I wonder if building out of kits is like everything else? As new people get interested in this hobby, I wonder if the percentage of those who will build is about the same year after year. With the abundance of new ARF's, it is quite possible that the percentage of builders "appears" to have been reduced, when it just might be the availability of ARF's causes more people to get into flying that wouldn't normally do so. For me, I will be very frank. I am on my second kit (Sig Hog Bipe) and am in the middle of building it right now. (You can see my progress in this forum as the Sig Hog Bipe build.) Yes, I do like creating something out of a box of wood and then putting it in the air. However, I am a flyer at heart, and ARF's allow me to try a lot of different types of planes over a shorter period of time. I now have 6 planes flying, with the Hog being my 7th. Of the 6 flying, 5 are ARF's and one (Sig Somethin Extra) is from a kit. I do think that I do build a pretty good plane, but only have the SE and a partial built Hog Bipe to go by. I will be honest and say that I am not sure whether or not I will build a kit past the hog, but will not make a decision until it is finished. I have a list of 4 new planes that I am considering and one of them will be my next plane. Yes, they are all ARF's...

It is quite possible that my direction is based on my size of building area that I have. It is just not a lot, and it is in a non-heated/non-cooled garage. If, I had the ability to have a shop that would allow for kit building, ARF construction, and area enough where they could be in process at the same time, maybe I would look at it a little differently. I must admit, that at this stage, I just don't know where I will end up. I am one who has nothing against either Kit's or ARF's since I like to see just about anyting in the air that flies.