How many people need parts for a Thunder Tiger/TOC airplane?

[Jedijody]

[Rocky McCarter]

Hello Guys,
I have told many people that we have had issues but it just isnt our practice to air all of our dirty laundry here on the net. I have also pmed people that I know I can help out . I also know I have not gotten to all and this is my mistake and I am trying to fix the issue best as I can .I have also stated that since I am out please call the office
949 900-3300 ext 1153 and if we have the part in stock Danny will be more that happy to sell it to you .In Jan we have a container of parts coming that will help alot of people.Lots of Canpoys,wings ,stabs, some fuses.

And anyone that need parts please PM me here and I will do the leg work to see what we have in stock and I will set up the order so all you have to do is call Danny at the number above.

And for anyone that cares. I will be back at the office Jan 12 or 13 depending on what happens with my foot at the doctor.

[customjrod]

O.K. Rocky parts will be here in january, but you have not adressed the crazy prices for parts. Is it supply and demand. Ace is not suppling so people will pay what ever they decide to charge. NOT COOL.

[Rocky McCarter]

We said in the very beginging that prices would go up. To be 100% honest I do not do the pricing . I order planes, write manuals,decide what plane we build and work with the prototypes and several other things.The pricing is done by Thunder Tiger and Mike Cline the sale manager . They are full aware of the issue. As soon as I am told diffetent prices I will tell everyone.And in 09 you just may see some changes in prices and planes.

[crossup]

Well I guess this is a good news/bad new situation. Parts may become available but we may not want to buy them at the "new" price.
Also in the good news/bad new column is the enforced down time gave me time to rethink the whole building/ARF thing. The bad news is I think buying ARFs were a mistake because the construction does not lend it self to being repaired and tends to come apart by delaminating the ply when crashed.
I recently purchased an old RadioCraft and while also an ARF, the airframe is kindergarden simple. Any half experienced modeler could scratch build one and its obvious from the crashes its been rebuilt from( I witnessed both) that stick/lightply construction is a way easier repair. Its just as light as my 260's even though there is at least a pound of repair material added and its also 300+ in/sq more wing area.
Its looking to me a lot like modern ARF construction methods are like like front wheel drive cars, sounds like a good thing for the consumer but in reality its only good for the manufactor.

So while in truth I went ARF to speed my entry into 35% flight and my crashing derailed that program first, IF I had gone with a Dalton/Godfrey/Carden kit, I would have a far easier repair situation. On the downside, I would have spent the time I spent flying, building the danged kits,
so all I can say is aint hind sight wonderful?
We'll see what January brings

[wylieruneyjr]

I still stand firm that Ace Hobbies is one of the oldest companies in RC and will get up to speed . I think a lot guys are pissed off rightfully, but they need to take the high road. Problems arise that are beyond ones control, and it takes time to transition ownership distribution of large scale ARF,s produced in another country. It sounds so simple, but it ain,t. I believe there has been some splitting of the work force abroad that is further causing unavoidable problems beyond ACE,s control. I must admit that I to waited a long time for parts. Yall ain,t got some other planes to hold you over? Why is it that you expect to crash planes, I hope to resale mine after 7 years service. Pricing is what drew me to the SD TT TOC line. Quality has kept me. And performance is always above my expectations. I will continue to support Ace, and Rocky. Hope you get that foot healed up. That's a tough break. So go buy a pilotrc if you wish its out there. I want another TT TOC Maybe three more 260 - katana - Another Yak 54 And only a TT TOC can meet the quality performance envelop I require for under 1500.00 us dollars. The new generation planes are even better! Wylie A Runey Jr. Worth waitting for.

[customjrod]

(Quote)Yall ain,t got some other planes to hold you over? Why is it that you expect to crash
planes, hope to resale mine after 7 years service.
Got plenty of planes to hold me over but when the youve got a busted canopy on a 3 week old plane its not fun whatching the summer go by without a flight. Rutnbuk, I dont think anyone on this forum wants to crash, Ive seen videos of your flying, if you dont push the envelope,your not going crash, no harm intended.

[crossup]

In my case those were giant scale planes #1 and 2. I purchased a used plane last month so I'll have wings for spring in case the 260 gear end up sitting on the bench till the next airframe

(Quote)Yall ain,t got some other planes to hold you over?

[Barn-E-Stormer]

I got planes to hold me over.....but......Thats my BABY!!

