I would guess around 1980 , they became cheap enough to show up at local fields. But that is just a guess. I never saw any benifits from them, the servo reverse was the greatest inprovement for the average sport flyer.

all the bells and whistles are nice but I don't think many of us really need them. Don't get me wrong I would not give up my JR X9303 for the world, I really enjoy working with it. I am a high tech. nut anyway. My old job that I retired from was playing with robots and computer automated machenery for years, loved it. My X9303 helps me stay conected to the high tech. world.

sticks