RE: Building vs Assembling [kits vs arf]
Well said, raineday.
I grew up modeling when there were no ARF's. There was a thrill when something you built with your own hands flew for the first time. I don't see any way one could get that feeling by "building" an ARF (that's how I usually phrase it - with quotation marks around building). In those days, you learned about how to follow directions, careful planning on how best to use your "lumber", stuff like "measure twice, cut once" and cut the longest pieces first. All things I have used the rest of my life. I remember, at age 14, how I'd tinker for hours with the plane and single channel R/C gear during the week to get several 3-minute "controlled freeflights" on Saturday. And how if you brought home a repairable airplane, it was considered a good flying session. Nothing was computerized - you learned how to "trim" the model to make it fly right. And "trim" had nothing to do with little levers or a programming screen on a transmitter. Most beginners don't want to do that today. They don't want to go through a "learning curve". This has become a "gotta have it now" world.