Personal preferences about building vs ARFs aside, I believe there is a very valuable function for SPA competitors that only the ARF can perform--ie get a newcomer to SPA in the air quickly with a highly competitive plane. Newcomers to SPA can fly any plane as a Novice, a decision that was made to encourage people to "get their feet wet" and give SPA a try. However, what do you do if you're a former pattern competitor who wants to start out in the higher classes, or a Novice who wants to compete with an SPA-legal plane from the beginning? A truly competitive ARF is invaluable in these circumstances. The Airborne Models A-6 Intruder you mentioned has been a kind-of "go-to" full-size plane for the many newcomers we've seen this summer. We had two brothers who are young Expert pilots join us at the end of last year---- both of them really know what they're doing when it comes to pattern competition, and both chose the Intruder, (making small mods that help flying characteristics, but still a lot faster than building from a kit--much less from scratch). When we see a new person, the Intruder is always one of the first planes recommended to get somebody in the air quickly.

If there are any ARF manufacturing executives out there, we could use other quality SPA-legal ARFS to choose from--we can give you plenty of guidance about which planes should be produced.