Big Squid RC » Great Planes

Great Planes Rifle 1M EP Sport ARF

Tim Mohr — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:15:07 +0000

Have you ever flown an rc plane at 130 mph before? Nope, me neither, but sign me up!

The new Great Planes Rifle 1M EP Sport ARF reaches speeds of 130+ with a “speed” power system, and 90+ mph with a “sport” power system. If you are looking for the thrill of sheer speed the Rifle 1M should impress you.

The Rifle comes as an ARF, meaning you’ll need to supply a radio system, a motor, speed controller, a battery and a charger. Otherwise the Rifle 1M takes very little in the way of final assembly, meaning you’ll be flying in a jiffy.

The 1M designation is for its wingspan, 1 meter, making it a fairly large size that is both easy to see and control at lunatic speeds. The part number is #GPMA1806, the street price is $160, and it should start hitting shelves in mid May. Click on THIS LINK for more information.

Interested in more Great Planes news? Check out THIS LINK.

Official HPI Racing Press Release Announcing Great Planes Exclusive Distributor

Tim Mohr — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:04:23 +0000

We were the first to break the news a few weeks ago on our Google Plus show, Cubby then talked a little about all the details we had. Then again when all the other websites were claiming HPI was bought, we assured people that it wasn’t the case. HPI has now confirmed what we have been saying all along since we broke the news.

Here is the official announcement from HPI Racing about their exclusive distribution deal with Hobbico/Great Planes.

“In light of recent media speculation, HPI would like to confirm that it has appointed Hobbico/Great Planes Model Distributors as their exclusive distributor for HPI RC Cars in North America. This distribution partnership is a further extension of the HPI’s exclusive distribution network that is operating very successfully throughout the rest of the world.

We would like to be clear that Hobbico has not purchased HPI, HPI’s assets or the rights to any HPI products. Hobbico/Great Planes Model Distributors have simply purchased the necessary product inventory to enable them to provide the service levels required from an exclusive distributor in such a large market area. Their comprehensive distribution facilities will ensure fast and effective supply of the entire HPI product line.

As the exclusive North American distributor, Hobbico will also be providing first-class customer services utilizing their extensive facilities and knowledgeable staff at their headquarters in Champaign, Illinois. The customer service facility will be operational for the HPI product range beginning March 1st, 2013.

HPI USA will retain its headquarters in California, where we will continue to develop market-leading products and maintain relationships with our high-profile corporate partners. HPI Europe will handle centralized purchasing and logistics operations, resulting in more efficient accessibility of global product demand. These combined efforts will enable North American shops and customers better and faster access to HPI’s kits, spares and support.

This exciting partnership will enhance HPI’s presence within North America by giving both companies the opportunity to concentrate their efforts on their own specialized areas of the business.

HPI’s dedication to product development, marketing collaborations and our distribution partners will ensure HPI will remain the front runner in the worldwide RC market.”

So there you have it folks, expect big from HPI and Great Planes in the years to come. For more information on all of HPI’s fine products HERE is the link to their official website.

Another week has flown by and is in the books, why not give your luck a try on a TGIF Mystery Link?

ST Racing Concepts Now Distributed By Great Planes

Tim Mohr — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:21:10 +0000

While talking to a friend of mine over at Great Planes today, I learned they recently picked up the ST Racing Concepts line of hop-up parts. STRC is a well known aftermarket upgrade company that should be a nice addition to what Great Planes already offers their dealers. For you our reader, this should mean that you’ll be seeing more STRC parts in your local hobby shops. Most hobby shops are already dealers for Great Planes, so it will be easy for them to throw some STRC parts on their normal weekly orders.

Have you read our STRC Axial EXO hop-up review? If not, check it out HERE.

RCX 2012 – Great Planes/Hobbico booth

Jeff — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:45:16 +0000

Unfortunately, Hobbico didn’t have any beans to spill to us as far as new or upcoming products, but they still have a very large presence at RCX, showing off a ton of their relatively new products like the DuraTrax VW Baja Bug (which we recently reviewed), and all of their recently acquired Team Durango products. Check out some more pics in the gallery below.

Great Planes now distributing Team Durango

Brian — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 02:48:42 +0000

In what is probably good news for most Team Durango fans, Great Planes will now be distributing the full Durango product line. We sort of guessed this would happen after Hobbico purchased Durango, but it’s good news because Durango parts and kits will be available through Tower Hobbies! That will make it MUCH easier to get parts and things very quickly, plus GP has some great support!

Make sure you head over to Team Durango page for vehicles or details.

iHobby 2011 Booth Tour – Great Planes

Evan — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:57:31 +0000

As part of our coverage on iHobby 2011, we are going to try and bring the show to you, by posting up info on some of exhibitors here. If you can’t make it, you can at least see what you’re missing!

This is only like…1/3 of the Great Planes booth! We’re talking a HUGE and awesome booth

Great Plane’s Best RC Sale coming back this year

Jeff — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:58:45 +0000

Great Planes is bringing back their America’s Best R/C Sale for 2011. Last year’s sale saw a ton of great deals on products all across the R/C spectrum, and this year is sure to be no different. Great Planes is promising savings of up to $50 on more than 100 products from their various brands, which includes DuraTrax, Tactic, Futaba, AquaCraft, and more. But that’s not all, if you pick up RealFlight G5.5 during the sale, you’ll get a $20 gift certificate for free stuff. Just like last year, the Best R/C Sale will be taking place through participating hobby shops all over the US. The sale starts on April 20th and will run until June 30th, so you’ll have just over two months to get as many deals as you can take.

Keep an eye on the Best R/C website for more info.

Thunder Tiger KT8 Kart

Brian — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:21:18 +0000

We first broke the news on the Thunder Tiger kart back at iHobby, but now it looks like it’s about to start shipping! The Thunder Tiger KT8 Kart is a 1/8th scale kart with a lot of cool features all packed under that kart body. Standard micro-sized electronics, click rubber tires, rear wheel drive with a rear mounting motor for a realistic kart feel and a lot more!
Hit the Thunder Tiger site for more details! We will see if we can get our hands on one of these for review because I think a lot of people would like to know how they handle. The street price on this thing is under $180 with a 2.4GHz radio! Might make a good street basher at that price.

Thunder Tiger Mini Kart

Jeff — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 03:36:10 +0000

This is something cool at IHobby from Thunder Tiger, being distributed by the fine folks at Great Planes. I totally forgot to write down the info on this thing, but some of the stuff I can recall from the images is that it’s a relatively small, slight larger than a 1/18 scale car or truck. It’s also going to be a full RTR with a brushless system installed.

I can’t recall what the release date or price point of this thing, if I remember I’ll stop by the booth and get the info then update this post.

Tower Power VEE RTR

Brian — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:56:10 +0000

New from Tower Hobbies is the Tower Power Vee RTR boat. This boat is completely designed for beginners. If you have batteries and a pond, your ready to go! It has a water cooled 550 motor and 30A ESC with reverse. Price will be well under the $150 mark when it hits the streets!
Check out the Tower Hobbies website for more info.