RE: Patriot XL discontinued
I think artf are great and there really shouldn't be any snobbery about being a traditional builder.
Often when I get a artf i change it and make it stronger or make modifiactions on the pretense that often the aftfs are more fragile.
To be fair, the hobby is about building,flying and repairing(Or buy another artf). The busy world has made artf very popular.
Some folk prefer the building to the flying and their skills may be better suited to the construction phase. Others flying or both.
With laser cut parts and improved instructions the art of artf builiding now lies in the radio and engine instalation stage and setting up.
That said, you could argue that some have lost the ability to read a drawing.