I've had no problems with mine at all, and it really flies nice. I suspect there are aot of people who have one that has no problems. They just aren't as likely to post when everything is fine.

That said, I am watching the servos and the motor mount.

Originally Posted by ShaneH

I'm really glad this info is available for people to read, I was off to my local hobby shop to buy one of these suckers tomorrow morning but have changed my mind after reading about all the problems... it's what you would expect from HK not E-Flite... I was looking forward to it

+ 1 . I think you made a good decision. Last summer. ( 2011 ) I bought a carbon z yak. Within the first 5 flights I could hear a very loud buzzing noise. Sounded like i was flying nitro. I landed and could see the motor mount had broken in 3 different areas. This was about the time hh was handing out the new and improved motor mounts. So i added that. Had about 10 more great flights. Then one day the elevator servo just gave out. Made for some nasty nose damage. I fixed the plane and sold it for half of what i payed. My overall thoughts on this plane are that for the amount of money one spends on one, It should not have these issues. Foam is cheap. So for $400 please HH put in some good quality electronics. It was the very same for the blade 400 heli. Cheap servos. Those were a must change out in this heli as well.

Originally Posted by ShaneH

I'm really glad this info is available for people to read, I was off to my local hobby shop to buy one of these suckers tomorrow morning but have changed my mind after reading about all the problems... it's what you would expect from HK not E-Flite... I was looking forward to it

so buy the main parts & make it yourself. its a great flying plane

Yeah, that is probably what I'd do if I did it again- or I'd just get an EF- but this one would be easier and cheaper to repair.

i went about a year before i had problems (other than the well known prop/motor mount) mine flew perfectly. then in quick succession one servo caused a problem, then 3/4 of them burned up.



if i didn't have one, i'd advise anyone looking to buy one to buy the airframe in spare parts and the stock motor from a for-sale section. stock powertrain is beast on it & cheap with so many people wrecking the planes.

Same old Stuff but No reason to complain about Horizon. Yes I had total signal failure on the second crash but the bottom line is I love this hobby, crashes and all. Horizon and RC Groups enabled me to buy my YAK for $250 (no receiver but w/ Battery) .... Thats a very cheap price to get to play with a plane of this size and performance capabilities. Sure I wish I didn't have to buy a DX8 (have a 6i now) and better receiver with satelite and probably a new motor eventually and upgrade the servos, but the bottom line is I will epoxy and carbon Fiber rod this wreck back together at least one or two more times then replace the Airframe. What else can we do for this kind of $ that is this much fun, be an excellent form of commraderie with other RC geeks, and fullfill our fascination with flight... besides, if I actually had learned to fly a real plane I'd be dead by now

Thank you Horizon, RC Groups, and all of you who love this hobby!

Stock up on epoxy and Fly Hard!

By time you replace the servos, motor, Rx, etc...Even at that $250 price...you can get a much more capable AND easier to fly Balsa plane. And yours may have been caused by a brown out (Notorius specktrum problem before DSMX, or with certain TX/RX combos)...But mine crashed with less than 20 flights, twice because of faulty manufacturing and releasing a product that was not ready for consumption. Yes, I and many other have every right to hold Horizon responsible. The only business they get from me anymore is when I am forced to buy servo extensions, or other parts which the LHS purchased through them...Even Hitech servos.

My two cents. All said and done, I sunk more than $700 into this plane and could have had 1 large balsa, or two 48" balsa planes from reputable companies like 3dhs or Extreme flight. And a lot less stress!

Originally Posted by StormJunkie

By time you replace the servos, motor, Rx, etc...Even at that $250 price...you can get a much more capable AND easier to fly Balsa plane. And yours may have been caused by a brown out (Notorius specktrum problem before DSMX, or with certain TX/RX combos)...But mine crashed with less than 20 flights, twice because of faulty manufacturing and releasing a product that was not ready for consumption. Yes, I and many other have every right to hold Horizon responsible. The only business they get from me anymore is when I am forced to buy servo extensions, or other parts which the LHS purchased through them...Even Hitech servos.

My two cents. All said and done, I sunk more than $700 into this plane and could have had 1 large balsa, or two 48" balsa planes from reputable companies like 3dhs or Extreme flight. And a lot less stress!

So what about PA products? Expensive but they seem to be addressing all the issues?

I can't speak for PA personally, but have heard very mixed reviews on their customer service skills.

Upon attempting to repair crash damage caused by signal failure I am now rethinking my altruistic attitude towards Horizon. Total damage includes the following:
1. severely dented TP 4s 2700 (takes a charge) but who know how long it will last beyond the 4 cycles it has on it
2. Smashed ESC ( not working at all)
3. Bent upgraded aluminum motor mount
4. Front fuselage is repairable but definitely the last time
5. Rear fuse repairable but it's a pain to get it on straight.
6. Wing crushed but repairable but a pain too.
7. Canopy and pilot install- easy enough
8. Tail feathers need tweaking

Overall - probably 10 hrs and $100 Hmmm, maybe you malcontents are on to something

Back to my original premise.... Horizon is Good, RCgroups is Good... My Yak is uglier, it tracks pretty good and its still fun and I cant fly as good as it can yet anyway so thanks Horizon and Sellers on RC Groups!

