I needed a pair of flaps for my latest creation. I had no proper size stock, and the wing, being from a Sig Super Chipmunk was still in production. I figured I'd simply order a set of flaps from Sig. I called them and found that the flaps were $3.90. That didn't sound bad, so I ordered them. They didn't bother to tell me the shipping was going to be $9.95. That's bad enough, but when I got the flaps, they were printwood. PRINTWOOD. Not even die cut. I paid $13.85 for a piece of wood with printing on it. They go thru such expense to totally prefabricate the imported ARF's, and for C/L they supply printwood. OUTRAGEOUS! I have no choice but to totally write off a company that shows such disregard for us.
I might add a couple of things, here, Phil. Although, yes, that is a huge expense for what appears to be two pieces of wood, if this is the way it is supplied in the kit, then that is what it is. The ARFs are made in China, and all wood procurement and fabrication comes from there. They don't use "SIG wood", nor do they use parts that are cut by SIG. And then they get a whole box car of these things shipped over in one huge shipping container. It has been a long time since I built a Chipmonk from a kit (Matt was a little kid at the time, and, well, I have a story on that, too) but I do seem to remember it was printwood back then.
As to shipping, do they indicate anywhere on the site or in their catalogue what shipping might be for balsa wood? If you order wood from any of the other suppliers there is going to be a minimum charge there, also. You don't just take a couple of sheets of balsa, stick them in a padded envelope as I might do when I am shipping glow plugs or needle valves, and send it off. In fact, I found out I had to box around the Brodak ARFs to protect them in shipping or they might get bent into a pretzel (one did, another got a nice big foot print right through the middle of the box).
Now they should be able to ship it in a post office supplied tube (free cost on the tube) as long as it is no wider than 4 inches. But even then it has to go by priority mail. Now, I don't have the exact figures, but I am assuming you are at least zone 6 or 7 from Iowa. That puts postal costs at $8.10 or $8.60. (Not a lot left for handling). If they ship by UPS or Fed-EX they would get a cheaper rate, but would have to supply the box (and handling).
It is the cost of doing business. They can't just put a 44 cent postage stamp on it and send it out the door. (Oh, and if you check Lone Star Balsa which is an excellent place to get balsa wood, you will find that they have a minimum order of $25 not counting shipping, and their shpping charge is $10.50 in the lower 48 of the US.)
Leonard Neumann
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
This complaint is not well founded. A little research i,e, asking a few questions at the time of purchase ot from someone who has done business with Sig would have saved Phil a lot of aggravation. Simply put it's not Sigs fault as they did not do anything amiss in their dealing with him.
Moral of the story if you have questions ask before you buy and don't assume everything is as you think it should be.
dennis
Funny this should come up I was going to buy a Chipmonk wing kit from SIG at 19.95, a good price but they wanted $33.00 for shipping I didn't buy it.
Dwayne
Keep a handle on em!
>Funny this should come up I was going to buy a Chipmonk wing
>kit from SIG at 19.95, a good price but they wanted $33.00 for
>shipping I didn't buy it.
>Dwayne
>Keep a handle on em!
Well, the price has gone up to $26.95. The shipping and handling charge is $9.95 and there is a large box surcharge *IF* there is a large box. This should not qualify for a large box, however, as I ship entire kits by post office without paying any surcharge. I do know that when weight or size exceeds a certain point then the large box surcharge kicks in, and I have had that problem with ARFs. Here it is cheaper shipping with Fed-Ex (where two or even three go as cheap as one).
In any case, I would assume this to be a mistake. Just bring it up on the website and do a dry run. It won't cost you that much to ship.
Leonard Neumann
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
The once good name of Sig could be just a memory soon. No more 3" bellcranks/ flap horns and who else knows. Cost of building is very high and seems no limits. So take care of your birds and engines.
Dan
Dankar
The SIG kit of the Chipmunk and the Super Chipmunk have several parts that are printwood. This helps keep the cost down and they have always been print wood; flaps, fuselage sides, etc
Been there built several.
Just a vote for Sig. Placed an order last week - glue, dope, silkspan. Got it within the week, expertly packaged, reasonable shipping prices. I'll definitely order again. Looked at my Sig Chipmunk kit. A few balsa pieces heavier than I would like. I'll just cut new ones. Great kit otherwise and good buy for the price.
Happy to hear Sig is looking up. I'd hate to have to scratch them from my list.
