I just will never understand why there is any ill feeling towards ARF's. I love them just as much as I love building. I've bought a number of ARFs and I'm currently building a Don Smith B-17. I work, my wife works and I have a two year old and one on the way. Someone in my position doesn't have all day and night to spend building. So I build 10 minutes here, an hour there or whenever I can. ARF's allow me to fly and if I crash or want a new plane...I don't have to miss the next two months of flying while I build a plane. ARF's have definitely drawn thousands into this hobby who otherwise would have been intimidated by having to build a kit. There is nothing wrong with a guy who only wants to fly ARFS, a guy who wants to build, and a guy who wants to do both. I consider myself a combination of all of them. I think the fact of the matter is that most guys just simply love planes...the more the merrier. So to answer the original question, I think there is an equal distribution of those building and flying ARFs. You would never guess that I'm a builder because it takes me so long...you'll see me flying three different ARF's before you ever see a plane I built from scratch.
Pat