Charley Stephens leaving Outrage

[wolfdown]

I wonder if another company made him a better offer. I hope we get the full story soon. I still hope there is a fusion 90 in the works.

[Slyster]

I SURE hope they won't stop support for the 550! That's the only two helis I have right now... and until the Fusion 90 if all goes according to plan.

[branflake]

Originally Posted by Slyster

I SURE hope they won't stop support for the 550! That's the only two helis I have right now... and until the Fusion 90 if all goes according to plan.

or us lowly G5 types...

[s0laris]

WHY would they stop supporting products that they SELL ? Is that not the point of the company ? to sell products it makes ?

I dont think thats a concern.

[Rob43]

I do not think Charley leaving impacts whether or not Outrage will support the existing line of products, but perhaps the reasons for which he chose to leave, however, could. Further, it's left me asking what is happening at Outrage? Obviously, Charley's reasons for leaving are his business, but it still begs the question, what's happening? The most iconic person for the company has left. Even though he wasn't the owner, to many Outrage has been synonimous with Charley Stephens.

I'm only the consumer of the product. I love my 550, and when the opportunity of a bigger EP like the Fusion was announced, I was stoked! I then got sick of waiting a year from the time the Fusion 50 was shown at Orlando last year until the recent introduction. I guess this isn't solely the domain of Outrage. How long was it the Avant eAurora was delayed?

I wish to offend no one, but I'm just not thrilled with the way things are headed until I see evidence to the contrary.

[DominicD]

Part of the reason why the Fusion felt like it took so long to be released is because Charley always kept us in the loop as far as his designs and prototypes were concerned. Instead of simply releasing the kits when they were ready he would give us little teasers along the way.

I consider Charley a friend (and I hope he considers me one), I owe him and many others at Outrage a lot when they took an innocent and relatively inexperienced Capi on as a rep. Charley is simply too talented to not land on his feet, I won't worry about him, but I am greatly interested to see where he ends up.

Outrage has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years, transforming from a small company (felt like a family, which is why you see such loyalty towards Charley) into a Company that is biting on the coat-tails of the big boys. Outrage will continue to grow, I have a feeling we won't see a huge change in the direction Outrage takes.

[branflake]

I sure do hope everyone is right, and maybe when the time is right, the big C himself will pop in to end the speculation and maybe provide some insight into the future, if he has any.

Hint.

[dunkonu23]

I wonder which way the Compass points on this one? Just sayin'... LOL! I don't know anything!

Scott

[tS8103]

First of all, I would like to say that Charley is a good guy and I wish him the best. But just because a designer leaves a company that does not mean that the designs leave with them or that there is not other designs we have not seen yet. Although Charley has contributed alot, Outrage is more than just one man and I am sure that there is a plan for the future. As long as they keep making a quality product and the top notch customer service I will continue to support them. As for the Fusion series, I would not worry, with an April release date I would think that the kit is pretty much a done deal and at this point they are probably dotting the i's and crossing the t's.
Tone

[AnTi Taco]

April?????

[statton1]

fusion 50 is a couple of weeks away.......................u meant feb rite??????

yeah we all know he was just the designer but he was to most of us the face of outrage ,if u had a question pm charlie ,be patient and he'll answer. no wut do u do?????????

[3Dmuse]

Outrage will most likely revive the forums on their website and provide customer support that way.

As for the O550 and G5, they might revamp them and we might see Fusion 30 and Fusion 450 at some point. Until then, I would expect they will continue to provide us with parts as they make more money selling parts than selling kits.

I'm also sure that Pete has got enough O550 parts to support all of us for a while

[wolfdown]

I agree its not going to change the quality/support of any of the finished products like Fusion 50, V90, O550.

My impression was that he was the guy behind all of the designs. Going forward it will be interesting to see what happens. My big concern is that this feels a lot like a Steve Jobs vs Apple situation. Sometimes one man can make all the difference in a company/product. I don't want to wait 5 years for the "real" Fusion 90.

[Rob43]

Sort of like Dominic said...Outrage has gone from an "underdog" small company to one of the big players in the hobby during Charley's tenure. Stunning designs of maximum performance. I am sure grateful for the awesome support I received on my 550 here. Same goes to the other reps and flyers of Outrage. I still dig the helis. I have sure enjoyed mine. I hope Outrage continues and all the best to Charlie.

[FlyNHelis]

Does anybody know what Charley is doing today? Did he start his own company, maybe?
Possibly go elsewhere? His name will come up somewhere. Charley did build OutRage to where they are today.

[lazor 22]

^Doesn't he already own rotorworkz???


This does not really surprise me if what I've been hearing over the past couple weeks about the owners of Outrage is true. I love my 550 and I have yet to even fly it. No need for revamping it it's a great heli as is, maybe a little different canopy shape more pointy, but I think the fugly lightning bolt canopy and the odd shape is pretty iconic. (like the shape but not the colors so much).

[Solo Pilot]

Charlie is the owner of Rotorworkz and that is how he got his start designing helicopters by making chassis conversions for the T-Rex 600E. If you look closely the Rotorworkz logo is on the Outrage frames.

I still have a T-Rex 600E with his Rotorworkz HFX Extreme conversion on it and it's one of my favorite flying helicopters. Now the Rotorworkz site has not been updated in a very long time and I have no idea if it's still alive. I got the impression once he got going at Outage RC it went to the very back burner if not dead.

My guess is Charlie has graduated to much bigger and better things than Rotorworkz since Outrage RC and will land somewhere else big soon.

As for Outrage, they need another main designer and quick. The Facebook post was saving face, it's obvious they are worried.

[lazor 22]

Yep, I love the RotorWorkz face

[dunkonu23]

Wouldn't it be cool if Charley founded "Phoenix" Helicopters? Frankly, I'd buy any helicopter he's involved in after Outrage. Among other parts, the man designed the most perfect tail assembly ever. I've never met the man, but I truly wish him well, no matter what happens.

Scott

[lazor 22]

Originally Posted by dunkonu23

Frankly, I'd buy any helicopter he's involved in after Outrage.

+1