Customer Reviews

American-Retro Army Patrol Classic Pedal Airplane

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This plane would have been great, and was exactly what we were looking for, had the manufacturer shipped it with the necessary parts. After assembling the plane (which is pretty straightforward), I noticed that the shipped cotter pin did not fit through one of the holes on the axle. (For those of you who do not know, the cotter pin is used to keep the wheel on the axle. It probably wouldn't have been too fun to have a wheel come flying off while this plane was travelling at a decent speed.) The problem was that the holes on the axle were different diameters while the supplied cotter pins were exactly the same. On top of this, the adhesive on the seat cover was not holding the cover to the metal and the red piece connected to the propeller would drag on the plane when it was moved forward and was scratching the paint (I believe it was bent).

I contacted the reseller (Best In Home, who handled this entire situation very well) and told them the problems I was having. They assured me that other than the seat cover detaching, they had never experienced any of these problems with planes shipped from their manufacturer. They contacted the manufacturer and called back to me with this: a $30 credit so I could purchase adhesive for the seat cover, the manufacturer would ship a new prop and housing and new hardware to correct the other issues. This solution was suitable to me so I gave them the go ahead.

I received the new hardware for the plane a few days (maybe a week) later. After opening it I discovered that the cotter pins were exactly the same size, again. I re-contacted Best In Home and attempted to explain my situation better, emphasizing that the holes in the axle were different sizes and the cotter pins needed to be different in order to fit into them. He re-contacted the manufacturer and they said that the plane was defective (holes should have been the same) and they would send out another plane. The next plane I received had a bigger problem. The hole drilled into one of the axles was drilled at the end of the metal rod (unsafe and definitely would have broken with use). On top of this, the new plane also had the seat cover issue. At this point I lost complete confidence in the manufacturer and wanted a refund. Two planes with different issues from a manufacturer that has apparently never had any problems...kinda sketchy. I re-contacted Best In Home and requested a refund. The rep made me take pictures of the problem and email them to him (which was a bit annoying). After seeing the pictures (and I assume sending them to the manufacturer) they issued the refund. A bit of a waste because it was a great plane and I would have loved to keep it for my son. Oh well, at least we got some good pictures out of it.

This product is cute but has its rough edges--literally. The pieces do have sharp metal edges which were a concern during assembly. Fitting some pieces took effort as the manufacturing tolerances are not real close. It is lighter than some models available but still not easy to pick up and move around. Our grandson is still too small to pedal the plane but likes to sit in the seat. Hopefully, he will love it as much as the adults!

The first plane I ordered the propeller rubbed the red paint off the cowl and there were small dents in the wings. All parts were included and went together in about an hour. Thinking maybe I got a bad kit, I returned it and requested another. Sadly the propeller still rubs and one of the buttons that hold the seat on was snapped off. This is a poorly made product from my experience! I would not recommend you order it unless you want the same aggravation of assembling and disassembling this product. It is way too expensive to be having these problems. So you can heed the bush pilot who can't spell or the two negative reviews.