How to offer guidance to a friend who thinks he has RC figured out
Neighbor across the street has no RC experience, but he has gotten interested because of seeing my planes. A few weeks ago, he said he had seen a Cub at the hobby shop he was going to get. I advised him that Cubs are neat planes (I have one), but are not for beginners because of their aerodynamic quirks and sensitive ground handling. Then he changed the subject. Last night, he had gone back and gotten excited about an F14 EDF that he had decided to get. Obviously, that's even worse than the Cub. I tried to be as gentle as I could to say that jets require some fairly well developed flying skills, not to mention that the smaller ones are hard to see. I told him about several guys I had seen at the club with EDFs like the one he was describing taking them home in trash bags because they weren't ready, some of which were guys who had been sport flying for a few years. I then suggested the Eflite Apprentice as a suitable beginner's plane. He looked a little annoyed that I didn't affirm his choice and changed the subject again. The guy is a bit of an imbecile who doesn't think about the consequences of his actions, acts a lot like Private Pyle from "Full Metal Jacket" except less crazy.
So how do you guys handle these conversations? I care more about the friendship than the poor unsuspecting planes he's going to crash, but I'd also like to be a friend and help him out.