I just had to jump in here and add my not so humble opinion.

I visited several regular "weekender" type flying fields while in the USA during October and November, and I must say that the nicest airplanes out there where the ones made by the prodominantly rice eating peoples of the Far East.

The home grown kit built airplanes, on the otherhand, for the most part where hideously finished, wing twisted, mal-aligned, canted rudder'd beasts that where lucky to fly if only from the basic soundness and simplicity of their basic designs.

So, in my not altogether too humble opinion (I'm a pattern snob/pro-builder), I'd say those rice eating folks are actually turning out a fairly decent to downright fantastic product, especially for the money being asked.

CS