A heart-felt “THANKYOU BRODAK !!!”

[Frank Egyed]

I bought a T-Rex ARF and on one of the first few flights that sneaky ground came up and caused the plane to bounce a bit, landing gear was fine, no other damage I could see.  Next flight pulling out of a wingover the wings folded at the centre-join.

I emailed Brodak explaining what had happened, just in case there might have been a quality control issue (I am competent with epoxies, resins, and fibreglassing), and within 24hrs had an email back saying they’d posted another kit to me (in Australia - eighty bucks postage!),  no charge.  Now THAT’S what I call customer service…

So to Brodak, Thank You for backing up your product, and supporting our noble sport!!

[Gary Dowler]

That is how a company stands behind their product and takes care of their customers!  Who, in return, then recommend their friends to that company!

Gary

[Cody bishop]

That was good of the. For me I had a arf the lead outs broke before the first flight and the wing was twisted  all they did was send me a lead out wire

[Vitalis Pilkionis]

Be cautious. That thing has serious design and material selection flaws. I highly recommend to strip down the covering from wing, make reinforcement of a wing and fuselage, change hardware.

Vitalis

[Ken Culbertson]

I think there is a market for a "Better ARF".  Call it a "BARF" if you will.  I have yet to see one that didn't have one of the four main problems.   Poor landing gear mounts, warped surfaces, weak center sections and my favorite - dangerously bad controls.

I suspect that most of the ARF's we are dealing with are going into the hands of people who already know how to fly and for one reason or another don't have the time or desire to build.  In my case it was to get something in the air quickly when I came back while I built a "real" one.  The "real" one was flying before I got all of the problems with the ARF fixed but once I did it flies great.

So, what if there was an ARF version of Randy Smith in our community?  Maybe there already is someone and I just don't know about them or they are already overloaded.  If I were a younger version of myself I would gamble on the influx of "Boomers" and frustrated glider pilots that may be wanting something to fly.

I can see why the major suppliers in our community would not want this advertised.  It would be admitting that they are selling less than quality products.  But what if they offered the Standard and the "Deluxe" versions or offered to have it made "competition ready" or some other words that make you feel you are making good better rather than crap good.

Just a thought - Ken

 

[peabody]

I have seen quite a few Brodak ARFs built using the components that came in the box. For the most part, they serve their purposes. More advanced builders and fliers will modify (and improve) them. The latest iterations from Brodak are pretty good. The Ringmaster ARF / ARF is perfectly serviceable and capable of winning at local level. The P-40 needs no control modifications.
Hardly anyone mentions the Cardinal ARF, which is a great flying plane as delivered.
The early Vectors wanted for better controls, especially lead outs, but were serviceable.
Almost all versions that glue a piece under the wing to complete the fuselage could use some reinforcement (Strega, SV 11, Smoothie, Oriental, Vector, T-Rex etc.). The newest still suffer from that, but the fit seems better....mayhaps there won't be the failures.
The latest Randy designs are VERY servicable..and capable of Expert level performance. Most SV builders substitute Morris controls, but the smaller Vector seems happy with the supplied hardware. Weights are acceptable as well.
Ken...as near as I can tell, you are basing your impressions of ARFs on the Nobler.

If you want a truely World Class stunt model, box up a bunch of money and send it off the the Yatsenko brothers. The Brodak ARF and ARCs are designed to be good flying, easy to assemble planes.

Have fun!

[John Rist]

 Most SV builders substitute Morris controls. Weights are acceptable as well.

peabody,

I am looking at the Brodak Electric SV-11 (ARF).  I understand the motor mount could use some beefing up.  What does a set of Morris controls buy you?  ie what is wrong with the set that comes with the airplane.  Also should I beef up the wing center section?  If so what is the best what to do this?

[Ken Culbertson]

Ken...as near as I can tell, you are basing your impressions of ARFs on the Nobler.
Have fun!

In part this is true but I have seen problems with a lot of them-especially controls and weak noses.  Where are the Brodak ARF's manufactured?  If, for example they could be ordered with a Morris system installed...

Ken

[Randy Cuberly]

I think the only fault with the control system in the new SV11 is that it's not adjustable.  That in itself is not a problem for beginners or even intermediate fliers.  I built one to use as a practice plane and installed Morris controls to get the adjustability inherent in them.  I did use the kit provided Bellcrank and leadouts.  They work fine with the properly selected ratios available in the Morris horns.

The only gripe I had was the fuselage is really set up for a piped engine (or at least a rear exhaust engine with a muffler) which is fine for me but likely more of a pain for anyone wanting to use a conventional side exhaust engine!  It would require engineering a new hold down method, and chopping cooling holes in the cowling!

Great flier!  Probably requires a bit more trimming than the typical beginner intermediate flier could accomplish without considerable help.

Randy Cuberly

[wwwarbird]

I bought a T-Rex ARF and on one of the first few flights that sneaky ground came up and caused the plane to bounce a bit, landing gear was fine, no other damage I could see.  Next flight pulling out of a wingover the wings folded at the centre-join.

 A great customer service gesture, and kudos to Brodak for that, but having seen and inspected an ARC version of the T-Rex I'm not at all surprised with the failure.

[Frank Egyed]

Thanks for your replies and advice.

I found the link to Bob Branch's thread which includes the strengthening modification (on page 4)

https://stunthanger.com/smf/gettin-all-amp'ed-up!/t-rex-electric-build-thread/msg177353/#msg177353

I never liked the orange and really want to make it silver with checkerboard nose and invasion stripes (and make the rudder more jug-like) I wonder if another layer of film over the existing covering would make enough difference? Has anyone ever put 2 layers of film on, and if so did it increase rigidity much?

[Vitalis Pilkionis]

Speaking about T-Rex wing. I recommend to insert shear webs between main spars and into rear part of the wing (see red arrows on the photo). Then lay few carbon threads over spars. That will make the wing stiff enough to withstand even sharp turns.

Best luck,
Vitalis