ORIGINAL: rcmiket
"Do the arfers even take the radio gear out before trashing the planes? "
Uncalled for so ARF buyers are stupid?
"I just pass it up and keep looking for one like it in kit form. i just am not ready to put the tools down and buy arfs."
Do you still build your radio's too?
I kills me the way some treat a ARF buyer. As if we don't have enough problems with the hobby today. AMA membership is not skyrocketing nor is participation in our sport. At least a ARF gives the average guy who might want to give R/C a shot a chance at success. He might just get the bug and become a active member. If all you "builders" now turned "whiners" would have bought the kits these guys were producing maybe it would be different. Just my opinion which don't mean squat. By the way I build Kits, and from plans and even assemble ARF's (God Forbid)
It is a question. I am a builder, not a flier, yet. I built my first plane while in college about 10 years ago. I have just now started to fly it, so I have not spent enough time around the field to know what shows up in the trash. And yes, with my short time at the field, I saw a teenager and his mother show up at the field with a P51 ARF. He started it, then taxied it out, throttled up and it lifted. Immediatly it turned to the left and rolled onto its back. The teen then picked it up and came back to the pits. On check out he has the ailerons reversed, and proceeded to argue with the older members on how the ailerons should work and how he had it right. I doubt you would see that with a person that had built the kit, as they would have spent much more time becoming more familiar with it and how it works.
So I ask again, do most ARFers pull the radio equipment out or do they just trash the thing and buy another ARF? I guess a better question is: Would a person that buys a RTF know the radio equipment is not plane specific and can be transfered to a new plane?
While I am having fun flying my plane, I am having more fun building it, and I will continue to buy kits. If the kits are no longer available, I will build from plans. If the plans are not available, I will either find a new hobby or build from scratch.
I also have no issues with a person that only wants to buy ARFs. If that is what floats their boat, more power to them. That just aint me. I am not a follower, so I want my planes to be a little different, and short of recovering an ARF, if you have seen one you have seen them all.
BTW, I have a plastic rc nautique (kids toy) that resembles my big boat that I am tearing apart to make into a "real" RC boat by putting in a radio, rudder and a hot motor. The stock boat used two motors and props for vector steering, so even on my ARFish projects, they turn out to be custom items. I guess this mean even I buy some items as ARFs.