Dunno about "the majority", but judging from the posts here its more than just a few of them.

The problem is not difficult to fix, and the airplane is well worth the effort to do so.

It just seems, that with today's cookie-cutter ARF production methods (laser-cut parts, jig construction, etc.) it wouldn't BE an issue.

The other major players should closely examine the GP Chapman CAP 580 46-size offering. Now, THAT is the epitome of a good ARF kit. I've assembled 30+ ARFs, and the only other one that equalled the CAP in terms of quality of build and finish, parts fitting, etc., has been the Extreme Flight 68' Yak.

Plus, the CAP is built like a tank. While it is definitely heavier than "conventional wisdom" dictates for a plane this size, mine flies just fine, thank you, with no bad habits that I've found to date. This is a solid little airplane; very durable.

Yeah, I realize that "light" is in; the flip-flop guys demand the lightest possible aurframe so they can do their helicopter imitations. But I wish the vendors would also recognize that there are some of us DON'T fly that way, and would appreciate a bit more durability built into our models.

That said, my ShowTime is holding up well after about 30 flights. I have an OS 1.08 two stroke on it. It is a REALLY nice-flying airplane; incredibly stable. But it is very lightly built, like the GP U-Can-Do, and won't take any abuse at all.

I know; don't abuse it, right? Right.