Dear Fellow Diabolo Owners
As you are most likely aware, Minicopter is in the process of undergoing a replacement program for the original secondary stage gear in all Diabolo S kits. This has become necessary due to gear failures on at least two helis. One of these failures was on my specially built Diabolo with S mechanics. After owning the S for a month or so I had decided to purchase a Diabolo as a practice heli, as my intention for the S is to use it for competing in the IRCHA Speed Cup this year. I had only between 20 and 22 flights on the Diabolo when the secondary gear failed during a gradual climb-out just 30 seconds from lift off and out of a stationary hover. The gear failure resulted in damages to the heli, two servos, main and tail blades, and a 14S Thunder Power pack. Total damages are in excess of $1400 USD. Note that this heli was fitted with off-the-shelf components and not the high-performance power-train commonly used in speed setups.
Immediately following this incident I had contacted Gerd and sent him pictures of the damaged heli along with a close-up of the shattered metal secondary gear. I had also attached JLog files detailing the performance metrics of all prior flights conducted with head speeds ranging from 1950 rpm to 2400 rpm and right up to the last flight when the incident occurred. Additional photographic evidence was provided to assure him that the recommended gear lubrication procedure specified in the manual was followed. The heli was not used for 3D flying, violent maneuvers, or any other moves other than those generally accepted for speed flying; essentially I demonstrated that it was operated well within its specified performance envelope.
After a few back and forth emails to Gerd, he had agreed to send me replacements for the damaged parts; some of them coming directly from him in Germany and some from Peak Aircraft here in the US. He had requested that I NOT mention this incident to anyone in return for the replacement parts. Within two days I received an email from both sources with shipping confirmation.
On July 19th I had posted a comment on HeliFreak that read -A product like this should not be released until proven safe and reliableâ?. As one reads this thread, it is clearly obvious that this comment was in regard to an earlier post by a fellow HeliFreaker with respect to the testing of a new Tri-bladed head on the Diabolo S. Within 24 hours of that post I received an email from Gerd overtly indicating that I will not be receiving replacement parts because I had -broke the agreementâ?. Gerd also proceeded to contact FedEx and instructed them to return the shipment back to him (in Germany).
Understand that everything I-ve mentioned in this eMail is fact, and can be supported with documentation to prove it - including photos and all the relevant email trails. The behavior exhibited by Gerd in the handling of this matter clearly speaks to his integrity and business practices; beginning from a gag order in exchange for replacement parts right up to the subsequent retraction of his offer based solely on an unrelated post on a forum. As you are all aware, I have incurred a substantial monetary loss that is undeniably a result of the failure of a component a known issue. Furthermore, considering the implied performance application of this specific heli - allowing it to operate with such a known issue becomes a safety of operation risk; which we are fortunate thus far to have not resulted in any personal or property damage (at least that I am aware of).
Thanks All.
As you are most likely aware, Minicopter is in the process of undergoing a replacement program for the original secondary stage gear in all Diabolo S kits. This has become necessary due to gear failures on at least two helis. One of these failures was on my specially built Diabolo with S mechanics. After owning the S for a month or so I had decided to purchase a Diabolo as a practice heli, as my intention for the S is to use it for competing in the IRCHA Speed Cup this year. I had only between 20 and 22 flights on the Diabolo when the secondary gear failed during a gradual climb-out just 30 seconds from lift off and out of a stationary hover. The gear failure resulted in damages to the heli, two servos, main and tail blades, and a 14S Thunder Power pack. Total damages are in excess of $1400 USD. Note that this heli was fitted with off-the-shelf components and not the high-performance power-train commonly used in speed setups.
Immediately following this incident I had contacted Gerd and sent him pictures of the damaged heli along with a close-up of the shattered metal secondary gear. I had also attached JLog files detailing the performance metrics of all prior flights conducted with head speeds ranging from 1950 rpm to 2400 rpm and right up to the last flight when the incident occurred. Additional photographic evidence was provided to assure him that the recommended gear lubrication procedure specified in the manual was followed. The heli was not used for 3D flying, violent maneuvers, or any other moves other than those generally accepted for speed flying; essentially I demonstrated that it was operated well within its specified performance envelope.
After a few back and forth emails to Gerd, he had agreed to send me replacements for the damaged parts; some of them coming directly from him in Germany and some from Peak Aircraft here in the US. He had requested that I NOT mention this incident to anyone in return for the replacement parts. Within two days I received an email from both sources with shipping confirmation.
On July 19th I had posted a comment on HeliFreak that read -A product like this should not be released until proven safe and reliableâ?. As one reads this thread, it is clearly obvious that this comment was in regard to an earlier post by a fellow HeliFreaker with respect to the testing of a new Tri-bladed head on the Diabolo S. Within 24 hours of that post I received an email from Gerd overtly indicating that I will not be receiving replacement parts because I had -broke the agreementâ?. Gerd also proceeded to contact FedEx and instructed them to return the shipment back to him (in Germany).
Understand that everything I-ve mentioned in this eMail is fact, and can be supported with documentation to prove it - including photos and all the relevant email trails. The behavior exhibited by Gerd in the handling of this matter clearly speaks to his integrity and business practices; beginning from a gag order in exchange for replacement parts right up to the subsequent retraction of his offer based solely on an unrelated post on a forum. As you are all aware, I have incurred a substantial monetary loss that is undeniably a result of the failure of a component a known issue. Furthermore, considering the implied performance application of this specific heli - allowing it to operate with such a known issue becomes a safety of operation risk; which we are fortunate thus far to have not resulted in any personal or property damage (at least that I am aware of).
Thanks All.
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