subscribed!

Gee Bee will be shipped next week hopefully. Seth said they were in at Horizon and they are checking them out to make sure the quality is up to what they want. So soon the Gee Bee will be here. I expect these new offerings to be here about September or there about. Who really knows. Horizon is keeping all that very close to the vest so to speak.

I want the all of them. Doubt that will happen, the carbon Cub looks great, so who really knows.
Conehead
Orrin Eldred

Just pre-ordered the ASK and Cub myself. I have about 60 hours in a full scale ASK, looking forward to flying the micro version!

With E-flight coming out with all as3x models, won't parkzone have to make something pretty advanced to compete?

Originally Posted by UltraMicro

With E-flight coming out with all as3x models, won't parkzone have to make something pretty advanced to compete?

*cough* spitfire *cough*

Parkzone use AS3x too, they are the same company.

subscribed!

Originally Posted by UltraMicro

With E-flight coming out with all as3x models, won't parkzone have to make something pretty advanced to compete?

well parkzone and e-flite are both horizon hobby.

yeah i get it.

Originally Posted by UltraMicro

yeah i get it.

To tell the truth, I've never quite gotten the relationship among HH and its associated brands: ParkZone, E-flite, Hanger 9, and whatever other affiliates they have.

What are they? Separate competitors, but with a unified marketing effort? Different design bureaus, like Mikoyan (and Gurvich, "MiG"), Yak, and Sukhoi? Subsidiares of a single corporate parent? Incestuous cousins?

Originally Posted by pugsam

To tell the truth, I've never quite gotten the relationship among HH and its associated brands: ParkZone, E-flite, Hanger 9, and whatever other affiliates they have.

What are they? Separate competitors, but with a unified marketing effort? Different design bureaus, like Mikoyan (and Gurvich, "MiG"), Yak, and Sukhoi? Subsidiares of a single corporate parent? Incestuous cousins?

HH =
Hobbyzone- entry level first time flyer planes
Parkzone- Just Fly out of the box charge/bind/fly next step up beginner/intermediate 4ch planes
E-flite- next level up, intermediate/experienced flyer, needs a little construction out of the box
Hanger 9 bigger flasher planes you need to build and need a little more experience flying
Blade - is the Helicopter side
Spekrum- the radio side

cheers chuck

Thanks, Chuck.....I do see how they target different customer orientations and product lines. But I'd like to understand what is their relationship among themselves.

At the most basic level of inquiry: Are they all under one corporate umbrella (100% ownership)? Are they just divisions or subsidiaries of one company? Who owns the parent corporation? Or are they independent companies, unified only for marketing purposes?

Originally Posted by pugsam

To tell the truth, I've never quite gotten the relationship among HH and its associated brands: ParkZone, E-flite, Hanger 9, and whatever other affiliates they have.

What are they? Separate competitors, but with a unified marketing effort? Different design bureaus, like Mikoyan (and Gurvich, "MiG"), Yak, and Sukhoi? Subsidiares of a single corporate parent? Incestuous cousins?

Horizon Hobby is the parent to them all, I believe. (Including Spectrum, JR, Blade, etc.) They are each targeting a specific SEGMENT or market within the RC world.

Hobby Zone - Total entry level, casual user, very much for the beginner flyer.

Parkzone - Meant for beginner to intermediate PARK FLYER crowd. Foamies, price point in the $200 to $250 range, so very much lower end. UM in this line are also the brushed, more economical UM line up, $90 to $120 sort of price point. BNF and RTF rules this area.

Eflite - Meant for intermediate to advanced flyers. All electric, but you get bigger, badder planes, some Z-foam and Carbon Z, mostly balsa, and more money. ARF is the rule here and the Price Point is around $220 or upward for the ARF which you still have to kit out with electonics, etc., so more cash. (Hurricane and Carbon Z Yak are exceptions, 25 size, BNF style Zfoam but cheaper than most Eflite when you consider electronics.) The UMX offerings are the Brushless micros and are generally bit higher price point, $150 ish range, but VERY cool.

Hanger 9 - The Big Stuff. Everything from 40 and 50 size balsa ARF's to giant scale kit planes and ARF's. Prices can go from $220 for the ARF (plus your electronics) up to $1200 or more just for the kit. Gas, Glow and Larger Electrics are the options. Definately for the more serious hobbies, and not your park flyer crowd.

They also have other lines like Seagull which are KIT planes, etc., but that's their plankers for the most part.

There is also the BLADE helicopter line.

Then there is the whole water and ground line ups which are extensive as well.

Pretty much you name it, Horizon Hobby is into it if it's RC, with a specific product line for all segments of the hobby. Pretty cool company, IMO.

Hope I have done it justice and that this helps clarify it for you.

Marlin

--------------

Ooops, CHuck beat me to it, probably better explanation too!

Well, I got my fat ass in gear and did just a bit of checking on this.

There's useful info in the "About Us" and "Brands" tabs at the bottom of the main HH web page.

*************

"Horizon Hobby is an international developer, marketer and distributor of radio control (RC) hobby products, model trains and a wide range of educational, toy and other hobby products.

An employee-owned company, Horizon employs nearly 700 people and sells products in more than 50 countries around the world. Corporate headquarters, along with the main distribution facility and product service center, are located in Champaign, Illinois. Additional distribution centers are located in Ontario, California; Harlow, England (site of Horizon Hobby UK Ltd.); and Elmshorn, Germany (site of Horizon Hobby Deutschland GmbH). California is also home to the Losi RC car division (Ontario) and the Athearn train line (Long Beach)."

*************

"Founded in 1985 as a way to fill a significant need in the North American RC marketplace, Horizon Hobby continues to grow and creatively adapt to changes in the industry nearly a quarter of a century later.

Realizing a need for proprietary product and the creation of its own brands, the company purchased Hobby Dynamics in 1992, gaining the exclusive rights to several leading RC product lines. This expansion was followed in 1998 by the acquisition of Indy RC, a mail-order company that was converted into the Horizon Hobby Catalog Division. This allowed Horizon to place a strategic focus on marketing directly to the consumer.

We made our first investment in the European market in 2004 with the acquisition of England's Helger Racing (now Horizon Hobby UK Ltd.), followed by the addition of Horizon Hobby Deutschland in 2008. Horizon became a 100% employee-owned company in 2006 with the introduction of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). "

*****************

Horizon believes the most lasting business success is the result of building and maintaining solid relationships while specializing in highly personalized customer service. Offering true global reach, we sincerely enjoy helping customers achieve success, while making sure our employees are happy and given everything they need to be successful at their jobs.

Here's a look at several of the popular and acclaimed brands we have created and/or developed at Horizon Hobby:

[brand descriptions omitted here, by Pugsam, but you can read them on the web page.......]

*********************


So, it appears that all the HH brands are under a single corporate parent, which is owned by its employees through an ESOP.

That's pretty cool! Good for them.



And the various brands are for marketing identity, and for product and customer segmentation. Seems to be working!

Originally Posted by Conehead

....... I expect these new offerings to be here about September or there about. Who really knows. Horizon is keeping all that very close to the vest so to speak.

I want the all of them. Doubt that will happen, the carbon Cub looks great, so who really knows.
Conehead
Orrin Eldred

Forecast availability. Note I said forecast, not actual

http://www.horizonhobby.co.uk/aeroon...lanes_pop.html

From the HH UK site but models are normally available in the UK pretty much in line with the USA

You're thinking only about airplane and heli when you think HH, but they also have pretty much anything RC... Losi is probably selling more cars than airplanes!