well finally flew this thing last weekend from water,actualy wasnt bad.
Most of the stickers came off anyway with plenty of dunks
Touch and go's tricky as elevator control is very sensitive even with reduced throws,but fun to fly,defo not boring..
Surprisingly all the stock electrics still work after a thorough soaking
main fault i see is the torque roll from the prop means left wing digs deep into the water on takeoff but ok as soon as the wing gets some lift..and flies ok

Originally Posted by brodjack

well finally flew this thing last weekend from water,actualy wasnt bad.
Most of the stickers came off anyway with plenty of dunks
Touch and go's tricky as elevator control is very sensitive even with reduced throws,but fun to fly,defo not boring..
Surprisingly all the stock electrics still work after a thorough soaking
main fault i see is the torque roll from the prop means left wing digs deep into the water on takeoff but ok as soon as the wing gets some lift..and flies ok

Congratulations brodjack!
I'm still constracting the third ICON-A5. This model is pretty fascinating.
I know, as you had, elevator control is very sensitive. I suppose the main reason must be from shortage of fuselage. To be controllable, I'm still struggling this model

shigetyann, nice to see you are still around. I copied your idea to correct the "nosing down" of my A5. My pine block has a 15 degree angle for lifting the nose, and a couple of degrees on the front face to help correct the motor torque. That mod made all the difference in the world for control of this model. I'm eager to get back to the lake for more testing/flying. I also had to replace the stock motor which had shorted out.

Just pulled the trigger on a small Icon from HK. Looking forward to getting it so I can set it up according to the tips on this thread, and also pull off those awful looking stickers to give it a more deserving paint job! I only wish the OrangeRx 3-axis stabilizers were in stock; I have a feeling they would help this plane a lot!

Bought one of these mid May:

It shipped with 2 left side floats. Numerous emails over several months and I was no closer to completing the build. Response emails basically consisted of "sorry but you will have to wait until part comes from original vendor." I had suggested that a refund, or a replacement would be more valid solutions to this issue but was basically fobbed off.

Yesterday, finally gave up on the emails after waiting for a resolution for six months. Thought I would give the "live online help" a go......

Part transcript of this:

You are now chatting with : Zoe (Customer Service)

Zoe: sorry for inconvenience caused, i will check with warranty department and reply you very shortly
Zoe: we will get back to you by email with the solution
You: ok, thankyou....look forward to finally seeing this resolved? Previous email correspondence from HobbyKing has been less than helpful.
Zoe: we understand that you have been waiting for long, we will get it solved very quickly


Email response next day:

Thanks for contacting the HobbyKing Support Team.

Please accept our apology for keeping you waiting for the replacement parts that we have no feedback from supplier. We have reviewed your case and we understand that you are a very loyal customer of HobbyKing. We have came up a solution that we would like to offer you half price (USD$50) if you wish to purchase a new AT-A5. You may keep the previous one as replacement parts. Please advice if you wish to accept this offer. Thank you.

Questions:
Is it fair to make a customer wait 6 months and then ask them for more money to complete a build? I also assume that I will be charged freight on this 1/2 price replacement?
I am always reading about HK's super sales and how customers have scored free planes when they spent over $100.... The best I have done in 30 transactions and several thousand dollars is a hole reamer and a turnigy neck strap! If they are giving away free planes, why does THIS platinum customer have to work so hard to complete the build on a $100 foamie!?
I note that at least one other forum participant (Hello Scott) is also only being offered partial compensation for (in his case) damaged goods.

I think that it would be fairer if HK offered me the plane for free on my next order over $100? Then I would not object to paying freight.

Am I just seeing this all wrong? Is Hobbyking actually making a reasonable offer to fix this?
Opinions and related experiences would be appreciated.

HK should simply remove the part you need from a kit and send it to you, period. Unfortunately, poor customer service is a part of the deal when we buy very cheap directly from Asia.

