I've read numerous threads where folks debate the virtues and pitfalls of ARF's and their impact on the "Hobby" or the "Industry" but wanted to share my observations to this point.

As to background; I'm a medocre hobbiest that has assembled a few kits over the years and to be honest, never had one that just went smoothly. And as I near the completion of my 2nd ARF ever (both this year) I find myself nearly as challenged as I have been with building kits.

One of the problems with both I truly believe is the expectations I have going into one. Each time I have high hopes to stumble upon that model that goes together just as explained in the manual. Each time I find myself making adjustments - sometimes because I use different components than the ones used in the manual, sometimes because I want to modify the plane from stock, and sometimes in error because I misunderstood the directions or did something out of sequence. So not all of my frustration is the manufacturers fault, sometimes its mine.

But mostly I'm careful and am trying to assemble it so it will stay together and perform properly.

My preconcieved notion that a kit builder earns his wings more than an ARF assembler has diminished somewhat. While I truly feel that wrestling with kits has helped me immensely with the challenges of assembling an ARF, I now feel that the challenges of assembling an ARF will assist a person deciding to tackle a kit.

I'm certain that an enthusiast that has graduated to plan building and then even further to scratch building has infinitely more patience and skill than I possess. What I also now believe is that while starting further down the ladder with a kit usually means a longer time frame before I arrive at a ready-to-fly model; I'm much more "comfortable" with the progess and the model because I see everything come together prior to being shrouded by covering. In the past its been the covering process I dreaded because I lack the skills in working with the material and by that point have always been impatient to just "get'r done".

That impatience is what gets me into the most trouble and its aggravated by low-grade hardware, lacking instruction and less than clear illustrations. But the impatience is all mine.

Those of you that can toss an ARF together in a weekend now have my admiration just as do the kit builders that can assemble a kit and cover it with the same skill that the ARF manufacturers do.

Muddying along,

Clay