ORIGINAL: ckangaroo70
I know that ARF's are the big thing right now, and I have several myself, but it seems that I am talking to more and more people who are straying from ARF's and back to building Kits. I wonder if people are starting to grow tired of having their Plane look like several others at the field, or what? It just seems to me that only a few months ago it looked like an inevitable end to alot of Kits, but now I am not so sure. Maybe Kits are getting ready to make a big comeback. I wouldn't say that the ARF's are a fad, but it does appear to me anyway that more and more people are wanting a Plane that they can say they built themselves, and finish with their own personal touches. I have also read and talked to people who are just now starting to complain about LHShops lack of kits on the shelf. I think the ARF's are great, and are here to stay, but the question I ask here is will the Kits regain enough popularity or demand to regain shelf space at the Hobby Shops, or am I just wrong in my observation?
I don't know if there's a trend toward kits or not. More new ARFs than kits show up where I fly, but we do have several builders who bring out a new kit or plans built plane just about every year. I like kits and ARFs. From a cost standpoint, ARF seems to be the way to go if a plane is available as kit or ARF. A lot of ARFs are built, and definitely covered, better than I can do.
I had 2 ARF trainers, and currently fly a PT-60 that I built from a kit.
I have an Astro Hog that I had built; haven't flown it yet.
I'm almost finished with an Uproar 60 kit.
I have the blue foam cores to build a 2548 Scale Combat plane; it will be a P-47 Razorback.
I'm seriously looking at a few ARFs and another kit.
Great Planes Big Stik 60 ARF
Sig Four Star 60 ARF
Sportsman Aviation Waco 60 ARF
Great Planes Corsair 40 Kit