Commercial: CAI and Cumulus

[Paul Remde]

Hi,

Many of you who follow this newsgroup know that Cambridge Aero Instruments
has had a tough couple of years. Their products have always been very nice,
but other issues have led to confusion for customers in regard to the future
of the company. I was a dealer for them in 2003 and I have now decided to
work with the current company - fortunately, they have agreed to work with
me.

I have been impressed with the service I received on a 302 and GPS-NAV I
sent to them for repair and calibration, and I've heard from another dealer
who received good products from them. I'm convinced that they are making
and supporting the products well.

The 302, 303, and new 302A (CFR) are very nice soaring instruments with a
nice set of features and a loyal customer base. I have made a significant
investment in products for my inventory and wouldn't do so if I wasn't
confident in the people running the company now.

Due to the process of ramping up production, the lead-time for the products
is a few weeks. I hope to have products on display in my booth at the SSA
convention.

Details on the CAI products is available on my web site at:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com

I will ship products to customers in the order I receive orders - so order
now.

Thank you,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring Supplies
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com

[Ian McPhee]

I also would have to say I am impressed with Cambridge both in supply
and service. I find Gary Kammerer (who returned after a 12 month
absence) extremely helpful with service - there were a few problems
got out in the field from the Martinsville Cambridge last year but
these have been identified and are being fixed. Just last week Mike
Durrant had a problem at our Oz club class nationals where a flight
would only download about half the flight. Unfortunately Mike was not
operating with the latest software in his 302 vario but as Cambridge
Horn Lake had closed I made a call to Dave Ellis the original owner
and developer of the 302. He suggested all should be OK but check
with Phil S in that the flight logs and software are recorded in
separate parts of the memory and that it should be possible to reload
with latest software without loss of flights. A phonecall back to
Mike D at Waikerie and a visit to the web and Mike was able download
the latest software into his 302 and guess what the flight appeared
and he could be scored as finishing the days task. You would have to
say that is smart software and there are many other smart ideas in
there thanks to Phil. I really lookforward to future smart
developments from the Cambridge team.
Ian McPhee,
Australia

[Soarin]

> I have been impressed with the service I received on a 302 and GPS-NAV I
> sent to them for repair and calibration, and I've heard from another dealer
> who received good products from them. I'm convinced that they are making
> and supporting the products well.
> Paul Remde
> Cumulus Soaring Supplies

Many pilots have selected Cambridge as their equipment of choice
because they want to support a U.S. mfg. Additionally customer
service is a strong motivator when it comes to selecting equipment.
Accordingly the level of customer service Cambridge has been
providing is not 100% positive. I have one friend who has had his
new Model 20 in for repair going on 3 months. I have another
friend who has two GPS Nav's and an Lnav in his glider to suport
World record attempts. He is looking at needing to completely
upgrade his loggers and computer, because Cambridge will not be
providing any upgrades for their Pre 302 loggers to keep them
World record capable after April 15 2004.

As soon as Cambridge found out that the IGC was considering
pulling their approval of Model 10, 20 and 25 for World records.
Good customer service would have been to put a note on their web
page so that potential buyers would have known that the logger
they were looking at was potentially going to have it's World
record capability rescended.

My own personal service history with Cambridge has ranged from
exceptional to poor. So as much as I would like to support
Cambridge, at this point I am on the fence as to what I will do
for my next glider.

Soarin

[Paul Remde]

Hi,

Below you mentioned that your friend's Model 20 has been at CAI for 3
months. Do you know if it is at the CAI of last year (CAI LLC) or the
current CAI (CAI, Inc.)? I have heard a rumor that some instruments have
been sitting at CAI LLC for some time but that they will be in the hands of
CAI, Inc very soon. I don't know any more than that.

Paul Remde

"Soarin" > wrote in message
om...
> > I have been impressed with the service I received on a 302 and GPS-NAV I
> > sent to them for repair and calibration, and I've heard from another
dealer
> > who received good products from them. I'm convinced that they are
making
> > and supporting the products well.
> > Paul Remde
> > Cumulus Soaring Supplies
>
> Many pilots have selected Cambridge as their equipment of choice
> because they want to support a U.S. mfg. Additionally customer
> service is a strong motivator when it comes to selecting equipment.
> Accordingly the level of customer service Cambridge has been
> providing is not 100% positive. I have one friend who has had his
> new Model 20 in for repair going on 3 months. I have another
> friend who has two GPS Nav's and an Lnav in his glider to suport
> World record attempts. He is looking at needing to completely
> upgrade his loggers and computer, because Cambridge will not be
> providing any upgrades for their Pre 302 loggers to keep them
> World record capable after April 15 2004.
>
> As soon as Cambridge found out that the IGC was considering
> pulling their approval of Model 10, 20 and 25 for World records.
> Good customer service would have been to put a note on their web
> page so that potential buyers would have known that the logger
> they were looking at was potentially going to have it's World
> record capability rescended.
>
> My own personal service history with Cambridge has ranged from
> exceptional to poor. So as much as I would like to support
> Cambridge, at this point I am on the fence as to what I will do
> for my next glider.
>
> Soarin