Nice looking airplanes Safebet. Good luck with the Contender maiden. Its always nice to see a project take to the air for the first time, whether you are at the sticks or not!

To me the bottom line is that some people enjoy building, and some people don't. You make time for the stuff you enjoy the most, and try and fit in the rest. I really like to build!! Its fun. =) I get enjoyment from it, so I do it. Even if you could hand me the exact same airplane in ARF form that I spent a year building, tell me it costs less than what I had spent, and that I would save all those hours building...I wouldn't be interested!! No way, no how. Why would I rob myself of all that enjoyment? That would be crazy. On the flip side of that coin, for some folks, getting into the air is the objective. Building is just a means to an end. Its not fun for them, so they would be crazy TO do it! The whole journey vs. destination thing.

Now, with that said, I do still think that more people are getting into kit building today than say 5 or 10 years ago. Why? Because even though most people get into the hobby with an ARF, those who stay in the hobby for a while will likely try a kit at some point. And with resources like RCUniverse, and advances like CA glues and laser-cutting, getting into building is only becoming easier, encouraging more people to take the plunge into that all-important first build.

I wonder if the kit manufacturers can see any trends along these lines. It would be interesting to see what the numbers say...

-ron