ORIGINAL: k12rc
I know what you saying and Iam not bashing arfs but I would say probably 60% of people flying have never built anything and probably could not tell which way to run grain to get the strength where its needed
This statement in it self sheds a lot of light on why there are so many arfs that fail. I have noticed some Jet guys and so many warbird guys get arfs and fail to "read" the construction and hardware components of the model.
I am not saying that I can see every problem in an arf. The guys that have fabricated models of wood or composite, know what and where to look for weakness or improvement.
For instance, an all composite model, gel coated, pre primed or painted already, hides the layup and structural configuration of the airframe.
To me, a raw un painted see- thru glass kit is more impressive and reveals the construction benefits and flaws.
Steve