To be sure, many of the ARF's being offered today are certainly better than I can build, and I cannot possibly build them for the prices they are being offered at. Technology has advanced so rapidly in our hobby in the last ten years. What I am talking about is we are losing the essence of the hobby itself; knowing the ins and outs of airframe construction, covering a model, how to tune an engine, understanding the nuances and skills required of the hobby that used to be essential in order to even participate in it. Part of the fun was putting everything together, in other words. Plug and play has taken that away to the detriment of the hobbyist, in my opinion. Newercomers are missing out on a lot of fun and learning.

I will say I wish I had flight simulators back in the seventies when I was learning. They are amazing. Recently, I helped solo a new pilot the first day he came to the field. How? Because he had spent hours on a sophisticated simulator.... he know how to fly before he cranked the engine.