tempted to ask 'crisis? what crisis'?

I see very little evidence of it. Supermarkets jammed packed - roads just as busy - expensive holidays still being booked - new cars still in evidence - pubs and restaurants that I visit on occasion very busy indeed, Donington Park packed with spectators for the WSB British round that we visited a few weeks ago.  I could go on.

Yes, my personal household bills have increased, but of course we have no mortgage or pay rent. which helps a lot.  A different situation for some clearly, but not everyone's in a state of crisis, that's for sure.

Does make you wonder.

 

 

Well I am in a fortunate position like you but I’m not blind to how it is impacting the majority that are not as lucky as us.

 

Supermarket shop - increased by about 20%

Gas and Electricity - have doubled

Mortgages - have tripled

 

Shocks in the pipeline - car insurance renewals are rumoured to double - and shopping around won’t help because it is across the board

Ukraine - with Putin’s missiles attacks on the grain warehouses and threats to sink any ship (regardless of nationality) sailing into Ukraine for grain - expect that to have a big impact on prices of any grain related products

 

You say that you don’t have a mortgage, I don’t either, we are very fortunate because the average monthly increase is about £500.

 

I do agree that you still see people spending - but I do wonder if they are the fortunate like us or just building up credit card or loan debt.

 

To say that there isn’t a crisis just because we are fortunate is blinkered.

[Cuban8]

Oh no, I'm not blinkered or deny that some families are struggling,  or will soon struggle to manage. I just question the over use of the word 'crisis' and its habit of being applied to the population as a whole according to the MSM reports. And to other 'crisis' issues that seem to be popular at the moment.

Would I be facing a lunch 'crisis' at the moment? should I go for a ham or cheese sandwich?

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Cuban8

[Learner]

16 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

Oh no, I'm not blinkered or deny that some families are struggling,  or will soon struggle to manage. I just question the over use of the word 'crisis' and its habit of being applied to the population as a whole according to the MSM reports. And to other 'crisis' issues that seem to be popular at the moment.

 

Spot on! There is no crisis for a big percentage of the population if the amount of deliveries in our road is anything to go on!

Edited July 22, 2023 by Learner

[Cuban8]

To try to steer this back on course...............in our own hobby we've seen huge changes recently and in a few of the posts that can be found on this website, dire predictions of the death of aeromodelling due to drones and regulation. I can't recall if any one has actually said we're in 'crisis' - maybe some clubs are in a state of crisis if their field is about to be sold off for housing or whatever and their their existence will be at stake. If you want to fly model aircraft - you still can without too much bother.

It's so easy to talk ourselves into problems, whether within our hobby or with national issues - Ripmax going into adminstration is a shame but isn't a crisis for the hobby, and having been down the job redundancy route myself a few times, isn't usually a disaster for most employees. Given where Ripmax is based in an  economically prosperous part of the country, they'll find alternative work without too much difficulty if they have to, I'd guess. I know that area well.

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

2 hours ago, aidan mcatamney said:

 It could be worse, I could be an alcoholic,  spending all my money on drink and smoking cigarettes.   Thankfully I do neither.  

Or married to a shoe collector, do you want a shoe count from me or my sister-in-law ?.🤪

[Martin McIntosh]

I would really like to know where an inflation figure of around 7% comes from. For instance a 90p bag of frozen chips from Lidl is now £2.09, a bottle of Coke is a ridiculous £2.50, car and house insurance has gone up by at least 50%, never mind fuel, and being on a small pension I am very glad that I no longer have a mortgage. Just what exactly is it based on? Those original figures are only from a year ago.

[KenC]

I have not done a realistic item for item test, but if asked for a guess I would say shopping at Aldi has gone up 60 to 80% at least.... and if that is the inexpensive shop !  Strange though when you think the minimum wage  is around £20,000 a year  and  many pensioners on British Old Age Pension  get around £9600  less than half a living wage.  

Edited July 22, 2023 by KenC

[aidan mcatamney]

58 minutes ago, Martin McIntosh said:

I would really like to know where an inflation figure of around 7% comes from. For instance a 90p bag of frozen chips from Lidl is now £2.09, a bottle of Coke is a ridiculous £2.50, car and house insurance has gone up by at least 50%, never mind fuel, and being on a small pension I am very glad that I no longer have a mortgage. Just what exactly is it based on? Those original figures are only from a year ago.

Some very good points there Martin.