Guys I need some honest feedback from you all. I have tried to offer a building service to our hobby that would fill a need and be in a price range that is affordable and fair. So far i have not accomplished that goal and I am not sure if there simply is not a need for what I am trying to do or if it is just this horrible economy that we are all caught up in. Let me explain what I have tried to do and then give me your feedback and tell me what you think.
I first tried offering an almost ready to fly Ringmaster. The reason I picked the Ringmaster is because it is the most nostalgic of the CL planes and a lot of us learned how to fly with one. There is only one kit manufacturer that I am aware of that is offering a laser cut kit of the Ringmaster and the man who owns that company is a good friend of mine and he has a great laser cut kit of that airplane. I picked the Ringmaster for the reasons stated above and tried to go to market by "scratch" building it in a KD Semi-built form. The wing was completely built with bellcrank installed. The fuselage was completely built and the stab and elevator were hinged together and the rudder was cut. Everything was finished sanded and all the flyer had to do was drill for the engine he was going to use, add a fuel tank, cover the wing, connect the pushrod, install the gear and wheels, paint it and go fly. I even was supplying the gear, wheels, pushrod, control horns and all hardware needed.
I thought this was a unique offering and that our fraternity of flyers would like a Semi Built EZ assemble plane. I was wrong. I sold about a dozen of them and then everything stopped. The feedback I got from customers was all positive and there were no construction issues. The main problem I ran into was the shipping cost. In order to ship the plane with the wing built, it takes a BIG box and shipping and crating costs soared to $45.00 alone not counting the cost of the plane. With labor and material costs I was selling the plane (without shipping figured in) for around $150.00 which I thought was reasonable. The shipping cost brought it up to around $200.00. I shpped by priority mail because it was the only service I found that could get the plane to the customer quickly and in good shape. I had bad luck trying FEDX and UPS plus shipping was higher.
Recently, I thought if I could cut the cost of shipping, it might open up more of a market since the plane would be less money and I know right now a lot of people are strapped for cash including me.
In order to cut the costs, I thought if I could ship the wing parts KD, I could get the whole plane into a much smaller box and cut the shipping costs drastically. So here is what I tried. The leading edges of the old Sterling S1 Ringmaster are getting harder and harder to find and when you do get them most of them are not straight and the waste factor becomes an issue. So what I started doing for the leading edges was forming the 1/16th on a buck then fitting the form over a piece of 1/8th balsa cut to size with forms glued to the 1/8th backer. It works great, is extremely light and strong. I cut the ribs, put the trailing edges, center spar and cut to shape wing tips in the box, install the leadouts to the bellcrank, furnish the pre cut center planking and throw in a push rod. In other words the wing comes in a KD state and does have to be built by the customer. I do supply the pre cut wing tips. The fuselage is cut with the wing cut out, hard wood motor mounts and plywood doulblers are epoxyed in and the whole fuselage is finish sanded. I hinge the elevator to the stab and supply the control horn and cut the rudder. I still will supply the gear and wheels and all the hardware. I can fit the whole plane into a much smaller box and shipping costs go way down. I can sell this plane for much less because the labor is a lot less since I do not build the wing. I could actually sell this plane for under $100.00 plus shipping cost which should run somewhere around $15.00.
I still got no reaction from offering the plane (Ringmaster) in this form either.
Is is because I have just been offering a Ringmaster? If so I have plans for a lot of different profile type planes such as a Twister (fancherized or regular), Flight Streak, a profile version of an Adams Special, Forerunner, Nobler, etc etc. The prices would vary a little because of the amount of material I would have to use in a larger profile or a smaller plane like a Ringmaster Jr. would bring the price down. You all know that plans are available for just about any plane out there either profile or full body.
Is the economy, is it I have not offered any plane but the Ringmaster, is it because no one needs or wants a service like this?
If you have taken the time to read all this, I need your feedback. I am retired and am not trying to make a living doing this. I would like to just make enough to support my habit which is my love of building a flying model airplanes.
If there is no need or demand for what I am trying to do, I see no reason to keep spinning my wheels and getting frustrated. I can build for myself and be happy although my wife thinks I have way too many planes. We all know you can NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PLANES.
I want to thank you in advance for your constructive help and input.
Mike Griffin
Topic: Looking for some honest feedback (Read 1937 times)