[planebane]

Hi, this is my first post on rccanada, although I have been posting at rcgroups for a few weeks as well.

I don't have a local hobby shop (LHS) in my small Ontario town so I've been dealing with various hobby shops / suppliers in the U.S., Toronto and Saskatchewan.

I'm a newbie learning to fly in the local park and as such I'm interested in electric slow-fly stuff. I have had my ParkZone Slo-V for about a week and I love it but I want to upgrade to better batteries, props, motor, charger... etc... basically any gear I can reuse in my next plane because I know I'm going to get more involved in this hobby.

It seems that compared to the U.S. we just don't have much selection in Canada, and there is no online store that welcomes and caters to newbies.

You can get away with ordering small inexpensive items from the U.S. but for something like a charger (which I'm in the market for) I don't want to get hit with customs delays on top of 15% tax.

Any suggestions on places to buy mail/web order gear in Canada! I want to spend my money!

[CHEVPRO]

Check out Greathobbies.com or Hobbywholesale.com.

[JimMcIntyre]

There's also http://www.blackflyaero.com/

Where in Ontario are you?

Hobby shops in Ontario seem to hide very well.

[JimMcIntyre]

Also check out the suppliers link from the RCCanada homepage!

[planebane]

Thanks guys, Hobbywholesale looks pretty impressive. Wish that place was down the street.

I don't have car so walk-in stores are no use to me - it's gotta be mail order.

[Wayne MIller]

Hi Planebane,

If you order from Hobby Wholesale or Great Hobbies, be sure to ask for their MAAC special - this means they pay shipping for orders over $100. Their adds are in the MAAC magazine.

Fly4Fun,

Wayne

[Ramz-to-tha-Z]

www.rcwings.com

His website is not the greatest however he can get anything you want and then some. His prices are ususally lower than Great Hobbies as well.....and his service is fantastic.

[planebane]

Thanks, guys. I'd also like to add Zebrahobby.ca, a one-man outfit who people say good things about. He has a professionally done online store and a good selection of stuff in stock and responds quickly to questions. I just ordered some stuff from him and shipping took a couple days longer than expected but he took the time needed to walk through it and get me the right gear.

Can anyone recommend a good shop in Ottawa or Toronto that one can turn to for emergency goods? The tax is higher but if the shop has good service it should take one day to get stuff by XpressPost or Expedited Parcel. I was dealing with a shop in Toronto for that but their prices weren't great and they delayed my last "emergency" order costing me a weekend of flying...

If I find a guy who gives me good dependable service and accurate advice I'll be a loyal customer and probably drop a lot of cash there over time.

[channel38]

I live in central Ontario ( in a small community, not even a town) and most often Great Hobbies can have things delivered NEXT DAY by XpressPost.
Can't beat it with a stick.

Best delivery I got was ordered on a Thursday about 2:00 PM and received Friday at 11:00 AM. less than 24 hours later.

channel38
Doug

[planebane]

Wow, I just took a second look at their site. Wish I'd looked closer before, could have saved some money over that Toronto store (like, 30 bucks). Huge selection of gear too.

If they deliver that fast, I'm in heaven. Thanks for the advice. If I order from them I'll post the delivery time on this thread.