Me too.

I like building from kits, but don't always have the time or motivation to do it. I build about 2 kits a year.

ARFs are easy and quick, but not something to be proud of at the field. ARFs are pure functionality. Assemble it and go fly. Thats all. No bragging pictures. No crowd gathered around and talking about it for 30 minutes. Just slap it together and go fly.

Like pilotfighter said--aerobatic planes are more likely to be destroyed, so I usually buy them in ARFs.

Kits are special things I can't find anywhere else or maybe something I just LOVE and want to build it myself. Kits are a labor of love. You can't build a kit as cheaply as you can buy an ARF, but thats not the point. It's the smell of CA and the feel of a sanding block in your hand. It's looking down the LE of a wing to get just the right taper on it and touching it ever so lightly with the block for that last pass. Kits are sanding those sheeting seams down just perfectly, so that you don't ned any filler. Cutting the sticks for the stab with my little razor saw and sanding every joint for a perfect fit. Kits take time. Kits take me away from the stress of life. Kits are my drug. My escape. My freedom and my passion. Kits have brought a tear to my eye on that maiden flight. Crashing a kit can bring a tear to my eye. Not because I crashed and broke my toy, but because she is broken now. A bird who cannot fly. An eagle that cannot soar. [sm=cry_smile.gif] Kits are your best girl. The one you spend a little extra time on at the end of the day and it's tme to wipe her down and clean the oil off. You inspect all the seams and make sure none of them are pealing. Some of them hold so much emotion for me that I can only bring myself to fly them once or twice a year. Kits are beauty. They are grace. Kits are all that is wonderful in this crazy hobby that we blow so much money on every year. I love my kit built planes.