[toprudder]

	Quote: Originally Posted by wylieruneyjr
	I still stand firm that Ace Hobbies is one of the oldest companies in RC and will get up to speed .

In name. They are NOT the same company that sold radio kits back in the 60s and 70s. I still have an Ace Silver Seven that I built from a kit in the late 70s (one of the originals that was still in the Ace Digital Commander red color).

I have two of the 33% Yaks, and I hope there will be spare parts when I need them. One thing I do not like to see is when a company comes out with a new model, sells it like hotcakes, then a year later they are discontinued and parts become scarce. But, they have moved on to another design, sell it like hotcakes, then .... (endless loop). Sometimes I may buy a model and not build/fly it inside a year (like one of my Aviation Models, SD, TOC, Thunder Tiger, name dujour.. 33% Yaks.). I don't want it to be obsolete before I even fly it.

Having said all that, I am optimistic that Ace will be selling kits and parts for these planes. There is too much of a demand from the market to be ignored.

Bob R.

[wylieruneyjr]

Those vids that you watched were of a newbie to gaint scale, pilot with his first and only gaint scale plane. I,ve been flying now 3 years total and started in gaint scale early this summer. Video of the yak was flight # 7 on new airframe, I was not trying to impress anyone. I do fly somewhat better than the vids show, but I,m not as good as you. I believe my skills will increase rapidly in the next year. I , m not a 3D guy but I do practise harriers and hovers all the time, couple mistakes high. My flying skills doesn, t mean that I don,t know how to be patient, or where the high road is. We all can agree that ACE needs to show rapid improvements. But to say something like I,m the CD at so and so , and will be bashing Ace at the next event chaps my azz. Kicking a man when he,s down and spreading hate will get back the same in the end. ALL I, M SAYING IS THERE ARE PROBLEMS AND I BELIEVE THEY ARE BEING ADDRESSED. Don,t give up hope you will all get your parts. Just not fast enought. Price is another matter, But remember Ace ain,t gonna give em away. There in the business to make money. My plane was damaged in shippment and I had to wait along time to even maiden my plane, but I never gave up hope or resorted to public threats. RutnBuc Merry Christmas to all and the families. I love everyone as is.

[crossup]

Public threat? well yeah..pretty viscious too... I threatened to tell everyone I made a mistake- my exact words " my mistake in buying TT" Maybe I should have capitalized "MY" ....????
Seems too, that I qualified even that statement with an "IF". You may also notice I've not had any negative comment about quality, performance or value of the original product.
And like it or not I confined my "bashing" to verifiable facts which even you admit are true as does
Rocky .
The unfortunate truth for any would be basher who want to say, bash on the basis of a lack of parts availabilty , repairablity or expense is that most folks dont much care to build or repair so "your" plight isn't really going to affect their decision process.
So if this "issue" goes to next Sept then you'll hear me telling everyone how I should have build my Aeroworks kit instead of getting all worked up and buying an ARF so I could fly 35% immediately.
But all I'll real hope to accomplish is to caution people to consider more than just the price if they want to keep their plane flying for a long time. As others have seen, we are seeing a lot more 'disposable" planes in recent years and for a lot of old timers THAT is a new concept. I know I
will be caught out by that, especially owning an old Aeroworks kit and my now fav Radiocraft, I just never considered that to be a problem with what was an in production aircraft.

[wylieruneyjr]

Hopefully the parts will be available in January as stated. Never my intention to ruffle feathers and step on toes, just support Ace thur a bad situation. As stated the planes and parts are worth the wait. My 37.5 % yak is my baby too, and I do understand the frustrations, as I experienced them myself. RutnBuc

[Dino69]

i am in

[denney47]

	Quote: Originally Posted by wylieruneyjr
	Hopefully the parts will be available in January as stated. Never my intention to ruffle feathers and step on toes, just support Ace thur a bad situation. As stated the planes and parts are worth the wait. My 37.5 % yak is my baby too, and I do understand the frustrations, as I experienced them myself. RutnBuc

I agree that these are very good airplanes and are worth waiting for. The only problem I have is that I have been told for several months "parts are in the next container" now another problem has came up and that is the price of the replacement parts. The retail price of a cowl for an Aeroworks 50cc Yak is $45.95 the price of a TT-TOC 50cc Yak is $112.00, something is wrong here. I hope for Rocky sake and for ACE that this is the container that the parts are in and prices will be more in line. Maybe someone from ACE should explain why these prices are so high?