In serious need of re-assurance!!!!

[edjamakated]

Ok I just bought and assembled my bergen interepid eb for a start up AP business. Basically withouth mentioning names I spoke with a manufacturer of the camera mounts and was led to beleive that I have made a serious error by going with the bergen. Multiple tail failures and some serious bashings on Chris were mentioned due to this fact. I was under the influence that I was buying once of the best gassers out there. I havent even got my radio gear fully assembled an need some assurance that there is nothing wrong with this heli for doing ap work. A couple of things that were mentioned were a weak tail assembly etc and that a few of the heli ap businesses he knew of are now out of business due to this. Reference was also made to a belt driven tail being far superior for my uses. I am a heli rookie and am looking for some good news. After that phone call I am wondering what I should do.

[Brady Longmore]

Relax my friend. You are in good hands with a Bergen. Why anyone would bash Chris is beyond me. One of the major bonuses with having a Bergen is the outstanding customer service! Chris and Larry are some of the best people in the biz, not to mention the awesome reps, and sponsored pilots for Bergen.

Also, I don't care what brand the heli is, there is going to be failures, malfunctions, and constant maintaining of the equipment. Parts give out and fail. That's a fact of life with helis. I don't know what this guy is talking about. You read on these heli forums, and try to find where Bergens have failed any more than other helis.

Unlike other helis, the Bergen is INDUSTRIAL GRADE. This isn't just a little hobbyist machine that you strap some cheap a$$ camera mount to and call it good.


I had a guy give me the jitters too before buying my Bergen. I've seen other helis and built one of a different brand that is supposed to be "top of the Line" and it is a cheap piece of crap compared to the Intrepid. Plastic crappy parts everywhere, where the Intrepid has metal parts. Take one look at that solid gear box on the tail and those beefy gears, and tell me that tail is weak.

The other fact you have to face is that some day YOU WILL CRASH whether you are flying a Bergen or not. And you will have to deal with that crash. I refuse to believe that someone's AP business failed because their Bergen wouldn't stay in the air. What a load of BS!

Sounds like someone has a grudge or something against Chris, and therefore you can't trust what he tells you to be 100% the truth.

My advice is get on the phone and talk with one of the reps or sponsored pilots if they'll give you their number. I know that Gary Travis was able to calm down my fears when some guy loaded me up with a bunch of that crap, and now I'm glad he did. Talk to people who know the Bergen. Get the story straight from the source.

[rkeith2]

Man -

I hope that it's not the company I am thinking of being that unprofessional as well as uninformed. I am sure Gary and Chris will jump in here as well.

If your EB is built with the beefy tail drive (1 inch gears), the torque tube has been correctly assembled ie, proper collar dimple install and finally the 401 combo with the 9254 servo is used with the reccommended horn I don't see an issue at all.

I am hefting up a mount with retracts and almost 10lbs with camera and have never worried about the tail.

my $.02

Ron


ps the same tail setup is on my turbine :D

[edjamakated]

[quote="rkeith2"]Man -

I hope that it's not the company I am thinking of being that unprofessional as well as uninformed. I am sure Gary and Chris will jump in here as well.

If your EB is built with the beefy tail drive (1 inch gears), the torque tube has been correctly assembled ie, proper collar dimple install and finally the 401 combo with the 9254 servo is used with the reccommended horn I don't see an issue at all.

I am hefting up a mount with retracts and almost 10lbs with camera and have never worried about the tail.

my $.02

Ron


Ron that is precisely why I am counting on you for your assistance, from your gallery it looks as though you are doing PRECISELY what I want to do with the very same gear. Thats all I needed was a little nerve calming. BTW that camera mount that is shown in your gallery is not the company I was speaking with today.

[MarkWebber]

I couldn't agree more with Brady and Ron. No worries with the Bergen. I'm sure I know which company your refering to cuz I've read some negative comments from him before. I think he's just full of crap!

Good thing is that he just pushed you away from his product, right! I can't help but wonder if DJ on the AP forum couldn't hook us up with one of his front mounts for our EBs.

Get your electronics in, complete the build and you too will become one of the Bergen beleivers!

[rkeith2]

OK -

I just took some shots of the electronics install as well as video of the bird in a hover from a distance and video from the bird onboard cam in a hover -

Should have it up in a few minutes :smokin:

[rkeith2]

OK -

Here we go - setup pics of electronics "sorry bout the focus - forgot the Tulip"

http://www.skyking-rc.com/vid/EB_pics

Videos

http://www.skyking-rc.com/vid/ebvid62106.wmv
http://www.skyking-rc.com/vid/ebvid2_62106.wmv

[ShawnK]

I'd bet you any amount of money that he was on the phone with John Ohnemus at Airfoil. That guy is the lowest form of pond scum in the industry.

