hardlanding

I have been out of the hobby for several years now and am thinking about getting back in. I get most my enjoyment out of building kits....but looking around, it seems that ARF's have taken over the modelling world. I want to build something in a fun-fly type plane. something in the 60-120 size. So far i am leaning towad the 4* 120 (i built the 60 size some years ago and loved it). but i would like other options. anyone got any ideas???? are there new kits manufacturers out there that i dont know about considering i've been away for a while???? thanks for any help you guys can give me,
Mike

Not24

My Feedback: (1)

The way things are going, I think kits will soon be obsolete. It's to the point now where it's not cost effective to build kits. The ARF's are done so well and for such a competitive price, that pilots who like to fly are not having to build kits to get a great flying plane. Now, having said all that, I just finished a Midwest Citabria. I did it in my spare time, and it seemingly took forever. I don't have the luxury of a building room, so the livingroom becomes my building room. The building part wasn't bad at all, but holy cow!, the covering and finishing took forever. I did it in a very simple scheme, and it still took me 3 days to cover it. It took one day to cover the ailerons, hinge all the surfaces, and mount the engine radio, and linkages. All that is left is to cut, paint and mount the cowling. I'm using a new G90 for power, and I'm leaving the cowl off till it proves itself to be reliable.

The thing that I like about this model is that it actually looks like something, but it also flies really sweet. It's as big as the 4*120, and flies well on a smaller engine. I could have bought the 61 or 75, but I went with the 90 because the weight is about the same, but the power is much better. I'd rather float around at 1/4 throttle than run a smaller engine all out to get the same performance. It balanced right on the money with no mods or deviations from the plans.

I told my wife, next time I talk about getting another kit to build, shoot me! The ARF's are just so much more convenient, to me, it's just not worth it. I got this kit because I flew one of these with a 91FS on it and fell in love right away. I think Sig has a similarly sized Citabria in ARF form.

One last thing about building kits vs. ARF's. Out of all the planes I currently own, the ones that have not been destroyed are kits. The ARF's are easier to get careless with and crash more often. At least thats the way mine seem to be.

FokkerAce

Yes, kits are getting scarce.
You can.....eBay for one [some].....but prices may be all out of whack
................get one and use it for a pattern.....and re-sell it.
................get a plan, and cut your own!!!! [even more building fun]
.............or get a plan, and get someone else to cut it for you.

FA[8D]

I've done 'em all.

Don41

I constantly hear that ARFs are taking over and kits will soon be extinct but every time I want to start another plane (which is every few months) there seems to be plenty to choose from.

I suppose I'll get stoned by the ARF crowd for the following comments but I think ARFs are very poorly built and not worth the money. My brother has now gone thru three of them (from various manufacturers) and I have assembled two of those for him. If that small sampling is an indicator then I'd recommend you get yourself a used trainer to fly while you build a decent plane. BTW: I assumed the covering (which starts to wrinkle from day one) was just some ultra cheap material only used by the Chinese but his last ARF (a Decathlon) is supposedly Ultracote and it too has started to wrinkle badly.

The Sig Spacewalker II is a very nice scale plane that is aerobatic yet can be docile,, and of course their PiperCubs are still exceptional. TopFlite’s Elder 40 is smaller and unusual (WWI type), the Telemasters (HobbyLobby) are truly a builders kit but are fun to build if you like building. They are huge and docile, a great plane for experimenting with cameras, bombs, parachutes, etc, etc..

There are of course many kits still supplied by the usual bunch like Sig, TopFlite, etc but for something off the beaten track you might want to look at

http://www.ikonnwst.com/

Also, I heard that the Jack Stafford kits are back but I haven’t verified that yet.

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

Great Planes (Tower Hobby ) owns the majority of the kits these days. There are a few small companies still producing kits though.

Personally, I would just as soon get a set of plans have the kit cut. It is a little more money, but you can avoid "the everyone has one like it" group.

