Originally posted by MinnFlyer
My dad is 82 years old and flies every day. He gets bored with his planes, and every now and then he sees an ARF that catches his eye and decides to get it so he doesn't have to waist time building. And EVERY time he does it, (4 at last count) he swears he will never do it again. I saw his latest attempt. It is a Kyosho Pitts Special that cost $230. The interplane struts on this thing are made of SHEET METAL! and they are held on with 1 "L" bracket on top and bottom. WHAT CRAP!!!!
What crap indeed! I have a friend who is not at all gentle with the very same plane, and the struts are holding up quite well. I can assure you that if you think there's a perfect kit out there, or even worse, think you can build a perfect plane, you're sadly mistaken.
Even if they aren't perfect, there are ARF's currently on the market that are well engineered, and are assemblembled, look and perform better than what most builders are capable of. To me, even if you do have to modify/fix a thing or two, they are great. If your time is of worth anything, they can be a big savings, and will get you in the air quickly. I'll gladly take my mediocre building/repair skills, improve on them over the winters to come, build ARF's when appropriate, enjoy the hobby and appreciate the convenience they provide.