You picked a fine machine when you chose the Intrepid. The only reason John would drag Chris' name through the mud is because John and his minions couldn't read the damned directions. In it, the directions clearly state the need to fully seat the tail boom, then pull it out 1mm before you tighten the boom clamps, so that you don't compress the torque tube during flight. If you don't do this critical step, what happens is that your torque tube will try to "uncompress" itself during flight, and the only way it can do that is to try and shove itself out the back of the tail boom (if you can picture in your mind what I'm saying). As it does this, it takes away all the backlash in the tail gearbox, which generates heat, which damages the gears.

Johnny O. and his boys kept damaging their tails because they thought they knew better than the designer did, and just built the machine however they wanted. When they couldn't make it work right, they started blaming Chris and Larry, instead of admitting that maybe they didn't know what the hell they were doing. Instead of actually opening their minds and learning something, they'd just rather stay with idiot-proof belt drives.

As you've no doubt figured out by now, I hold John Ohnemus in the same regard as I hold Irwin Siner (which is to say... ROTTEN). The only way John has been able to stay in business is by doing his best to disparage the names of all his competitors. In his world, if you're not flying an Airfoil mount on a JR GSR260 gasser, you're flying crap. Obviously, this is not true.

Having dealt with both John Ohnemus and Larry & Chris Bergen, I would do business with the Bergens any day of the week. I wouldn't give John Ohnemus any of my money if he were a homeless bum in need of some Mad Dog.

You got a great machine, you're backed by a great company filled with people of integrity, and you have a strong, loyal base of Bergen pilots on this and other forums who will go out of their way to help you succeed. Fear not, dear entrepeneur... you're in good hands. :wink:

[rkeith2]

buddy - well! eloquently stated, as usual -

Come out of the kitchen and fly now :mrgreen:

[edjamakated]

Well buddy you nailed it! I have been impresssed thoroughly already with Chris and Larry and even the workmanship of their products to the newbies eye of course. Geez I almost feel bad for ever mentioning it but its just discerning to hear those things when you know very little and are told this by someone who would appear to be a pro in the biz. Not to mention reading the post about whirly girl and not knowing why her tail failed. Any way, its time to get my oversized paperweight off the ground.

Ron,

My duralite setup wont be in by this weekend. It is worth giving it a shot with the 1500MA NIMH and switch that came with my radio just for this weekend?

[WillJames]

Having dealt with both John Ohnemus and Larry & Chris Bergen, I would do business with the Bergens any day of the week. I wouldn't give John Ohnemus any of my money if he were a homeless bum in need of some Mad Dog.


Go ahead and tell us what you really mean Buddy. HAHAHAH ;)

As with any machine, you:
a.) Have to follow the directions. The boom out 1mm is used by MANY on the big Raptors as well. Works great.
b.) With pretty much any tail box, the only problem you are going to have with the Bergen box is if you don't mesh the tail gears right. The Bergen liek any other is going to need the tail gears meshed properly to make it last. I don't know of any helis that dont.
c.) As for tail boxes "flying off" like I ahve read JO spout off about on some forums, that is simply not true if you follow the directions with the Bergen. I see a ton of them fly and I have owned 2 of them myself. They are fine machines.

Buddy and Ron and Mark are right, no need to worry, just build right and fly. If you have any issues call Chris or Larry and they will talk to you on the phone.

[MarkWebber]

who would appear to be a pro in the biz


And now he has demonstrated that this is not the case! Hopefully you've gotten this info before handing him any of your money.

[Malorie]

I don't normally respond to these type of posts because I am heavily involved with Bergen and most would say I have a bias opinion (and they would be right ;) ). I just can't resist getting on my customer service soapbox when I here about people using underhanded methods to get you to run from their competition.

Unfortunately in our hobby, the competition for your money is tough and some people will stoop to any level to get you to spend your money with them. That type of mud-slinging marketing doesn't do the hobby any favors. Not to mention, if you step back for a moment, says very little about what they think of you as a customer and the type of support you will recieve once you've spent your money with them.

You will find that while Bergen R/C does want your money, their primary goal is to have happy customers that enjoy the hobby with the best machine they can provide you with. They will typically go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that that happens. It is refreshing to see this focus in a world where most companies think the customer is there to give them a paycheck.

As you can see by the Bergen customer loyalty, they really do care about you, the customer.

I for one will go WAY out of my way to foster this attitude of the company caring about the customer. Bergen R/C Helicopters is one of the too few and far between companies that I can say that about and I am proud to be a small part of that.

So sit back, enjoy the build, build carefully, enjoy the flying, and feel confident in the fact that if you should have a problem with your Bergen helicopter, the Bergen family is always here to help you get it flying again.

Welcome to the Bergen family, :hug: :glasses2:
Malorie

[MarkWebber]

That type of mud-slinging marketing doesn't do the hobby any favors

Personally, I am always leary of a manufacturer that is willing to blatently put down another manufacturer. Suggesting that the customer do good research is one thing. Even sharing his experience would be ok. Posts I've read from him would appear slanderous. Not cool! :roll:

[rkeith2]

Should be no problem trimming and test flying on 1500MAH pack -

1 flight maybe 2 short ones

[cbergen]

Actually, I appreciate you putting your concerns up here, and having the courage to let the rest of the industry know about the underhanded tactics and sometimes outright LIES told by this very individual.

Poor old john does have an axe to grind, after our refusal to supply him with helicopters BECAUSE of his business tactics, he decided we were the antichrist when it comes to heli's!! :lol:

I was going to add to this, but I'll leave it at that. Just know that any questions you have, any difficulties that may come up, all you need to do is call us or post it here on HF. We're here to help.

[Whirly-Girl]

Not to mention reading the post about whirly girl and not knowing why her tail failed.


Have no worries. I'm a complete gasser newbie, so I had ALOT of questions during my build. I made many phone calls and I know that I built my machine correctly. I'm confident that my "tail failure" was electronic. I'm just waiting to hear back from Futaba BEFORE I post my final conclusion. Soooo...be confident in your machine. It definitely is QUALITY!

Jeanette

[epc2]

Bergen= Quality and service
Airfoil= Service what's that????

With names like Gary Travis , Malorie , Bobby Smith and The Bergens you can't go wrong not to mention that you're getting a machine that needs no upgrade , all metal from the beggining.

From my experinece building helis : Bergen has the best Customer service just a phone call away followed by Joe Howard at Joker USA.

Try to call xxx manufacturer and you'll find out what I mean.

epc2.

[Brady Longmore]

You will find that while Bergen R/C does want your money, their primary goal is to have happy customers that enjoy the hobby with the best machine they can provide you with. They will typically go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that that happens.


You can take that to the bank. :glasses:

[edjamakated]

Alright alright, I am reassured Geez. I'm over it. I was sure that I was making a good decision on the front end and still am, again when your not in the know guys like that can send you in a tailspin (no pun intended) in no time. What a jerk!! I just wanted a couple of people to tell me to relax, its comforting to see that all of the bergen owners are just as passionate about their machines as the manufacturer (bergen).

[MarkWebber]

Alright alright, I am reassured Geez. I'm over it.


We're all glad, I'm sure, that you are over it. I just bet that the others feel the same as me. Knowing that you'll not be the only 'concerned buyer' to read this post. We just wanna make sure nobody messes with our Bergen family! :hug:

[Malorie]

Alright alright, I am reassured Geez. I'm over it.

LMAO
Gotta love the Bergen consumer loyalty. ;)
Malorie

[MarkWebber]

Gotta love the Bergen consumer loyalty


Yeah...I've noticed we can be a bit over enthusiatic, if there is such a thing. :D

[kelly steed]

hey their,I never seen an other gaser fly
i live so dam far north the bugs are as big as my chopper
i have a begen g26 810 mains 115 tail
i have two jobs on saterday two jobs on monday.
i fly 2 to4 gal per week.
if it wasent for the help of begen i would have never got
this project off the ground,and i do like flying my bergen and making money.
theys no one in a 400 mile radus with a bergen,if I CAN DO it
any one can. or cris will make darn sure your chopper flys.

[AZ ChopperCam]

dude... you can seriously stop worrying. John at AF is full of himself and needs an ego check in a major way.

That jack___ refused to sell me parts for my GSR260 because I used an HCS camera mount and was shooting smoother video than his M1 could produce. He was jealous and refused to accept that ther is actually a product out there that is better than his...... and since he was the only place in the US that you can buy GSR260 parts my business nearly had to shut down until I got another rig in the air.

having said all that... I hate to admit it but his new Pro1 mount looks to work pretty well. I gues it took someone like me to show him it was time to redesign!!! :lol: :lol: