Hi,

Post after post; thread after thread. Same problems. Same results. Why, oh why do these guys get away with this? Wait... I know... because we keep buying.

We (the jet-modelling community) should formulate and sign an electronic petition and deliver it to every major overseas manufacturer of jet-powered ARFs. The notice should basically state that from now on, a detailed, progressive photo-documentation of the installation/fabrication of the critical structures (that we can't see without an x-ray) is considered a basic, REQUIRED item and we want it in the box with the ARF. When they get ready to glue that top skin onto the wings and stabs, they take a pic first. When they get ready to close up the area that contains the stab shaft, they take a pic of the anti-rotation pin in all its structurally adequate glory FIRST. Same with the gear mounts, etc. It won't cost them more than a few extra minutes during the construction and a few pages of color copying. Heck, we can even stipulate that they may jack the price up five or ten bucks to cover that (as it's a small price to pay for a little extra peace-of-mind).

This way, if you were interested in ARF "X", you could ask for an emailed file with those pics and know BEFORE you buy that there's glue on your ribs/spars and that your shaft isn't going to crack a glue joint and start rotating in the stab. If we, the end-users, collectively demand that, then wouldn't that motivate them to build it properly?

Just a thought...