If you've been in this hobby for the amount of time that a lot of us have, when we all started, there weren't any arfs that were worth hauling home! You learned to build, or you just didn't fly! Sure, when I was young, if I had the choice of an ARF or a full build kit, i would've jumped at the ARF in a heartbeat! Now that i've learned that i really enjoy building as much as if not more than flying, there really aren't many kits around! So now, i'm setting out on stocking up on plans and learning how to build from them. No more difficult than building from kits, just a few more #11 blades to wear out.

Everyone is always saying we need to get more youngsters involved. The answer is to teach them how to build, how to enjoy the simple tasks involved in throwing some glue, balsa, covering ,etc. together, then going out and flying it.

Right now, i've got a couple of kits coming that i've found from various sources, since my grandson has more than expressed an interest in learning how to help grampa build and fly airplanes. At least I've got 1 out of 8 to come over to the darkside!

grab a kid, some simple, easy to build kit, show them the basics, teach them some skills, some patience, and let them get a bit of gratification out of the building process.