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Post by elkmaster01 on Apr 20, 2010 12:05:22 GMT -6
I read a lot on BH before I ordered,,I took it all with a grain of salt,,,but I always give people the benefit until I get first-hand knowledge. Well,,I got it. Here's how it unfolded; Jan 5th I ordered their 90mm F-4E Jolly Roger. It took them a week before they shipped it. They sent the wrong plane,,I got the Blue Angel,,I sent it back. Finally,,the last week in Feb I got the right plane. I built it but ran into a quick problem,,,one retract servo was bad,,it just kept spinning. It took 10 days to get a new servo. The plane comes with metal gear servos,,they sent me a smaller plastic-gear servo. It was also the wrong direction servo,,the one I needed is a reverse servo,,which I had explained before they replaced it. I finally went elsewhere and purchased a servo reverser and a better servo. We are now into mid Feb when I first attempted to fly it. 5 seconds into flight the jet BROKE IN HALF. Upon inspection,,,the fuselage bulkead behind the canopy had no glue on 95% of it. It came from the factory with the fuselage assembled, there was no way to see this. The crash destroyed the jet. I wanted a new jet but BH would only replace the airframe. When I received the tracking e-mail,,the item number was wrong,,,they sent me the WRONG airframe kit,,,they sent the 70mm airframe,,I have the 90mm model. I finally got the right airframe the first week in March. I had to swap over all the electronics, servos, motor, the whole deal,,this took me a couple weeks. I could not fly the end of March and the first part of April due to the spring thaw,I live in the U.P. of Michigan and we get a ton of snow. Yesterday I finally got the jet flying,,I made a couple of trim flights and was still trying to tweek the flight controls. Today I made the 3rd flight with it. 2 minutes into the flight while running at 80% throttle,,the motor BLEW up. I managed to make a miracle landing and saved the jet. The front part of the motor came apart,,the motor shaft is bent. Take a look;  I got thru to BH live chat and they refuse to warrenty the motor because it has been more than 30 days. The nightmare ends now,,,,I'll NEVER again order anything from BH. Thru all this mess that has lasted over 3 months,,,with more than 100 attempts to call them,,I have NEVER been able to speak to a live person. I have probably 30 un-answered e-mails. The frustration level is thru the roof. Even if the motor did not blow up and it flew great from this point on,,,the hassle I've been thru to this point has not been worth it. NON-exsistant customer service,,,no way to talk to the company on the phone. They NEVER sent the right part on the first try. Absolutely the worst experience I ever had in this hobby!! If I cannot find a suitable motor and fan elsewhere,,I'll simply pitch this $550 jet in the dumpster!! Lesson learned!!!! |
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Post by Gabe on Apr 20, 2010 15:47:51 GMT -6
Elk man, that is a horror story.
On the flip side. There has got to be a suitable motor for that jet. I know there are some good ones out there.
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19000rpm
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Post by 19000rpm on Apr 20, 2010 16:18:39 GMT -6
The only thing lacking in this horror story is...Well, I can't think of anything. We've got your Bad product, Bad Service and Bad Attitude. The hobby horror story TriFecta. So, ***EM.
Hope this works out for you. Theres got to be a motor/fan that will get you back in the air. Have you looked into Hobby Partz?
It's too much of an investment to just flush...Unless you have Pete and his merry band or incompetent, mindless, idiots tied to it when you pull the handle. ;D
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akent
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Post by akent on Apr 20, 2010 17:47:28 GMT -6
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Post by dditch66 on Apr 21, 2010 13:40:54 GMT -6
I hear bad stuff about BH but of course also Nitroplanes. But most of us know how to deal with Nitroplanes. BH does not seem to have an online outlet to get satisfaction.
That's weak, Post something to RC universe or Rc groups on BH about what happened. Maybe someone already started a thread on it.
hmm, Gabe, I see you have a Habu, Do you have a thread on it?
My buddy has a Habu but he can't take off from our grassy field so someone made a dolly for it to ride on then the dolly drops off. It works only half the time, wanna get your input on what you fly off of.
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Post by elkmaster01 on Apr 21, 2010 17:11:00 GMT -6
Yesterday I contacted BH thru their on-line chat support and was tolf no-way would they replace the motor. So I went to rcgroups vendor forum and posted a trash thread,,,this OP was copy/paste from there.
