I don't think anyone is trying to drive anyone away from the hobby. Most are just trying to explain the differences based on experience.

I've built the Debonaire and one other, using the OS 46 on the Debonaire and the OS 50 on the other one.. I can't remember the name right now. They were both fun to fly, but both, as following the directions, came out rather heavy as compared to their balsa counterparts. If you don't mind the weight, and can handle the higher take-off and landing speeds, then it's alright. But I just don't think that they were light enough for adequate electric power. And, as I said, I followed the build instructions and kept it as light as I could. Perhaps my choice of fuselage was wrong, but the build instructions said to use downspout, so I did. The basic coroplast was a tad heavy too, but they all flew.

Don't be confused by some of the differences. It is basically simple.

One big advantage about building a true balsa kit is the abilty to change things to the benefit of certain requirements or desires about building. You can, for instance, change the size of contorl surfaces (I've worked on a Tiger II with some definite differences in the size of the elevator, and the length of the fuselage). A friend actuallt stick built a Tiger 60 and made some major changes in that plane, and it flys just great. So great, in fact, that he has entered some Pattern contests with it, and has done quite well. Now, you can also do that with SPAD builds. Your choice of build materials are, well, not quite limitless, but you get the idea, I am sure. You can put them together with just about anything you wish that will fly. Hey, we've seen flying doghouses, lawnmowers, witches, and whatever. Some made of coroplast and others made of other handy material that would construct

I've seen some very nice SPAD's, or coroplast aircraft that look scale and actually looked better than some built kits out there. It all comes to the skills of the builder and the attention to detail put in the model build, regardless of the construction material used, balsa, or coroplast, or whatever.

If you want to build one (a SPAD), you will find it a challenging yet fun experience, especially when you maiden your first one.

As I said, I've built a couple and flown them. They are definitely fun, but I find that I just don't have the time lately, to build one as I would like to. So, I stick with the ARF's for now. I will have time... one day I suppose, to start another SPAD project.

One thing I did do was cut out some wing sections, fuselage bodies with the down-spout, and the tail feathers, and will be offering them as prizes at next year's fun fly events. All the people need to do with them is follow the included instructions and finish the build, and select a power source.. electric or glow.

CGr