Originally Posted by
TomCrump
While there is merit to what you are saying, I tend to disagree.
There is much more to our hobby than just flying. Building, for me, is 75% of the fun. It's hard to describe the feeling derived from seeing a model, that I built, take to the air for the first time. The hours spent in the shop are enjoyable, not drudgery. They greatly enhance the flying experience.
For me, this hobby isn't about what I can buy, but what I can build, and what I can do with it after it's built.
This is a diverse hobby with many different aspects. Building for me IS a drudgery, I hate it. I just want to fly, even assembling an ARF is a pain for me. 30 years ago, a salesman told me the first kit I purchased was a 30-30 kit. When I asked him what he meant, he told me it meant 30 days to build and 30 seconds to destroy. I was in Fairbanks, Alaska at the time. He was right! I did eventually learn to fly on an ARF - Duraplane.
A few years later (after just flying ARFs) I built a 1/4 scale Cub. Took me 3 months working on it every night after work - fabric covering, 4 stroke engine, etc. It was beautiful. I was scared to death to fly it because of all the time and energy invested in it. When I finally crashed it (servo/radio glitch), I just couldn't put the time in it to rebuild. I have flown nothing but ARFs since.
I fly my planes aggressively. I like smoke on - tumbling, spinning, etc. I could not bear to pile one into the ground that I spent months/years building.
I absolutely admire builders and their craftsmanship. One fellow in my club is an amazing builder. Projects that would take most folks many months to build, he completes in a few weeks. Building is just not for me!
PS - go with ailerons!