I got a reply today the Pete had agreed to replace the motor/fan. Thats mighty fine of him,,lol,,,something about a squeaky wheel comes to mind.
Doesn't change a thing,,the aggrivation and frustration that place has caused me is beyong a free motor,,,I cannot recommend them to anyone. Well,,I suppose I would recommend them to my Ex or WC,,,they deserve it!
I bet it takes two weeks to get here,,,I may just buy another set in the meantime!
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akent
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Post by akent on Apr 21, 2010 18:03:53 GMT -6
Do you actually think you'll get what they promised you?
I'll wager you'll get something half the size, or something made for powering model trains.
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Post by Gabe on Apr 21, 2010 18:59:38 GMT -6
hmm, Gabe, I see you have a Habu, Do you have a thread on it? My buddy has a Habu but he can't take off from our grassy field so someone made a dolly for it to ride on then the dolly drops off. It works only half the time, wanna get your input on what you fly off of. I will start one right now under EDF FOAMIES. |
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19000rpm
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Post by 19000rpm on Apr 22, 2010 6:45:08 GMT -6
Do you actually think you'll get what they promised you? I'll wager you'll get something half the size, or something made for powering model trains. Or maybe a boat. |
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Post by elkmaster01 on Apr 22, 2010 8:42:25 GMT -6
Do you actually think you'll get what they promised you? I'll wager you'll get something half the size, or something made for powering model trains. You got that right Kent,,,from the beginning,,,BH has not shipped the correct item on the first try. Wrong jet,,,,wrong servo,,,wrong airframe,,they got nothing right. Maybe this time I'll get a sweet motor upgrade for my P-51 Ultra Micro!!! |
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19000rpm
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Post by 19000rpm on Apr 22, 2010 13:43:36 GMT -6
It doesn't work that way. They only send you stuff you don't want or need.  |
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Post by elkmaster01 on Apr 28, 2010 19:35:47 GMT -6
Well,,,BH did send my a new motor/edf,,I got it today. The first thing I had to do is swap the motor connectors out,,,they had tiny 3mm banana plugs on a 90mm edf motor,,,go figure. I got the jet ready to fly but I'm waiting on weather now,,looks like a few days before I can try it.
I did order the RCLander 90 EDF. I think I'll put into the airframe kit I have,,,alls I need is an ESC and 7 servos and I'll have a second 90mm F-4.
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Post by Gabe on Apr 28, 2010 20:56:30 GMT -6
Cool! That's a great opportunity to make a killer F-4! If you order the right electronics, that thing could be one heck of a plane - reliable and fast as heck!
Hobby King would be a great place to start for the esc and servos. I'd say metal gears are probably in order on this round.
Hey, btw, does that bird have a functional rudder?
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19000rpm
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Post by 19000rpm on Apr 29, 2010 6:25:08 GMT -6
I wouldn't have bet a buck that you would have got the right motor. I hope you are going to bench it before you fly it.
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Post by elkmaster01 on Apr 29, 2010 12:30:20 GMT -6
Gabe,,,no rudder,,,and I think I said this during the build,,the ailerons are too small. You need to keep it on the ground and extend the take-off roll. Slow flight is tough,,no high-alpha on this one. And you need to land under power,,,,my 300-foot runway is just long enough. 19K,,,I benched it last night and got it in the air this morning. I think the original motor was faulty from the git-go,,this one runs a lot smoother with more power. NOW,,,,after ALL THIS BS, hassles,,nightmares,,,this jet is COOL. They advertise it at +130 mph and I really believe it is much faster. I clocked my T-600 at exactly 110 mph and this jet is way WAY faster. And it handles GREAT. The small ailerons are not an issue at speed. I run it at about 70% throttle just so I can keep an eye on it. At 100% you are constantly on the stick,,,it can get out of sight in a hurry. Sounds awesome too. I'm thinking this jet will fly great on a 5S battery,,,I'm going to get one to see if I can get better flight times. Right now I'm using a 6S 4200mAh 25C battery and only get 3 1/2 minutes. A 5S 5000 30C should fit and get more time. It took 4 1/2 months to get this ironed out and dealing with BH is just pure torture. I won't be dealing with them anymore. I did notice on Hobby King,,they have a 90mm F-4E airframe kit with fixed gear,,,thats the way to go if you want one. $155; www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10856&Product_Name=F-4_Phantom_EDF_Jet_Kit_w/o_Motor_&_ESCThis looks like the same airframe!! |
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