Performance Hobbies...

Alright, is this place reputable with great customer service...or not?

Kenny is a good guy.
Most people would just advise against buying fiberglass from him unless you've got it in your hands.

I've ordered from him and have had good experience with him..

Steven said:

Alright, is this place reputable with great customer service...or not?

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Not sure what you’re up to Steven but surely you jest. There’s been plenty said about Ken as of recent.

How’s his motor ordering stuff doing? So great guy long as you don’t need fiberglass right? I was eyeing some Loki L1400 reload.

I really want the L1040 LR but finding a reload for that in stock plus all the bits and pieces scattered about in the net is proving tougher than expected.

Here we go again................................ I heard this, I know a guy who said that, someone said a guy had this/that happen to them, So and so said bla bla bla, etc etc... All the vendors we ALL deal with haven't been in business in this SMALL hobby for some 15+ years for scamming people.. Every few months someone post something BEFORE actually speaking with their vendor stating there've been wronged in some way, then once they DO talk said vendor all is cleared up and ok, yet the part where the vendor cleared up the problem is never talked about.... I'm sorry but this jumping on the band wagon and bashing a different vendor each month has to stop, moderatos why do you even allow this to continue?? Now I'm not saying this specific thread I'm just speaking in general of this type of talk.

Kenny for one has been in business for years! probably 80% of us have probably bought something from him one time or another.. So be it motors kits hardware or yes even FG go right ahead and buy it. Not every vendor can stock every single item there is, inventory cost money and in this tiny niche of a hobby I think ALL the vendors do a pretty great job in handling all of our needs..

I've been doing business with Kenny for over 5 years now, and for the first 2 years into High Power, he was my exclusive vendor since he came to the field where I launched. Ken is a great guy, very personable, and will unpack his truck/trailer at the drop of a hat just to search for a $2 something for you on a "I think I saw one of those somewhere" sorta moments.

His heart is in the right place, but unless he has it in hand, especially fiberglass.......well, then it's sort of a game of Russian roulette, with 5 chambers loaded, in a circular firing squad........you're gonna get your feelings hurt. He's NOT CT's first served customer for fiberglass, and he perpetually seems to been the last served by CTI and AT as well. That said, I've NEVER had him NOT deliver something that's been back ordered.....but sometimes other vendors get stock, sell out, and restock before he gets his motor orders.

If you want something, CALL him and place your order. He's pretty good at knowing his inventory and you'll probably know up front that it's shipping soon or back ordered.

My L3 rocket was a modified Performer 150 sold by Performance Hobbies. It took quite a while from the order to shipment of the rocket. It was about 10 weeks as I recall. I had to pay an additional fee for shipping over and above the standard shipping fee as well. That's all of the whining. The quality of the FG was superb. The CR's were a little oversize on the OD, everything else fit marvelously. Bear in mind that this kit came with no hardware or documentation of any type. This kit is just the FG parts to construct the airframe. That being said, I am quite happy with the end product.

Jim

I buy from him regularly. I have had issues but Ken settled them with me when he could not deliver a product.

timbucktoo said:

Not sure what you’re up to Steven but surely you jest. There’s been plenty said about Ken as of recent.

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There are a lot of threads I don't bother viewing. Others in a scant way. I would like to order his X-15 and Mercury Redstone IF it's ever in stock. When shucking out $$$$, I like to have the confidence to order from someone reputable. It's all I want.

Steven said:

There are a lot of threads I don't bother viewing. Others in a scant way. I would like to order his X-15 and Mercury Redstone IF it's ever in stock. When shucking out $$$$, I like to have the confidence to order from someone reputable. It's all I want.

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Shoot Ken an e-mail asking him to inform you whenever he gets them in stock. Don't buy till you get that e-mail.

I've ordered from Ken with out a problem for over 25 years. There are some things he can't control, CT being one of them. He's reliable and has a huge inventory of parts and kits. There are not many other vendors who have been in business as long as Ken, he must be doing something right!

He seems like a nice guy from my 21 emails and various phone calls. That being said, I'm still waiting on an order placed LAST black Friday.

As the former of Top Flight Recovery Ken was always a great customer. When he placed an order from us he always paid at time of shipment or check was here with in a week. Any items I purchased from him was sent in a short time. He's just a all around nice guy. All the vendors work their butts off to keep us supplied in the items we need for this hobby.

Seems to be looking good.

The problem I’ve been told many many times and seen it, is he sells stuff he doesn’t have or won’t follow through on custom orders. Plenty more people will tell you to stay away from him than say he’s good. The bad reviews don’t just appear out of nowhere. Save your money and don’t chance it. He might be a good guy but he sucks in the business and has a bad habit of selling imaginary inventory.

All the filament wound fiberglass for my scratch built Frenzy XXL came from Performance Hobbies. No problems. Over the years I have bought thousands of $$$ of stuff from Kenny.

I have a K830 if interested

Steven said:

Alright, is this place reputable with great customer service...or not?

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Ken Allen / Performance Hobbies is a nice guy, which is both great and a problem.

He is at the mercy of his Supplier, Curtis Turner / Proline Composites.

Unless Ken, specifically, tells you that he has any filament-wound composite kits or components IN STOCK, reconsider ordering them from him, or ANY other Vendor ( CT supplies 95% of ALL Rocketry Vendors ).

Caveat Emptor . . . It can take a L-O-N-G time for Curtis to, eventually, fill the order . . . Sometimes, more than a year, or never !

Dave F.

I could easily forget I ordered anything in that time frame.

Andrew_ASC said:

How’s his motor ordering stuff doing? So great guy long as you don’t need fiberglass right? I was eyeing some Loki L1400 reload.

I really want the L1040 LR but finding a reload for that in stock plus all the bits and pieces scattered about in the net is proving tougher than expected.

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Loki has the L1400 in stock as of today. Scott is a good guy to deal with and will provide good estimates of product availability. Talk to Scott.
I believe OneBadHawk has the 54/2800 hardware in stock.

dinoburb said:

Loki has the L1400 in stock as of today. Scott is a good guy to deal with and will provide good estimates of product availability. Talk to Scott.
I believe OneBadHawk has the 54/2800 hardware in stock.

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FYI, for all interested, OBH has the entire Loki line for sale, but he doesn't put it on his web site because he is not HAZMAT certified. If you live close enough, he might deliver or meet you half-way. I buy all my Loki big reloads from ted at MDRA launches.

nothing more to see here. Question asked & many answers received.