Frequently Asked Questions

What payment options are there?

We accept most major credit cards as outlined by PayPal payments worldwide. Our online “Heli-Store” uses Amazon’s secure payment gateway. All other payments are made through our secure Paypal shopping cart system. You do not require a Paypal account to use this system although if you have a Paypal account, there is the option to use it. When you arrive at the "check out" page, you choose either "pay by credit card" or "pay by Paypal" to complete your order.

We do not accept personal cheques or bank cheques and do not accept money orders or cash. Further details and instructions on payment options and how to use a credit card without a PayPal account can be found here.

How long will it take for my order to arrive?

Our Heli-Store products are sourced from various vendors and suppliers so delivery times may vary depending on your location. Upon ordering you will be sent an email confirmation of your order along with options on how to track your order. Currently, all other products are via instant download but may experience slight delays of a few minutes depending on server traffic and your global location.

In relation to the possibility of products being posted via traditional mail methods, Redback Aviation is located in Australia which often adds to international postage times. For customers from the Australasian region, you can expect an "average" of 12 business days but often much less. International orders can expect a minimum of 2 weeks. All orders are sent by standard Australia Post economy airmail to which we have had a 100% customer satisfaction rate.

How difficult are helicopters to build?

There is no easy answer to this question. Building any aircraft should not be undertaken lightly as your life will often depend on the integrity of your work. Basically it depends on your level of skill and ability to understand and follow the plans and instructional documents. This in turn will determine the amount of time it will take to complete. There are a number of items that require precision machining as with any quality helicopter. These items can be "shopped out" to professional engineers who specialize in smaller jobs at a reasonable cost. There is no way around this as you need to assure your safety comes first.

Basic hand tool skills will assist in ease of construction. Aircraft grade welding (usually TIG or GAS) is required for the basic airframe construction, again this can be handled by a professional. Once you have pre-cut and layed out the airframe, the welding could be completed in as little as a day. Some very talented individuals have been known to build in under a month, while others can take years. Choose a model or design within your capabilities is the best advise we can offer.

Does Redback Aviation manufacture kits?

We do not offer kits or parts at this stage. We also do not offer any support for building your own helicopter. Currently we only offer partial plans and information downloads.

Are parts readily available to build these helicopters?

In short, NO. That being said, Redback Aviation has listed as many suppliers of specialized items required to complete our helicopters as possible. Through research we found parts for other designs hard to find and expensive to purchase or manufacture. Where an item may seem difficult to acquire, we suggest obtaining equivalents through local suppliers. We strongly advise NOT TO MENTION THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE!!! Maybe suggest they are for agricultural use or similar. As soon as anyone hears “aircraft”, A. the price doubles, and B. the item suddenly becomes “unavailable for purchase” due to liability fears.

Please note that all projects are currently on hold. No further information is available other than found on this site. All property is copyright protected.

Helicopter Plans Downloads

Recently I have noticed a slight rise in the number of people having issues with purchasing, downloading, and activating their purchased plans. Below is a brief tutorial that should assist in you enjoying your plans purchase as soon as possible. Please READ CAREFULLY and follow ALL SUGGESTIONS.

Direct Download Links

First and foremost, the program is an eBook .exe file and will only run on PC’s, – NOT Apple/Mac devices (unless they have a compatibility program loaded). Also the program MAY NOT work on a non-genuine copy of computer operating systems. It is primarily designed for use on genuine WINDOWS OS/programs. Make sure your computer software is COMPLETELY – UP TO DATE with all required manufacturer updates. We cannot help you with IT and software issues.

NOTE 1. You cannot copy or print these drawings as we have had to combat numerous copyright violations, this is why the plans are locked as “read-only”.

NOTE 2. The program “LOCKS” to the computer it is downloaded to. Once activated the PIN number “belongs” to that computer only. You cannot download again to a different computer and try using the same PIN again.

NOTE 3. Make sure you have full privileges as a user, otherwise log in as an administrator to have full control over the computer.

NOTE 4. You need to run the program on the same computer it was downloaded to and registered on – you cannot transfer to different computers.

QUESTION:Can you send me the .exe file to my email?

ANSWER: While we sometimes are successful in getting an .exe file to send to a mail server, many times they are blocked by over cautious firewalls/spam filters or because the file is to large for your inbox. In this case, please use the DIRECT DOWNLOAD links above.

QUESTION: I just paid $29.95 when do I get a chance to see them?

ANSWER: While the whole purchase system is integrated with PayPal and our site, sometimes there are errors where it fails to redirect you to either a download link (in this case, use the one above). Or it may fail to allocate you an access PIN number.

In this case we kindly suggest that you email us with a request for a PIN number or use the direct download link above if you did not get a copy of the .exe program. We are able to see if you have made a successful payment, and will then forward you the number if required.

To add, we usually reply within 48hrs – NOTE “USUALLY”, not always! Please be courteous and patient and we will sort out your issues asap. Another thing we have MANY problems with is sending you PIN’s or Plans and having YOUR mail server either BLOCK our email or receiving the email but placing it in a JUNK or SPAM folder without your knowledge – please check first before contacting us.

QUESTION: The program does not run due to “compatibility issues”. O.S of my computer is 64BIT, but lonestar.exe is 16 bits, so it cannot be executed.

ANSWER: The term “compatibility issues” is very generic so there may be several reasons. The file WILL run on 16-32-64 bit systems. If you have an error, read the error code then Google your error code to look for a solution.

ERRORS PROCEDURE

Delete any and all existing copies of the plans first (including from the deleted items folder).
Shut down then restart your computer, do not simply select the reboot option on your computer.
Download directly from the relevant link above and chooses to “save” the file.
Make sure your anti-virus program is not blocking the file from opening, if so – temporarily disable security until the .exe file is opened.
Open the .exe program, usually by double clicking it.
Enter PIN.

REGISTRATION

There are a few simple steps – you must be connected to the internet and “online”.

The plans will “LOCK” themselves to the computer they were activated on (please advise us if you need additional PIN’s for a second computer).

You will require a sepatare PIN number for EACH plans .exe file – you cannot use one PIN on other plans “once activated”.

DO NOT USE GMAIL, HOTMAIL OR YAHOO ACCOUNTS TO ORDER PLANS – OR CONTACT US!

1. Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo blocks our server, why? we do not know.

2. Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo limits the size of the download, so we cannot send it manually!

3. Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo blocks our email address or places it in your spam folder – so we have NO WAY of communicating with you or responding to your emails.

QUESTION:Does this happen with other email addresses that are not Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo?

ANSWER: YES! it can be quite random for different reasons. Some servers reject .exe file attachments, some limit the size of emails, some even have classed our server as a “known spam server” for what reason we do not know.

We often get bounced messages from some servers, example: “ERROR 554 Your access to this mail system has been rejected due to the sending MTA’s poor reputation. If you believe that this failure is in error, please contact the intended recipient via alternate means.”

We simply provide articles and information – we ARE NOT internet or IT engineers.