RE: Dwindling kit suppliers
I too have lamented the lack of kits in the LHS but I also understand it. Look at it this way. I would suspect that most successful clubs have membership from about 50-150. If those, how many are into building. An optimistice estimate is 30%. That is all of 16-50 people. Of those, how many kits would they build in a year? If every one build a kit in a year, that would be 16-50 all year. Not much of a sustainable business and that assumes that every one of those kits were stocked and purchased from that LHS.
But what about the kit manufacturers? Of all the R/C enthusiasts out there, there are still a lot of builders. It necessitates a national or even an international presence, not a local one. So I think that with the Internet, kits will be with us for a long time to come but I do think the kit industry is, and will continue to be, in a transition phase. This is all speculation by me but I think that the way kits are manufactured and distributed will continue to change.
For a kit manufacturer, I think the biggest advantage to laser cutting is not the quality of the cut but the flexibility of the equipment. Dies cut parts for a specific plane. It is a fixed capital investment. Setting up takes time so kits are most likely run in small batches and stocked.
An NC laser system does not have that limitation. It's all in the computer. For this reason, a Mom-and-Pop operation could keep a general supply of stock and run kits off on a per order basis. ("Just In Time" for you supply chain folks.) That keeps costs down and responsiveness up. I think part of the transition process will be for manufacturers like BalsaUSA, Great Planes, Top Flite, etc. to move to this technology. It will greatl improve their margins and responsiveness to market changes.
But there is a down side. There is still the matter of plane-specific hardware like cowls, wheel pants, nacels, etc. If cutting moves to Mom-and-Pop operations then so could the vacuum formed and fiberglass parts. It already exists.
So here is my crystal ball prediction.....
1. Kits will be available for a long time to come.
2. The quality of kits will continue to improves as the transition is made to CAD designs and NC laser cutting. (ARFs will pay for that conversion!)
3. Kit manufacturers may sell what looks more like a short kit. (Wood stock and laser cut parts)
4. Non-wood parts and hardware may be purchased separately and possibly through a separate company.
Salute! and Happy Landings.