ORIGINAL: Paternguy
And for the record I do and have owned Arf's. I view them as my bang around throw away birds, after a season or two if they are still airworthy i usually sell them. Don't read that as i am a bad pilot. I retired my 13 year old Dirty Birdy after last season, because the fuel had finally penetrated below the paint and it was time. My new Dirty Birdy is just about ready to go. Show me an Arf that will hold up like that long term. And yes I do own a few pattern ships that aren't powered by a 60 2 stroke too. LOL. I just used that example because it shows a long term pattern of durability and a lack of abuse to the airframe. You show me an Arf that will last that long and not cost me anymore than a good quality kit, and i will be a believer.
Well we'll have to wait and see about that. The ARFs' of 13 years ago were made out of plastic mainly. Just now have companies really stepped up to the plate and placed greater emphasis on quality over cost. I'll use Quique Somenzini as an example, since he's a friend of mine. I have seen him develop his ARF's from the ground up and has put quite a bit of time and effort into ensuring a high quality airplane. I don't know for a fact how other companies handle it, however I know how his product development has gone. And trust me, his airplanes are beautiful (and they fly well too).
I saw an Icepoint down at Joe Nall, it was still in a crate, but with the sides removed and it looked like a beautiful airplane. It also seems that Brian has been doing a good job with customer service and has focused on keeping people happy. After all, if you are helpful to someone and build some sort of relationship with them, and have an exemplary product, chances are they will do business with you in the future, as well as good reccomendations to others that are looking for the same thing. More business=more money. That also equates to people being happier all around.
Don't get me wrong, I really like to build, as I am really picky and I also like to know what kind of structural integrity that I'm working with. But ARF's have come a long way since 1992, when your Dirty Birdy was built. Shall we wait until 2018 to see how an ARF built today holds up?
Lots of valid points being brought up.