An older gentleman in his seventies came out to our field a couple of years ago. His wife had passed away after a very long illness that had required his full attention for years. He was in great need of some recreation therapy.

His son who lived off in the big city was very helpful and scoured pawn shops for RC gear and fixed him up with flight box, starter, motors and radio gear. He started with a popular .40 size arf trainer. It was a bit fast and didn't provide the reaction time he needed but survived a few mishaps before being totaled long before the gent had obtained his wings.

He hung around a while because the fellowship had become important to him but had all but given up on flying. Then, after observing another gentleman fly a Sig LT-25 that flew considerably slower and more docile than the trainer he'd fought... he inquired about buying one. When it was explained it was a kit that needed building, he backed off but after explanation that the kit was a reasonably easy build for a beginner with all laser cut parts that fit very well and had extremely good instructions with lots of pics, he sprung for a kit and visited the home center to get glue and a ceiling tile to build on.

More than a year later, he now has two. Because they are all balsa and he has the plans and experience building them, he has repaired both of them several times. The greater reaction time and more docile flight helped him greatly in earning his wings, which didn't come real easy to him. A plus is that he enjoys the building.

There is no right or wrong about ARF or kit... there are good reasons for each. For this gentleman, a kit was just what he needed... for another, it might be an ARF. Finally, I've never observed an instance of a model offering more than this gentleman received from it. It is one of those things that chokes ya up.