Beware of Phoenix Models planes
07-19-2021, 07:22 PM
#26
This is disturbing. I am searching for reviews on the Slick Aerobat 20CC ARF as an entry point into 3D planes and come across several Phoenix planes that disassemble themselves in flight. It appears one of them happens to be one of the 580's I am considering. Is the consensus on these to avoid them? If I have to go to the trouble to strip the covers and reglue, I might as well just find plans and build my own.
03-19-2022, 08:45 PM
#30
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Sorry for your loss. But please understand that the failure of one airframe does not mean the planes are not airworthy. I have a Phoenix Extra 300, and an Edge 540, which I fly the hell out of doing violent aerobatic maneuvers. My planes have never failed me. A number of my fellow club members have Phoenix planes and they are all fine! One should not condemn a manufacturer due to the loss of one plane. The wing could have had a crack in it due to hanger rash for all you know.
I contacted Phoenix Models about a missing part, I received a message that they were sending me the part within 24 hours. I was speaking to a rep from a very large manufacturer at Top Gun one year and he said folks call all the time saying there was something wrong with a plane, that it broke in mid air. He said we know our airframes, they are will never "break up" in mid air.
I am sure your plane had a reason why it broke in flight, and a hard landing or mishandling are probably the cause!
I contacted Phoenix Models about a missing part, I received a message that they were sending me the part within 24 hours. I was speaking to a rep from a very large manufacturer at Top Gun one year and he said folks call all the time saying there was something wrong with a plane, that it broke in mid air. He said we know our airframes, they are will never "break up" in mid air.
I am sure your plane had a reason why it broke in flight, and a hard landing or mishandling are probably the cause!
03-20-2022, 01:17 AM
#31
Going on 28 years now in the hobby I still have never seen a planes wing fail so easily on its second flight with no kind of aerobatics just plane old gentle scale flying. This was and still is the only post Ive ever written against any rc company to date. It was no hangar rash because it was a brand new plane. After I found 2 other hobbyist with the same failures and waited to get a response from phoenix models with no reply I decide to write this post. There are 4 other members on RC groups with the same failure in the same part of the wing on the same model of plane. There's even a video one of them posted that can easily be found on youtube.
If you go over to the same blog on RCgroups you will see a couple of testimonies of members with other structural failures on other models made by Phoenix. You will also see a lot of member who've identified the poor construction of their models in which they had to modify them to be flight worthy. Many cases it was lack of adhesive or just straight up poor design which I've pointed out on this particular model in other post. I will tell you first thing is the wing tube is to short and ends right at the narrows part of the wing. As far as Phoenix Models customer service they never responded to my 9 emails over a 3 week period which I will say this blog is over a year and half old so maybe they stepped it up. Anyway I received a replacement from Tower Hobbies customer service after they had me send the plane to them to exam it. If I still sound upset I am because unfortunately I still lost a grand in high end servos, electronics, batteries and a brand new DLE 61 because of a poorly made plane that actually already had known issues before I bought mine and I regret I didn’t do the research before hand. In the end I traded the arf for another plane and bought a seagull models Lysander which in comparison is a drastic improvement in the build quality. Its a blessing you've had such success with your phoenix planes and their could be many reasons and variables contributing to why, I could only speculate at this point. Honestly I will never own one again after mine and others experiences with planes from this company, cant afford to throw money away like that.
Regards and God Bless
Regards and God Bless
Sorry for your loss. But please understand that the failure of one airframe does not mean the planes are not airworthy. I have a Phoenix Extra 300, and an Edge 540, which I fly the hell out of doing violent aerobatic maneuvers. My planes have never failed me. A number of my fellow club members have Phoenix planes and they are all fine! One should not condemn a manufacturer due to the loss of one plane. The wing could have had a crack in it due to hanger rash for all you know.
I contacted Phoenix Models about a missing part, I received a message that they were sending me the part within 24 hours. I was speaking to a rep from a very large manufacturer at Top Gun one year and he said folks call all the time saying there was something wrong with a plane, that it broke in mid air. He said we know our airframes, they are will never "break up" in mid air.
I am sure your plane had a reason why it broke in flight, and a hard landing or mishandling are probably the cause!
I contacted Phoenix Models about a missing part, I received a message that they were sending me the part within 24 hours. I was speaking to a rep from a very large manufacturer at Top Gun one year and he said folks call all the time saying there was something wrong with a plane, that it broke in mid air. He said we know our airframes, they are will never "break up" in mid air.
I am sure your plane had a reason why it broke in flight, and a hard landing or mishandling are probably the cause!
