The latests and greatest in making everythig as easy as possible and to execute "no-brainer" assemblies has it's place I suppose. I guess being over 40 means I left all the stuff designed for the unthinking back in 1st grade. From about that point on my parents and the educational system taught me how to think for myself and carefully anaylze how to overcome a given problem in order to achieve a desirable end result.

Yes, I still use dope, silkspan, tissue, yellow wood glue, kit build, and lots of other "old" style stuff because they are still extremely effective ways of achieving a desired end result. Some of the old assembly methods are still superior to many currently used on arfs. I also paint, airbrush, make molds, make parts with fiberglass and carbon fiber, experiment with engines, and do lot's of new technology stuff. Limits are boring. That does not imply that I don't assemble and fly arfs because I do, and quite a few at that. But at the same time I don't expect that everyone else is responsible for providing me with everything I may need to complete the assembly. Note I did not say "build" because a build it most certainly is not. Nor is it an entitlement.

I find that most people that are financially productive today are busy people. I also have found that most of them have one or more hobbies. Those that are serious about their hobbies make an effort to learn as much as they can about them and do not limit themselve with excuses such as not having time to learn. That's weak. If one wanted to do something and there was too much on the plate then simply eliminating another optional time burden provides the time for more learning. If one truly has no time they would only purchase fully assembled plans from those that had the time, and the desire, to put them together. Having all the pre-assembled widgets and templates is nice, but not a requirement. Doing things with your own mind and hands is still quite rewarding if you accept that it may take a few minutes or an hour longer. Removing all the challenges from life's activities limits and weakens, it does not strengthen.

My feelings are if you want to particiapte in a hobby you participate, not just take the fastest, easiest means to barely get involved. As a nation we have become lazy and seem to think someone or everyone owes us the means to accomplish anything that we want to have or do. That problem extends into this hobby as well with many failing or refusing to learn basic skills required to particiapte. Learning how to mount an engine is a very basic skill. Learning how to center one is another very basic skill. Learning how to remove and reinstall a carb is pretty much a necessity. What happens when it gets dirty? Discovering that an engine manufacturer took the time to provide information on engine mounting and template making should have been easy to find when ordering from a website. That is unless the only web pages visited was the price and shopping cart page. I don't know many that limit themselves that severely.

To shout out ones displeasure about a lack of mounting template or other pre-assembly options only reinforces my point about laziness, lack of skills, and a sense of entitlement. All three are personal deficiencies that can be corrected with a little desire and effort. Sorry, but I don't think manufacturers should provide a template. My personal is that people should still use their own noggin from time to time.