While I normally would never do this, I would be sorely tempted to accept their offer, use a credit card get the spare kit and then charge it back to them when it arrives. Remove the part you need and them offer to send it back if they credit you for the freight cost .....

Actually, a better way to resolve this would be to post a thread in the HK forums on the HK web site and keep on them to do the right thing. The forum seems to get better results than the help line as the discussion takes place in public.

I really hope you win out eventually.

Sorely tempted to order it, receive it, then dispute the plane as incomplete via Paypal which is what I should have done 6 months ago!
But that would just be treating my unethical treatment with unethical treatment!

Your best bet at this stage would be to start a discussion thread on the HK web site forum. That has gotten people some results when nothing else

Part of me thinks that they tossed ethics out the window first and that it is time to fight fire with fire....

Originally Posted by Thomas B

Part of me thinks that they tossed ethics out the window first and that it is time to fight fire with fire....

+1

Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!
-Harvey Logan

Originally Posted by rshep

shigetyann, nice to see you are still around. I copied your idea to correct the "nosing down" of my A5. My pine block has a 15 degree angle for lifting the nose, and a couple of degrees on the front face to help correct the motor torque. That mod made all the difference in the world for control of this model. I'm eager to get back to the lake for more testing/flying. I also had to replace the stock motor which had shorted out.

To rshep

Well done! I hope you get good flights.

BTW I'm still struggling to have better solution.
I've been trying to make some optional parts for the third s288. This time, I started from a kit. It's impressive as I could find out this plane's structure.
Attaced pictures are one of them.
At last I made clear canopy for s288.
I'll open other modifications soon.

Wow!! I am stunned!

Hobbyking actually came to the party! :

"Thank you for your reply. As we understand you are a regular customer, we will forwarded this issue to our management to review. We have agreed to refund$99.99 to your HobbyKing account. You may use the credits on your next purchase. Thank you so much for your continual support to HobbyKing. Cheers.

Thanks for emailing support.
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Regards.
Chris
HobbyKing Support Team"

Could not have asked for a fairer outcome. Is a pity that it took so much to get them to (eventually) do the right thing? BUT I finally get a resolution that is fair. AND HK definitely keeps me as a customer

Thanks also for the support and informed discussion from various individuals on RC groups.

Now thinking I might try and scratch build the floats out of scrap EPO. It may not be pretty but I think I could get something useable onto the water?

Definitely worth doing. You can made them a little bit wider and improve the flotation in a crosswind taxi

Originally Posted by brodjack

well finally flew this thing last weekend from water,actualy wasnt bad.
Most of the stickers came off anyway with plenty of dunks
Touch and go's tricky as elevator control is very sensitive even with reduced throws,but fun to fly,defo not boring..
Surprisingly all the stock electrics still work after a thorough soaking
main fault i see is the torque roll from the prop means left wing digs deep into the water on takeoff but ok as soon as the wing gets some lift..and flies ok

Remember, the throttle is not an on/off switch..... Advancing the throttle more slowly gets rid of the vast majority of the torque effect and the wing does not want to dip nearly as much.

I think the little guy flies quite well.

Picked up my small Icon from the PO yesterday! Started putting it together last night. I found that the ugly stickers peel off with minimal trouble if you rip them off fast. Got the giant wing stickers off without damaging the foam at all. Some minor blemishes from removing the hstab and fuselage stickers, but nothing serious.

Did anyone else have trouble mounting the wing with the front wood tabs? It looks to me like I will need to trim a little foam away from the wing/nacelle where it fits around the motor mount to allow the wing to pivot down into place after engaging the tabs.

Also, the HK OrangeRx 3-Axis stabilizers are back in V2 trim, allowing v-tail mixing, delta mixing, and more importantly remote shutoff through an aux channel! I ordered one and a 1400mah NanoTech lipo for my Icon. I think I will fashion a small watertight compartment for the electronics when I get everything put together.