Originally Posted by
Jonbass
To be honest, as a newbie to the hobby, comments like this make me less likely to get into it and get involved. As a someone who is just learning about the possibilities and needing somewhere to start, having someone be condescending because I didn’t start with a scratch build is not going to make me want to get involved with the local and online scene. I am more likely to start with a rtf or arf and go from there. Learn to paint, replace a few parts, eventually try a kit build. I’m just scared to mention this because the online rc airplane community seems unfriendly and elitist. Not everyone but it seems that way sometimes when I start browsing through the airplane forums.
I’m not trying to stir up trouble. I just see a lot of talk about why this hobby is struggling and I just wanted to give an outsiders view.
Jonbass,
None of what I said is meant to make you (or any other newbie) feel discouraged. I spent a good portion of my life cultivating new hobbyists and teaching newbies to build and fly. In fact, some of the most cherished and fondest memories of my life involve time I spent building planes with my nephews.. then later my son... or with a buddy cord connecting me to 'the future of our hobby' in the form of some excited kid watching his very own model airplane fly.
All that having been said, I TOTALLY stand by every word of what I wrote previously. There was no such thing as a jet ARF when I first attended a jet meet. Instead, there were not only scores of dedicated and life-long modelers, but also dozens of manufacturers (large and small) with healthy businesses represented. Nowadays, ARF's are the rule and anything 'built' is the exception. If you perceive that as me casting condescension upon jet pilots who fly ARF's, the best I can do is explain that that's not what I'm trying to say. I've owned and continue to fly many ARF's, but as far as I'm concerned it's the Chinese ARF industry that has basically made the model airplane KIT industry extinct in the U.S. That's my opinion.