WacoNut

Compared to 20 years ago their are very few kits to choose from.
Anthony

hardlanding

Thanks for all of the input guys. It looks as if I will be going with the 4 star 120. well, i'm gonna keep looking, but it looks like the 4* is gonna be my best option. some of you mentioned getting kits cut from plans.....who would you recommend for the plans and cutting?
thanks again

Ram-bro

My Feedback: (101)

I am sure guys have plans left over from former builds or better yet...go to auctions , swap meets and estate sales.....

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

You may also want to look at 2 other planes. The Venture by Bruce Thorpe (kit) has had excellent reviews for building AND flying. The other plane is a Bingo. The Bingo (I believe ) was the forerunner to the 4 Star and has rounded wingtips instead of being squared off. There are plans available for this one.

There are MANY sources for plans. RCM (Radio Control Modeler) and Model Airplane News are 2 that come to mind immediately, Bob Holman is another one. A Google search will provide the URL.

For Kit cutters, again there are MANY of them. Some specialize in giant scale by the high visability designers (Ziroli, etc ), others will only cut from CAD, but the majority of cutters will cut from your plans. A search here on kit cutters should provide a bunch of names to start with as well as comments on their prices, quality, time to get it back, etc.

Hope this helps.

glover1482

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6345335/tm.htm

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

HardLanding

Like you I"m back after 15 years out..

I will agree that the selection of off the shelf kits is low compared to what we were used to..

However there is something new and great for us kit builders.. Laser cutting services..

Places like these have a huge selections of plans ready to cut when ordered..
Low or no inventory of pre-cut kits means they can offer a much larger selection of plans to choose from.

http://www.precisioncutkits.com/
http://www.kitcutters.com/
many more I can't find right now

Aeroworks and Carden sell Giant Scale kits as well as arf's
http://www.aero-works.net/store/detail.aspx?ID=192
http://www.carden-aircraft.com/

Early RC Models is offering new kits for old classics.
http://www.earlyrcmodels.com/

AMA MAN and RCM are still selling plans..
AMA is now selling foam wing cores for any plans they sell that call for them.

There are many independent designers that post in the design forum that will freely hand out digital plans for amazing plans complete with laser cutting templates..
Just send the templates off to one of the laser cutting services and let them do the hard work.


Overall I'd say the selection is better than ever if you know where to look.

Stickbuilder

The AMA plans service has tons of plans available. Order a set, and cut your own kit. Building from plans is more fun than building from a pre cut kit, plus you can make the parts fit better than they will if someone else cuts them. A properly cut kit can just about be dry fitted with no glue whatsoever. Try that with one of the old die crunched kits.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

bingo field

Unfortunately, Bruce has discontinued the Venture. I have one and love the way it flies. He is supposedly working on something new.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Great Planes just re-introduced several of their best kits

Get yourself a Super Sportster. You'll LOVE it!

mrbassman

Be careful dealing with Precision Cut Kits.....My experience was not good

Yak18

My Feedback: (11)

There are tons of kits still available and if you don't mind paying a premium, Ebay, RCU, and several other sites are great resources for new and long discontinued kits. Yes there are fewer manufacturers these days for a number of reasons, but the popularity of ARFs is only one reason. I think the cost of engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and shipping is also a big reason small kit companies have gone under. It's hard to compete against Sig or Great Planes.

Yak

jrbmoto

Another source for laser cutting is Lazer-works.com They have a huge list of kits on their webiite. I built an Aamco A-Ray and am currently building two Midwest little stiks from Lazer-Works short kits. Great quality and frendly service.


-Johnny-

Stickbuilder

If you want a great cut kit from an outside source, try contacting the Aeroplane Works. This custom kit cutting company was started by Chuck Gill, and upon his untimely passing, was taken over by his son, Mace Gill. I own planes that have been cut by Messers, Gill (Junior and Senior). They are without a doubt, the finest cut kits that you can buy. I would reccomend them without hesitation, equivocation or mental reservation.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I'm hoping to become a kit manufacturer in the near future. We're prototyping our first design right now.

FokkerAce

Bill, did you mean: "I would recommend them withOUT hesitation, equivocation or mental reservation."?

FA[8D]

Stickbuilder

I fixed it......oops.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1