ORIGINAL: Stickbuilder
I'm over 60, and I still do stickbuild (hence the signature) because I can. I choose not to fly EP, because I have the ability to fly gas. I don't consider myself slow, I build yesteryear's type of airplane, mainly because thay exhibit something that you can't get from a foamy, park flyer or any other ARF. It's called character. And by the way, only Little Orphan Annie's dog, Sandy said ARF. If this makes me part of a dying breed, then, Sonny, you are going to miss out on a lot. There is a tremendous difference in flying something that you have created, and something that you partially assembled. So don't say that you are going out to fly your plane. Just say I'm going out to fly Nguyen Schwartz' plane that he built, and I bought. Those who can, Do. Those who cannot, rationalize.
Bill, AMA 4720
I agree with you, particularly on flying something you created. Nothing wrong with that at all. And you're right on the ARF's--they were created because (most) people with families and commitments only have so much time to devote to a hobby and many would rather fly than build, hence ARF's.
It's just some people your age are painfully slow to embrace new technology (right on up through the AMA). And some people your age view their own way of doing things to the *exclusion* of other, newer ways of doing things. The AMA now embraces electrics because it will die if it doesn't and its finally caught on.