Started on a plane Tuesday afternoon. Ready to start the engine, maybe tomorrow.

Sweet looking plane Wayne! What model is it?

Originally Posted by brathanke

Sweet looking plane Wayne! What model is it?

An Extra 300

Originally Posted by waynemia

An Extra 300

That much is fairly clear ... who made it? Where did you get it? How did you like the build process compared to other manufacturers? What size is it? Do you have a link to the product page by chance?

Originally Posted by brathanke

That much is fairly clear ... who made it? Where did you get it? How did you like the build process compared to other manufacturers? What size is it? Do you have a link to the product page by chance?

Well, since you asked...

It is a 3dhs Extra 300SHP. I am using a DLE55, VVRC 22x8 prop, Smartfly EQ6, Hitec servos (I know, heresy), 2X2200mAh Lipos (more heresy), RCXEL ignition cutoff, 2 x Fortitude 16oz tanks, Sullivan Skywriter smoke pump, J'tech pitts muffler, 2000mAh Nimh on the ignition, 2500mAh Nimh on the smoke pump, Cricket DCUP, Great Planes pilot, 4" SWB arm, 2 x 2" MPI arms, 2x 1.5" MPI arms, and 4" cf spinner from 3dhs.

Generally, the plane was OK. The instructions, mediocre. They probably have not been updated since it was first written but the plane has been changed. Nothing in there about the landing gear farings.

Problems:

• The wheel pants don't fit the axles. They know it but have not fixed it.
• The spinner needs a 90mm bolt and it does not come with one.
• Two of the pre-installed bolts on the h-stabs were the wrong size
• The pockets in the wing bags for the SFGs and wing tube were disintegrated
• All three pre-installed bolts for the tail wheel were the wrong size
• Both covers for the canister tunnel did not fit
• The landing gear block is pretty wimpy and no way to really improve it
• One of the blind nuts on the canopy would not take a screw
• Can't get the 70 degrees deflection on the elevator called for in the manual. Many others can't either. I have not tried the rest yet.
• Can't get the phone to ring anyone when I called
• Email turn around time is two to three days. (Still waiting to see if they are going to replace the wing bags

I think there are a few too many discrepancies for a company that is charging a premium for their product. I also think they should help make things like pilots and instrument panels available.

I hope it lives up it's reputation in the air.

1955, I was born in 1955.

Wayne thats so sad to hear. I'd heard rumors 3DHS quality an service has declined.
Now last year when I bought my 3DHS 41 inch Edge, it had 2 left wings
I had the right wing a few days later.

Snowman your daughter spins a. Mean rug very nice indeed a job well done.

Wayne nice extra

Brathanke great on your paper and good luck

Wookster awesome on the sandwich sales

Plow yes sorry I had to go there lol

DOG I don't believe we have a rating here c'mon man share good stories with your brothers lol

Got snow last night just an inch and will prob be gone tomorrow anyway, had a gig last night much fun

Wish we had some snow...

or rain...

No Wayne No. No snow.
Rain yeah
But no snow.
Tomorrow it's going to be 60 degrees. You'd think I lived in texas.
I'm hoping for a flyday if momma doesn't have me running her to the city.

We've got rain on top of our snow......soon to be ice-covered snow! Drove to Marquette to watch my second youngest daughter play french horn in the 14th District Honors Band........all I can say is WOW! I know I'm biased, but kids that live and breathe music just blow me away! Oh, and on that trip my wife says: "Hey why don't we stop in Lowes!" "Why?" I ask. "Oh, I don't know......just to look around." she says. $1,400 dollars later and I have to make another trip there with the trailer to pick up the shower unit for the downstairs bathroom complete remodel she has me doing!!!! Never saw it coming........sure we talked about it, but I had other plans! And surely not this winter!!! Ouch! Well, at least I didn't buy a 3DHS Extra 300SHP, sorry Wayne......I couldn't resist!

Gee Wayne that is a long list of problems for sure.

I wish they would invest in customer service. I think they are having a tough time because in the early stages Ben would just talk to you on the phone and deal with all of your problems. As they have grown in popularity I think production has become a major constraint. That is why you hear of Ben taking trips to China to deal more closely with suppliers and work on the supply chain. In the mean-time I think it is inevitable that some things are going to slip. I think they would benefit from dealing with the service portion of the business (warehousing, sales, and customer support) and the production portion (R&D, supply chain etc.) as two separate operations and apply theory of constraints, six sigma, or balanced scorecard ideas to each one. I think customer service turnaround times would be a good candidate for a six sigma project if they wanted to invest in it. Right now I have to wonder if they have any minimum standard metrics for complaint adjustment times.

I apologize if I am waxing too accountanty... I just figured Wayne might have exposure to some of these things.

There is a new one... armchair management accountant

Originally Posted by brathanke

Gee Wayne that is a long list of problems for sure.

I wish they would invest in customer service. I think they are having a tough time because in the early stages Ben would just talk to you on the phone and deal with all of your problems. As they have grown in popularity I think production has become a major constraint. That is why you hear of Ben taking trips to China to deal more closely with suppliers and work on the supply chain. In the mean-time I think it is inevitable that some things are going to slip. I think they would benefit from dealing with the service portion of the business (warehousing, sales, and customer support) and the production portion (R&D, supply chain etc.) as two separate operations and apply theory of constraints, six sigma, or balanced scorecard ideas to each one. I think customer service turnaround times would be a good candidate for a six sigma project if they wanted to invest in it. Right now I have to wonder if they have any minimum standard metrics for complaint adjustment times.

I apologize if I am waxing too accountanty... I just figured Wayne might have exposure to some of these things.

There is a new one... armchair management accountant

Yes, I have been around most of the "quality" schemes. My BS and Masters are in business. I don't buy in to all the programs. Many have some benefits but most of the time, when you have a consumer product, you can get your act together buy just listening to the customers and doing something about it. I know the frustrations of dealing with vendors and off-shore companies too. Sometimes you just have to vote with your feet.

You can do a lot for customer satisfaction by handling complaints promptly. I don't know (or care) what their excuses are for problems. They are one of the most expensive retailers for models. If you want to carry a tag line of, "Fly the Best", you need to live up to the hype.

Finding #2 and #4 hardware in the kit is a little crazy when almost everything in it is M3. I had to tap the landing gear to attach the landing gear fairings. That is not a normal tool to have to use.

So my expectations were very high and to be honest, so far, I think they could do a lot better. They sent me an email about the wing bags saying they were sorry to hear about the problem and asked me for my order information. That was Wednesday and I have not heard anything more about it, and I did ask in another email.

I called and the message says press 2 I think to talk to someone, the line went dead.

I am frustrated a little. Maybe they will come around. I have the RTL Fasteners Metric assortment kit. I would have been stuck if I had not had that. It would have been multiple trips to the hardware store.

My friend thinks the landing gear is going to come off on the first landing. It is probably the lightest landing gear blocks I have seen on a plane this size.

I did not want to rant here about it. BUT, you asked.

Originally Posted by snowman

We've got rain on top of our snow......soon to be ice-covered snow! ... Ouch! Well, at least I didn't buy a 3DHS Extra 300SHP, sorry Wayne......I couldn't resist!

We used to have ice storms in the TX panhandle. Those are awesome and dangerous.

I am still hoping for good performance in the air. If it flies as well as the brag, I will get over the problems with the kit.

There are some nice touches on the plane. It is kinda like buying a Ferrari with lug nuts missing and you have to go to the auto parts store to replace them.

I'm hoping for the best of outcomes Wayne!