RC India

I have recently taken a lot of interest in RC planes and this seems to be a wonderful forum to learn from  :thumbsup:

I am also interested in finding out what would be to prospects of Indian Made RC planes. I am in the business of PVC moulding. am doing some research to find out methods for EPP moulding. My idea for this research is purely out of an interest in manufacturing EPP kits for RC enthusiasts.

Want to find out if RC enthusiasts would be keen on buying indian foam plane kits if they are made available at an honest price and good quality?

the feedback of the members of RC india on this topic would be highly appreciated.

Jits.

an honest price and good quality will bring you good business. Also after salse service is must.

Yes indeed people would be interested, I've always wondered why factories that make foam plates do not make some foam wings. You can start with cloning the most popular model. Even plain EPP sheets would sell like hot cake, let alone molded wings and planes. 

EPP is a material  over hyped in the west, esp USA. I would suggest you to think of going EPO way. They are much balanced material, requiring lesser re-reenforcement than EPP (thus cost saving on CF rods), and give better finish and form.

You can buy planes like Easy Star and Sikhara/AXN Floater locally available in India. With manufacturing price lesser than :Rs: 200-300 per average sized plane (400 size) there would be enough margin while selling at amazing price in India.

@jits: it would be a dream come true if such kits become readially availaible in india, and i think manufacturing locally would result in much lower production costs and this leaves enough room for profit. But good aftersale services are expected too
@Ujjwaana sir: what is EPO, is it the same thing what is called high density packing thermacol in law man's term?

@netsecrets00 and @ujjwaana, after sales service would obviously be part of the package....i guess this means providing spare foam parts....in case of damage.....

@Bilal havent looked into EPO much...will do that too...

@ujjwaana Rs. 200 to 300 will only be the cost of the raw material......molds and machinery for the same will cost much more.......which can be recovered only if there is sufficient demand.

guess will need to make a model which will have a mass appeal amongst indian RC flyers.

Thats the easy part, its called Easystar.

Hi, its a wonderful idea from your side.
I have been trying to collect the list of Indian kit manufacturers ... and in case you do decide to start producing kits, I would look forward to your models :-).
Cheers & Hoping to hear some +ve traction in this regards  {:)}

AXN Floater (with a slightly better power system that what HK offers as default).

@sunlikestar Yes...seems an "easy" choice too. :).....

also would need some feedback on whether model kits would do well or ARTF is what people really want.....looks like its good to provide both options.


@axedge...thanks for the encouragement.......really passionate about this project.....look forward to all the support from you guys on RCIndia.

@Anwar.....yes....AXN FLoater or easystar seem a good idea.

jits...all the best to you man :thumbsup:

 
sometime back a fello modellar told me that a very beautiful foam Cessna kit it manufactured somewhere in Pune and discreetly exported :banghead:  It seems that this person never even talks about it.. wonder why :headscratch:

If you can provide ARF's then it would be awesome! Kits will definitely do well, but for the start even simple foam wings should do well. Like these:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fdgT74iAeqk/S-HkvZe6SlI/AAAAAAAAACk/exq_JKHiEOY/s1600/IM002769.jpg)

@vector.....wonder why that person never talked about it.....i dont think its illegal to manufacture and sell such stuff here.

my idea is to make and sell here in India.

@sunlikestar.......yes wings also could be a good idea....something like the Multiplex Xeno kind of stuff...

does anyone know who sells multiplex easystar, Xeno or AXN Floater ?

Multiplex you can get from http://www.rcdhamaka.com/ they are bringing in new stock very soon. AXN Floater you can get from http://flying--rc.blogspot.com/ .

Is there a market for gliders in India made entirely out of EPP without a motor.

honestly, need to know f there are many regular flyers out there would want to buy an EPP made Foam glider, without a motor?

am talking about something like this...

http://dream-flight.com/gallery.html

HI

I guess these will not have that much demeand as these planes require thermals to fly which you cant find everywhere. If i am right Slope soaring is not much popular in India.

