gorhambirds
Heliman
Location: Hickory Hills Illinois, usa
My Posts This: Topic Forum | I can answer that in two words. Cost and demand. I can tell you first hand. I am currently reproducing some critical Cricket parts. I spent a lot of money and time, but the demand doesn't yet really seem to be there. It costs considerable money to tool up for just a few parts. To reproduce a complete Cricket would cost considerably more to manufacture than it did back in the day. Beside that, I don't believe the demand would be there for it. Today's modeler doesn't want a fixed pitch heli. They all want high speed and 3-D. I'm afraid that we senior helicopter citizens are the last of those that can appreciate the "models gone by" so to speak, and the era for that matter.
Personally, I'm not reproducing the parts to get rich. I would like to eventually recoupe my money invested, of course, but the real reason is for the Cricket itself, and it's devoted followers. Flying this little helicopter is majic to me. It truly transports me to another place and time, whenever I fly it. A time when life was simpler, my old flying buddies were around, and most important to me, a time when r/c helicopters were challenging and interesting. A time when building a helicopter was as much fun as flying it. Not like today. To me, everything is composite, looks the same, and jerks around the sky like a dragonfly on crack.
Anyhow, reproducing these parts just adds to my enjoyment and involvement with this helicopter. I hope that if there are others out there who feel as I do, my efforts keep you flying your Crickets on a regular basis and not just as a novelty. I'm happy to help my fellow Cricket flyers any way that I can, so give 'em a whirl!
Steve Z |