Last edited by rltrahan; 03-20-2022 at 01:26 AM.
05-15-2022, 01:10 AM
#33
Thanks for the update. I have been collecting items to get mine in the air. Been thinking about how to reinforce the wing around the end of the wing tube. I waited for months to get enough silver Ultracoat as I want to remove the covering and check for proper gluing. My idea is to use carbon-fiber shafts to span this area and share the load. Will Hysol them in place. Hope to get to this this summer.
Pete
Pete
05-29-2022, 09:25 AM
#34
Sadly , This is the new way of business in our society. Agree on 20yrs ago customer service were way better in the hobby. Now its disposable product.
The Arf's today are a true 50% ratio. If it makes it past 5 flights it will most likely last a while. I have bought 2,3,4 of the same arfs and some blow apart without reason within a couple of flights and others last a season or two. Guess that is the New business model " Repetitive buying".
Personally I have several aircraft in the 10000's of dollars that I have purchased that will NEVER see air. I just do not trust the quality of build or engineering. SAD
The Arf's today are a true 50% ratio. If it makes it past 5 flights it will most likely last a while. I have bought 2,3,4 of the same arfs and some blow apart without reason within a couple of flights and others last a season or two. Guess that is the New business model " Repetitive buying".
Personally I have several aircraft in the 10000's of dollars that I have purchased that will NEVER see air. I just do not trust the quality of build or engineering. SAD
05-30-2022, 06:30 AM
#35
If you want it to last, build it yourself. ARF are OK to get in the air quickly, but nothing beats a properly glued and built plane. Three of my first planes were ARF, only one still sort of flies, it's foam. The other two came apart in flight. My first built plane, a SIG LT-40, built it in 2011, still flies today, and flies quite well too. I have had two SIG Somethin Xtra ARF, first one flew a few years before an aileron decided it had enough and spiraled in, the second one flies like crap. Probably going to build one instead. Great flying plane, when they fly right. The sad part is, there are a lot of really nice looking, should fly great ARF, but build quality is always suspect, and you cannot get kit's for these planes, its ARF or scratch.
09-08-2022, 03:46 PM
#36
Stinson Reliant 30-35cc problems??
Has anyone heard of the Phoenix model Stinson Reliant 30-35cc ARF coming apart in flight? I've watched a lot of YouTube videos of Stinsons flying great without issue. Seems like the Lysander had the most incidents of left wing failure. I'm seriously considering stripping this plane down and looking at the bonds. I haven't maidened mine yet but would like this airplane to be around more than a couple flights.
09-14-2022, 04:11 PM
#37
Just saw this...
They wrote,
This is, was a Phoenix Waco biplane. this is a first for me in 50 yrs of flying. the plane disentagrated at 1/2 throttle, straight level flight. the lower wings, outside of the tube spars. the panels on both sides twisted, then blew apart.once that happened the upper wing came off , the struts still connected the fusaloge, went with the upper wing. never have I had a plane come apart like this. upon further inspection, one can see the glue was not bonded to most surfaces. look close, you'll see glue lines, yet no wood fibers in the glue.some areas were glued well, others , the parts were not attached at all. this was the first flight, took off, trimmed it out. stayed at 1/2 power, made a straight pass, all was good, did I one roll, rates were too slow. turned back, straight pass to set up for a landing. still at 1/2 power, the lower wing, both ends twisted, broke apart, top wing went off. the body pancakes in the tall grass. when the top wing blew off , you could see the N struts with parts of the body still attached. all the screws were in place and tight even after the crash.whoever built this one, the glue was dry before they attached the parts. I did notice that the bulkhead needed relying while I installed the radio. everywhere I replied stayed together. never thought the wings were inadiquitly glued. what a mess. I'll have a difficult time trusting planes from this company.
Bob
They wrote,
This is, was a Phoenix Waco biplane. this is a first for me in 50 yrs of flying. the plane disentagrated at 1/2 throttle, straight level flight. the lower wings, outside of the tube spars. the panels on both sides twisted, then blew apart.once that happened the upper wing came off , the struts still connected the fusaloge, went with the upper wing. never have I had a plane come apart like this. upon further inspection, one can see the glue was not bonded to most surfaces. look close, you'll see glue lines, yet no wood fibers in the glue.some areas were glued well, others , the parts were not attached at all. this was the first flight, took off, trimmed it out. stayed at 1/2 power, made a straight pass, all was good, did I one roll, rates were too slow. turned back, straight pass to set up for a landing. still at 1/2 power, the lower wing, both ends twisted, broke apart, top wing went off. the body pancakes in the tall grass. when the top wing blew off , you could see the N struts with parts of the body still attached. all the screws were in place and tight even after the crash.whoever built this one, the glue was dry before they attached the parts. I did notice that the bulkhead needed relying while I installed the radio. everywhere I replied stayed together. never thought the wings were inadiquitly glued. what a mess. I'll have a difficult time trusting planes from this company.
Bob
RadialWacko uncovered the wing sets and felt the internals looked ok, but did some work there too I believe, plus added a really nice light package. Do you feel the point of failure was started in the fuze or in the wings themselves?
Hope you can opine.
Thanks in advance
Aaron- (Hyjinx)
09-16-2022, 05:47 PM
#38
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I have 2 Phoenix 78" Extra 260, one has an OS40FS other has VVRC50 twin.
Total of 193 flights about 32hrs flight time, only needed reinforcement in the landing gear mounts.
I don't baby these either, mix of precision aerobatics and 3D.
No wing, stab or fuse issues, would always re-glue anything I can get at with thin CA on any ARF.
GSM
Total of 193 flights about 32hrs flight time, only needed reinforcement in the landing gear mounts.
I don't baby these either, mix of precision aerobatics and 3D.
No wing, stab or fuse issues, would always re-glue anything I can get at with thin CA on any ARF.
GSM
10-13-2022, 05:23 PM
#39
Member
Just saw this...
They wrote,
This is, was a Phoenix Waco biplane. this is a first for me in 50 yrs of flying. the plane disentagrated at 1/2 throttle, straight level flight. the lower wings, outside of the tube spars. the panels on both sides twisted, then blew apart.once that happened the upper wing came off , the struts still connected the fusaloge, went with the upper wing. never have I had a plane come apart like this. upon further inspection, one can see the glue was not bonded to most surfaces. look close, you'll see glue lines, yet no wood fibers in the glue.some areas were glued well, others , the parts were not attached at all. this was the first flight, took off, trimmed it out. stayed at 1/2 power, made a straight pass, all was good, did I one roll, rates were too slow. turned back, straight pass to set up for a landing. still at 1/2 power, the lower wing, both ends twisted, broke apart, top wing went off. the body pancakes in the tall grass. when the top wing blew off , you could see the N struts with parts of the body still attached. all the screws were in place and tight even after the crash.whoever built this one, the glue was dry before they attached the parts. I did notice that the bulkhead needed relying while I installed the radio. everywhere I replied stayed together. never thought the wings were inadiquitly glued. what a mess. I'll have a difficult time trusting planes from this company.
Bob
They wrote,
This is, was a Phoenix Waco biplane. this is a first for me in 50 yrs of flying. the plane disentagrated at 1/2 throttle, straight level flight. the lower wings, outside of the tube spars. the panels on both sides twisted, then blew apart.once that happened the upper wing came off , the struts still connected the fusaloge, went with the upper wing. never have I had a plane come apart like this. upon further inspection, one can see the glue was not bonded to most surfaces. look close, you'll see glue lines, yet no wood fibers in the glue.some areas were glued well, others , the parts were not attached at all. this was the first flight, took off, trimmed it out. stayed at 1/2 power, made a straight pass, all was good, did I one roll, rates were too slow. turned back, straight pass to set up for a landing. still at 1/2 power, the lower wing, both ends twisted, broke apart, top wing went off. the body pancakes in the tall grass. when the top wing blew off , you could see the N struts with parts of the body still attached. all the screws were in place and tight even after the crash.whoever built this one, the glue was dry before they attached the parts. I did notice that the bulkhead needed relying while I installed the radio. everywhere I replied stayed together. never thought the wings were inadiquitly glued. what a mess. I'll have a difficult time trusting planes from this company.
Bob
Last edited by Oldsalt1; 10-13-2022 at 05:27 PM. Reason: spelling
05-02-2023, 10:21 PM
#40
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I have a Phoenix Laser 260, 88.6 in 70CC but fly the crap out of it with a DLE 60cc twin. The 60cc twin hovers it at half throttle. The only thing I did to the frame was reinforce landing gear area with top grade 5 ply plywood cause I have an occasional hard landing, and I have flown this plane for three years now with no incidents whatsoever, and fly the Slick 580 with a DLE 40 twin, same scenario. Beats the heck out of $250 container charge and $250 residential shipping through Extreme Flight, let alone the price of their planes, one error with those and you are out serious cash. At least Tower has free shipping.
