Sport_Pilot

Lately while reviewing Tower, Horizon, and Hobbypeople I have seen fewer and fewer new releases of ARF's. The ones I do see are mostly larger scale. What I see instead are RTF electrics. So I guess when we make kits extinct we will stop buying ARF's and buy RTF electrics?

Tripower455

My Feedback: (2)

It's likely that they are running out of models to ARF. How many different Caps, Sukhois, Flatties, Warbirds, Stiks, Sport planes and trainers etc can they possibly make? The selection of ARFs is bewildering nowadays........ As long as it's not another flattiecap3dmetooshockflyer, I am happy!


It's kind of like what happened to the kits of yore...... People stopped buying them, so they stopped making new ones, or maybe people bought them anyway, and they felt it wasn't necessary to invest capital to make new ones?

drone pilot

Good question. Looking through the threads, I see at least two new ARF's that are different. Hangar 9 has a Sopwith Camel, and was greeted with..."I wish it were bigger" then Spotsman Aviation releases a new plane this month following the Corby Starlet, another "home built"also a .61 - .91 size plane. I'm sure they don't just select a plane at random, there must be some sort of survey to decide what to offer. If you think you know of a plane that would have people running to the Hobby Shop or Tower, etc, and would be profitable, why not tell the manf's. I don't build kits, 'cause I'd forget how to fly if I had to take that long to get back in the air after a bagger.....Cliff

capper232

i think alot of people, like my self, still love internal combustion engines for the power, the smoke, smell, noise, and some tinkering which is fun. i say: "Stick with arfs or people will barfs unitl the lectric craze will go out of phase."

skiman762

The electric craze isn't going anywhere prices keep dropping and batteries keep getting better
noise keeps closing more feilds and yadiyadi
I like the little engines too but I wouldn't hold my breath thinking the electrics will die off
I have a few and enjoy them when time doesn't allow me to pack up the glow stuff
and they keeps my thumbs oiled up for the weekend
as far as batteries go I can say one lipo pack I have has out lasted the fuel I could have bought for 23 bucks
granted mine aren't anything close to a glow plane but still fun and fun is the name of the game

capper232

i dont really care about fuel prices, heck i run 30% heli coolpower in my airplanes only because thats my preference, and about the noise closing clubs, well our club is fine, besides thats your fault for pickin a club with noise restrictions. I say: "Let people complain about anything, anytime, but give them a biscuit and she'll be fine"

Sport_Pilot

The Corby Starlet was on the market a year ago or more. Used to be a dozen or more new ARFS or so on Tower's site alone. Now you can count them on one hand. But dozens of new RTF electrics.

Sport_Pilot

LOL Yeah, if you need an incendiary bomb?[sm=wink_smile.gif]

The problem with electrics is charging time and cost. They have a long ways to go before I would consider them.

drone pilot

I myself think we are pretty lucky to have all the options we have. There is a place in R/C for everybody, Glow, Gas, Electric, Gliders etc... Pick the one YOU like and enjoy it. The longer the electrics are around the better they will get, but I don't think they will ever dominate the hobby....I don't care which you choose, I know which niche I settled into.......just have fun....

MormonMike

My Feedback: (2)

Things you can think but don't say out loud. #1 This use to be a special hobby for a unique group of hobbiests, but now, every "Tom, Dick and Harry" is into this with foamies and anything else that they can pass the time with until something else better comes along to amuse them. Watch me catch "H" for this "opinion". MM

Sport_Pilot

I think they already dominate the hobby!

Sport_Pilot

You won't get it from me. What you say is true of the smaller electrics. But larger electrics are the new trend. Expect more .60 and up ARF and RTF electics.

drone pilot

Mike..... I sort of agree with you, but those guy's will flame out real quick for the most part. As long as there is a good selection of ARF glow / gas planes I'll addd to the 30 years of flying I have accumulated to this point. Another point as to limited choice of "new" ARF's....There are more out there than I can afford to buy, and not enough room to hangar them.... Cliff

adaptabl

It isn't going to happen. Electrics are here to stay and will get better and better. The days of the slimmers are numbered due to increasing noise issues.

Sport_Pilot

Muffler tech hasn't even begun.

