RE: Why don't many people build RC airplane kits anymore?
I have been in the hobby for 40 years now, and I have the answer. Here it is, write it down. The answer to the old question: Why don't many people build RC airplane kits anymore? is:
BECAUSE NOW PEOPLE HAVE A CHOICE!
In the past people did not have a choice! When I was younger and only worked 40 hours per week, I used to build 2/4 kits per year. 90% of those were sold. There was a great excellent market for selling them. In my club a couple of us liked to build, and then we sold the planes. As soon as I started using a model I had people offering to buy the model once I got tired of it. Well, those times are gone:-( You cannot build a Goldberg Cub, and sell it used for much more than the cost.
So, yes, we builders were the sellers of ARF's 30 year back already:-) Of course, now there is a great variety, and they are lighter than years back, and they fly better. Do you see any of the great acro pilots that fly 1/3 or bigger build their own planes? Of course not.
Things change, and change is good. Enjoy the hobby and if you think that people do not build because they are lazy remember: Minds are like parachutes, they only work while open! I mean to say that you are narrow minded, misinformed, and generalizing (and non of those 3 are good).
One of the nice things of this hobby is that you can enjoy it in so many different ways, and at so many different levels that there is something for everyone. Heck, we had a club member that only came to the club with a bench, and toyed with problematic power plants. He got satisfaction from getting a POS running well. Who am I to tell him that he was missing an airplane? Different strokes for different folks!
Gerry