Here's a thought....maybe because the DX6i is 1/2 the price of a DX7 or maybe he never will need more than 5-6 channels? If you don't plan to use 20 model memory or whatever it is or you don't have a need for the "7th" channel, the DX6i is just fine. EVERYONE but two people that I know that have radios greater than 6 channels is only using at most 5 channels and most still use a Y harness on the separate Ailerons. NONE of them have more than 5-10 models flying at any one point. The two people I've seen at the field using more than 6 channels is one guy flying a quad flap ultra stick and the other is a hard core helicopter pilot.