MY .02
I joined a club in the local area this year and one of the older members (20 years) told me that ARF's have brought alot of people into the sport that basically don't have the time or ability to build a kit. Another joined in the conversation and commented that he thought ARF's have saved the sport. I personnally built a kit for my trainer, a Sig Kadet Seniorita. Turned out to be a very nice trainer, but it took me 3 years to finish. My current and next planes will are and will be ARF's, I don't have the patience or time to build a kit these days. Now that I know how to fly, I want to spend as much time doing that as possible.