Originally Posted by bigbookfrank

Same old Stuff but No reason to complain about Horizon. Yes I had total signal failure on the second crash but the bottom line is I love this hobby, crashes and all. Horizon and RC Groups enabled me to buy my YAK for $250 (no receiver but w/ Battery) .... Thats a very cheap price to get to play with a plane of this size and performance capabilities. Sure I wish I didn't have to buy a DX8 (have a 6i now) and better receiver with satelite and probably a new motor eventually and upgrade the servos, but the bottom line is I will epoxy and carbon Fiber rod this wreck back together at least one or two more times then replace the Airframe. What else can we do for this kind of $ that is this much fun, be an excellent form of commraderie with other RC geeks, and fullfill our fascination with flight... besides, if I actually had learned to fly a real plane I'd be dead by now

Thank you Horizon, RC Groups, and all of you who love this hobby!

Stock up on epoxy and Fly Hard!

I bought one after just recently getting back into the hobby and having good luck with other horizon products, I couldn't believe I spent that much money on a FOAM airframe... And I was amazed, what an incredible flying aircraft. I swore it could just about read my mind. I probably got close to an hour of fun out of it before it lost it's own mind making a low knife edge pass straight down the runway at nearly full throttle. 1 minute into the flight, max, plenty of battery. It looked as though the rudder instantly straightened out, and it was maybe 40 feet off the deck. Instant foam explosion, like hitting a beer cooler with a 12 gauge.

That was a month ago, I'm still pissed off. I usually dont get mad when airplanes go down, but this may be the first time it absolutely positively is not my fault in any respect. $400 is A LOT of money to me.

What do you think the legal repercussions would be if I were to glue it back together, take it to Champaign, Illinois, and make a similar knife edge pass (perhaps at WOT this time) into this building entrance. I'd have to imagine the result for the airframe would be similar:

"I bought one after just recently getting back into the hobby and having good luck with other horizon products, I couldn't believe I spent that much money on a FOAM airframe... And I was amazed, what an incredible flying aircraft. I swore it could just about read my mind. I probably got close to an hour of fun out of it before it lost it's own mind making a low knife edge pass straight down the runway at nearly full throttle. 1 minute into the flight, max, plenty of battery. It looked as though the rudder instantly straightened out, and it was maybe 40 feet off the deck. Instant foam explosion, like hitting a beer cooler with a 12 gauge.

That was a month ago, I'm still pissed off. I usually dont get mad when airplanes go down, but this may be the first time it absolutely positively is not my fault in any respect. $400 is A LOT of money to me.

What do you think the legal repercussions would be if I were to glue it back together, take it to Champaign, Illinois, and make a similar knife edge pass (perhaps at WOT this time) into this building entrance. I'd have to imagine the result for the airframe would be similar:"

Its the servos! have read lots and talked to quite a few and the servos just The only option is to upgrade all 4 before flying the Yak ... and that makes it a $525 Airplane and for that much money might as well get a 3DHS 51" AJ Slick, or similar

Originally Posted by bigbookfrank

Its the servos! have read lots and talked to quite a few and the servos just The only option is to upgrade all 4 before flying the Yak ... and that makes it a $525 Airplane and for that much money might as well get a 3DHS 51" AJ Slick, or similar

Frank, thanks for your input. Oddly enough, on my plane it was NOT a servo failure. I tested and retested all the components (I've been at this RC game longer than most Horizon employees have been alive, I am a mechanical engineer, and I have no delusions that a maufacturer will give you a straight answer on component failure) and the fault I found was in the BEC/switching mechanism of the ESC. That's right - a part that probably cost a few Yuan to have manufactured in China cost me FOUR HUNDRED MOTHER EFFING DOLLARS of my hard earned (and made in the United States of AMERICA) money.

Did I mention I was pissed off? I have bought literally a couple thousand dollars in Horizon products over the past year. I feel like the mark in a street corner shell game who has had his confidence built up only to be mowed down by the house when the stakes got high.

Guys!!!

I have Parkzone Typhoon 3D - first version... Had the same problem, over and over... Flying smooth, suddenly, in the mid of the air, uncontrolled changing direction of flight, often in the direction of ground... Crashed for this reason at least twice, quite seriously... I thought initially it must have been related, and due to the wind gust....


So of course picked quiet day... SAME THING.....
Then started to thing about harder and harder... As for now, I found solution.... Are you ready for that?....

1. I used FM radio in this plane... 72Mhz.....
2. Luckly lately got another plane - glider with 2.4Ghz new tx/rc...

Then..... I though.... Having so good experience on Sonic glider, why not to try switching radios... or rather simply switch from Sonic to Typhoon.... and.......................................BINGO!!! !!!!

I had more then 30 min flight... ~ 10 approach.. very stable (in quiet day of course), no uncontrolled surface movements...

My explanation is this: radio interference associated to FM technology... Why at first place the industry started introducing 2.4Ghz??? Security!!! : translate: stability of connectivity!!!! Sure enough.. Think about it... Life traffic from FM antennas for GPS this days... and God knows what other devices...


So... try it... UNLESS YOU HAD 2.4Ghz radios.. then sure.. maybe yours servous... Mine Typhoon though is roughly 6-7 years old....

Good luck! Hope that helped someone! (and is not to late to fix). I'm getting second received for my second plane now and we'll stay with 1 transmitter.