Yes it has gotten much more complex....

The planes have become much more precise, the equipment much more reliable, and the planes fly better than ever.

The Sequences have gotten much more complex and the planes have evolved to handle the requirements....


The world community and the CIAM has driven this complexity.

back in the good ole' days there were not maneuvers like hourglasses or 1 roll loops. The motors have evolved to handle the power needs of these new maneuvers. The snaps were not as prevalent....a plane being stalled one second and the very next moment completing a precise 4/8pt roll.....


So yes the complexity has grown.


I would not trade any of the current models to go back to the good ole' days. Yes we thought the Curare's and Aurora's flew like a dream.....but today those planes can't hold a candle to the current designs.

The Servos and linkages are much better also...the price you pay for a servo today in relative terms of performance is much cheaper than the good ole days....Yes a $100 servo is expensive but I can tell you the first ball bearing coreless motor servos I bough were in the $60-70 range and that was in 1985.....Since then the performance of those good ole' servos can't even run my Throttle today!

One manufacturer now has a "Sport" Digital servo out that is at $50 and will kick the butt of one of the 1985 servos and last longer.....The motor mounts used today help the planes last longer, and the radios of today allow for more options in fixing problems with your problem child planes......


I would not trade it for anything.


The price is relative and you can get by cheaper and still be competitive.


A wise old man told me one time, when asked why I was crashing planes and he was not...."Son in my planes I can't afford to have any equipment except the very best available" He reason was that he limited time to fly, build and enjoy the sport....He got sick of wasting his time on junk equipment and found that the extra few bucks spent was well worth it in the performance and the enjoyment he recieved.

So to say its too expensive.....you might better hop the fence to another game in town and tell them its too expensive.....$2500 for a turbine motor.....$1600 for a 150cc Gas burner.....Or how about $4000 for a 40% Fiberclassic Extra......The place to complain is in your market choices....If you don't like the price of a YS DZ then buy a Webra or an OS.....If you want the best engine for the job then buy the one that gives you the best answer...for my $ its the YS 140DZ....Same goes for servos...You can run Hitec std servos all you want....Good luck with them....For performance step up to the JR digitals and you will get it!

I have all top of the line equipment running YS 140DZ's the latest in JR digital servos, MK ball bearing links and aluminum servo horns all around.....and the most money you can wrap up in a pattern model is about $3000-$3500 using all top of the line stuff....and buying it all brand new. Most don't do this every model.....And most people don't have all top of the line stuff either!

There are lots of places in this hobby to spend your dollar...choose one and enjoy it.....Don't tell me that you want a rule that limits my spending choices.....I suppose I'm just not that liberal when it comes to models...I think I ought to be able to own as much as I choose and fly the level of equipment I choose.

If you choose the Focus, with a Webra, and Futaba 148 servos great....enjoy flying it...because it will fly it....maybe some more maintenance, or some more work on the pilots part...but it will do it all......So good luck with it.


Just my opinion


Troy Newman