There are lot of new and exciting things happening in our sport right now, and the rate of innovation can be breathtaking at times. Brushless electric power systems, wildly aerobatic 3D micro helicopters, spread spectrum 2.4Ghz radio systems, 3D aircraft with side force generators, balanced LiPo batteries and chargers, and even new glow engines designed for environmentally friend bio fuels are all popping onto our marketplace at an amazing rate. It's tough to keep up with all of the exciting new trends and innovations.

A few things in this hobby will likely never change, however. Have you ever heard a mantra like, "Build it straight and lightweight and it will fly good"? How about, "A nose-heavy plane will fly poorly, but a tail-heavy plane will only fly once?" If anyone ever sits down to write an RC Bible, surely sayings like these will be in the book of RC Proverbs.

New pilots entering this fantastic sport have a huge advantage over the long-time veterans; we can learn from their past trials and mistakes without having to make them ourselves. There are fountains of RC wisdom available to new pilots at our local clubs, here at RC Universe, and writing articles for all of our favorite (paper and ink) RC magazines. So why is it more of us aren't listening?

One of the things about this hobby that amazes me is how little regard most sport flyers have for the history of model aviation. Maybe it's because the hobby is so innundated right now with ground-breaking new technology that so many freshman RC pilots tend to gravitate to only the newest and shiniest planes, radios, and engines.

I'm not suggesting that folks interested in learning to fly RC planes should skip purchasing an Alpha .40 RTF at their local hobby store and elect instead to scratch-build a Bucaneer old-timer and buy a reed-valve engine to fly it with. A great number of innovations have made this sport more enjoyable and more accessable over the last several years, and those are innovations that I applaude.

Other "innovations" seem to be more dubious, however. There's an old saying that if you want to make money selling fishing lures, you need to design them to catch fisherman and not fish. In that spirit, we have seen the Nexstar ALS system (great technology if you only fly at noon), the P51 Mustang PTS (you can claim you were shot down by the Germans when you crash it), and now a plane that is jokingly being referred to as the F-22 "Craptor" PTS by some posters hear at RCU.

What's ironic is that these are basically good planes. I myself bought a Nexstar and learned to fly on it. The P-51 PTS and F-22 PTS are both good sport planes by most accounts, even if they aren't really the best first glow aircraft for a budding new pilot. What I'm saying is that these planes, the three most expensive .40-sized RTFs on the planet, are designed more for luring pilots than teaching pilots to fly. They been packaged to maximize their style and glitz, with less attention focused on really being a solid basic trainer aircraft.

With all of these flashy new RTF trainer packages around, airplane kits like the Great Planes PT-40/PT-60, the Goldberg Eagle 2, and the Sig Kadet Senior/MkII/LT-40 continue to sell to modellers around the world. Why? Because they're classics! These are airframes that have earned their reputations over the years with modellers. These are airplanes with superior design qualities that build straight and they build light and they fly good.

I'm not trying to argue that we should all be building kits instead of ARFs or anything of the sort, either. I've always joked that if I'd had to build my own trainer from a kit before I could learn to fly I still wouldn't be up in the air yet. The Goldberg Eagle 2 and the Sig Kadet LT-40 are available in ARFs that, by all accounts, fly just a fantastic as the kit versions of the same plane. Sig even offers the LT-40 in a glow ready-to-fly version and an electric ready-to-fly version.

All I'm saying is, the next time you're getting ready to spend your own hard-earned cash on a new airplane or radio or engine, ask yourself this question, "Has this product stood the test of time?" If you're shopping for the latest and greatest spread spectrum radio or brushless outrunner power system, this question may not be relevant. If you're shopping for a trainer or a sport plane, or any other product category that existed more than three years ago however, this is a very valid question.

The best products in this sport have stood the test of time. Why can Goldberg still sell the dated and somewhat homely Tiger 2/Tiger .60 kit and ARF in this day and age? It's that good of an airplane. Why is the Sig Four Star at the top of everyone's favorite sport plane list year after year after year? It's that good of an airplane. Why are folks still building Telemasters and Kadets and Eagles and Falcons from kits when you can buy a Nexstar ARF for $99.99? Because they are that good, they are classics, they have stood the test of time.

I have to confess that one plane that bugs the heck out of me right now is the Hangar 9 Pulse XT .40 ARF. I like Hangar 9 products, I think the plane is really good looking, I'm confident that it's well made and straightforward to assemble like almost all Hangar 9 products. It bugs me because it's a product that nobody needs except Hangar 9. It bugs me that so many pilots are buying them because they're shinier and newer looking than products that are better. The Pulse XT .40 is a nice looking plane from a respectable company, but I hate the fact that it's preventing pilots from flying some of the true classics of the sport.

To me, flying a Pulse XT .40 is like eating a veggie burger. It's a lot like the source it draws its inspiration from. There are some things about it that are even better than the original (zero cholesteral, a nice looking cowling). If you're hungry and you eat one, it will hit the spot. No matter what you do, no matter how much you dress up a veggie burger though, it's just not as good as the real deal. To me, the Ugly Stik (and all of its glorious incarnations) is the real deal. The Sig Four Star is the real deal. The Goldberg Tiger 2, by golly, that's the real deal. The Pulse XT .40 ARF? To me, that's a really well-made, tasty garden burger.

When you're shopping, talk to some veterans and find out about some of those funny older products that are still around. Why are Super Tigre ringed engines still on the market when you could buy Evolution or O.S. Max ABC engines instead? How come folks are still buying Sig Kobra, Kougar, and King Cobra kits for sport/pattern planes when you could just buy a Venus .40 ARF instead? Why did RC Ken hold his breath and jump up and down for three or four year until Don Anderson agreed to re-issue the original Ultra Sport .40 and .60 kits? Isn't an Edge 540 or a Cap 232 more aerobatic? Why does RC Ken care? All of my buddies are flying JR and Futaba radio systems. Why is it that both Horizon and Hobbico have been forced to carry Airtronics radio equipment too? Does Airtronics offer something the bigger names don't?

Wildly changing technology and constant innovation have made this an exciting sport in recent years. Some market segments are technology driven, and new products are absolutely necessary to keep fueling growth. Other market segments are more mature, however, like glow engines and trainers and sport planes and 72Mhz radios. Some of the best products in these market segments are so good that they're boring. They're tried and true and they haven't changed in decades and hopefully they never will. These are some of the truly outstanding products that we have available to us.

My advice for new and enthusiastic pilots is to gain an appreciation of the classics in this sport. It's fun to have the newest, shiniest stuff that was just reviewed in this month's Fly RC or Model Airplane News. Sometimes though, a manufacturer has to add some bells and whistles and glitter to their new trainer, because it's not as good as the Sig Kadet LT-40, but they have to try to sell it anyway. Learn from those who came before you, and find out what some of the tride and true benchmark products are in this industry. It might just save you from buying something called a "Craptor" as your very first RTF glow trainer.