Regards
Ankur

Jits , it could be a buisiness strategy...may be the brand selling those planes dont want to disclose its source.

Hi Jits, 1st of i can say that your idea about locally manufacturing EPP/EPO planes is great and as you can see from different forums that the demand for such planes is also very high, apart from this there are a lot of people who are interested to get into the hobby but stay away because of the high prices of Planes which is a reoccuring cost. And India being a cost market where the bulk people look for cost affective stuff you might have to find out if the cost of quality manufacturing + your margin is competitive to the market prevailing priices and if the equation fits this is a good business and a fast growing one.

@jagjit......certainly there is a lot of demand for these planes, especially considering the amount of time it takes to clear imports thru customs !

still on with my research regarding the manufacturing bit.

will need some support from RCIndia, probably thru a poll to find out if people would buy an Indian made all round performing Foam plane like the easy star or AXN FLoater.

Will list down the features of the package if possible the pricing too to conduct a poll....

would like to know form the administrators of RCIndia if such a poll is possible?

Jits.

Trainer would be a hit for sure. But again competitive pricing & quality would play a big role.

Any poll is a set of questions, or options...  what are the specific questions/options you want to see ?

@Anwar

The most important question is would the Indian flyers buy an Indian made RC Foam Plane if offered at a competitive price and quality.
 
Also what would they prefer

1. Type of kits
    Model kits or ARTF (excl. receiver/transmitter)

2. Trainer plane (AXN/easystar category)  OR Fun flying Glider wing design with motor mount(multiplex Xeno category )

3. Which material is preferred ( EPP or EPO )

Also need to know the skill levels(beginner, intermediate, advanced) of the participants of the poll.

these are some of the questions i can think of......you think i have missed something Anwar :headscratch:?

Apparently you have not seen how polls can be structured within the limitations of the forum software here :) 

There can be N options in the poll, and people can choose up to M of those options (where M < N).  So you will have to split out each of your choices.

So you can have a poll with 9 options, and people can vote on 4 options. 

looks like we can ask just one question at a time with multiple options........isn't it?

From a business point of view only question "3. Which material is preferred (EPP or EPO)?" is worth poling for. People will readily buy kits even if you dont have ARFS. And between trainers and wings, trainers clearly have more demand, no competition there.

my views on this will best supported if self manufacturing and self selling concept is done, instead of manufacturer, distributor, dealer and then comes the end user. this will increase the cost of the product.
one more thing is that, manufacturing only EPP or EPO or thermocol kit should not be the only motive, like i have started to think about this business but some designing and molding plastic part was the most difficult part. manufacturer are available but cost of making mold and die was too high.
making the master mold out of original component was the most money eating task. then comes making slight difference in the mold to achieve the original clone.....:-)
i will be the happiest person if someone achieves this task at low cost.
Sandeep

Yes, basically.  But it can be a poll with many questions and multiple answers/votes, but there is no guarantee that the user will "do one vote per section", where "section" is a set of questions/options that are related.

BTW, I do feel that all this analysis may be unnecessary, just from the discussions here.  Because ...

1.  There are already polls on EPP planes, including price points.

2.  First you need to have a fair idea on how economical you can make them.  That should be your STARTING POINT. Figuring out margins would really be a second step.

3.  It is obvious the 4ch planes would be the most preferred option.  It is OK if ailerons are just in the mould, but not active initially.

4.  You will need both versions (bit and ARF), to maximize sales opportunities.

@ sandeepm agree with you...the die cost is the huge, self manufacturing and self selling seems to be the only way.

@anwar in a few days i should be able to tell what price can i offer it at. we can then take a poll based on the pricing.

thanks.
jits

i tried to figure out the cost of foam moulding. it is quite prohibitive :(

the only way to recover one's investment is by making planes is at a huge scale...... the way it happens in China.....from where these products are exported worldwide.....

so am shelving this idea for a while... :banghead: