I agree with you Jeremy, the camaraderie is so much of the hobby. I'm very fortunate here, I fly with some absolutely awesome guys, some of whom have become friends "outside" of the hobby too.

I've been building model airplanes since I was a kid (56 now). I must admit that the last kit I built though was a Carden in 2008...that's now 10 years ago but, I still fly it regularly. Everything since has been an ARF. I like to fly more than build I guess.

Building is so labour intensive it's insane. Then to destroy or damage a plane that you have put all that effort into is heart breaking. I wish I had all the planes that I've built over the years but, they're long gone and so is all that work that went into them.

I'd rather buy an ARF now, fly the crap out of it and if it gets wrecked, buy another one....it just makes so much more sense to me.

Mike