LonestarMan

LIFE is one big circle. Look at da P.T Cruiser/HHR and Prowler. They just took somethin' good and made it better/more appealing.Like alot of peeps I don't have da time too construct a kit__ would like too___ don't have da time.
Now if can design,build,test, manufacture the following planes I would consider buying one.
1.Harrier jet.
2.Heli that flys as easy as a plane.
3.That plane that takes off like a heli__ can't think of the name
4.The latest UAV flying___ can't think of the name
5.The space shuttle
6.Since I own one Ram 1500/Giant scale

Naturally these would have to be ARF's and within' my price range.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

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The owners bailed out of Tower Hobbies a while back and left it to the employees. Who voluntarily leaves a business that has a bright future and is making lots of money? They are convinced that they see the handwriting is on the wall, would be my guess. And that is all that it is, just a guess.

When things go seriously RTF at low Chinese prices, Tower will end up competing with Wal-Mart and other department/toy stores. A battle that they will not be able to win.

There are still modelers out there that are building kit models, or who would build kit models if the ARFs and RTFs were not available. No, not as many as in years past, but still a good sized market. Will that number of folks support a Tower Hobbies? Well, it did in the early Seventies, but Tower was a much smaller operation in those days. I see no way that it can maintain its present size and profit margin.

As China matures economically, businesses such as Tower will have less and less control over their suppliers. Eventually, the suppliers will set up businesses of their own in the US and Europe to sell their products and to keep more of the profit. It is the natural way of things.

If you want to buy a Chinese made motorcycle in the US at the moment, you have to go through various importers. The prices are very low and the after the sale service is non existent. Next, someone will try to form an American distributorship, such as Tower has been in the R/C hobby. Eventually the distributorship will be replaced by a company-owned North American dealership/distributorship network. Tower is in the process of being replaced or absorbed, my friends. Do not judge the future of our hobby by what happens to Tower and other such large distributors/retailers. Our hobby is doing just fine.

I built and flew models before the "hobby discount" existed. Prices for kits were printed in model magazines and would remain the same for years. While I don't expect to see that return until we rid ourselves of the Federal Reserve System, it proves that there was an active hobby community before any of the retail hobby giants existed.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

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No hell from me, Mike.

The East Ridge Aeromodellers of East Ridge, TN, my former club, just lost their field and terminated the club's existence. The facility that provided us with a field for so many years, Camp Jordan, wants to put the land to use. You see, even though our club had been there for a long time, long before I was a member, on any given day, no one was flying there any longer. All of that acreage going to waste.

I sure wish that a lot of electric RTF guys had gone to our field to fly all of the time. We would probably still have our club and our field.

While I have since joined the Chattanooga R/C Club, a fine organization, by the way, it is over twice as far away and it has two gates that must be unlocked and relocked in order to pass through to the field. I am disabled and it is really going to be tough for me to fly there at all.

As was once told to me when I was a child and complained about the change in actresses portraying Lois Lane in Superman TV series, "The only constant in life is change".

When things stop changing, you will discover that you are no longer breathing. <G>

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

This hobby is "cyclical", and the current "fads" change. You will see a segment arise, get huge, then level out. Arfs are "leveling" now. Before ARFs it was 3D. Before 3D, it was Giant Scale. Electrics are on the way up now, but in a couple of years, they will level out, and it will be something else.
You know you have been in it a while, when you look back and see several cycles.

LonestarMan

And b-4 that was propjets__ funflys__ Quickie 500's ___ patternships and li'l rubber-band powered.

Sport_Pilot

IMO Mr. Anderson was a bit out of touch with the hobby and had trouble separating the hobby, sport, toy parts of his business. He had lots of business acumen when he started the company, but lost it somewhere. Lost interest in the hobby is my guess.

skiman762

No that is what the city called progress housing popped up and bye bye club
not sure why you think that's my fault?????????????

jcflysrc

My Feedback: (50)

ARF's are not going anywhere. They will be around longer than most who use this forum. I too have seen an increase in the availability of larger ARF type planes aimed at the gassers. The "smaller" electrics are truly coming on like crazy too. New models being introduced almost daily!

I was curious about the electric aspect of the hobby, and tried it out. I have been flying glow for a few years now, and feel like I am a pretty good judge of what makes a "good" glow set-up. I am now firmly convinced that electrics are the way to go. I could tell you about all the advantages but I won't bore you with any of that. All I can say is give it a try with an open mind and you just might be surprised. I was. My most recent project is a GP Combat Corsair conversion. I did a few things "my way" when I assembled it, and it is a great flying plane with unlimited vertical, and longer flights than you would get if set up for glow power. This thing is FAST! I doubt it would be anywhere near as fun to fly with a wet set-up.

I look forward to new releases of electrified designs. ARF or RTF. I think glow power will always be popular with a certain group of people. However I think electrics are the future. ARF's and RTF's will always be an option for the person who wants to get in the air fast. Electric goes along with that theme too, as it requires less support and is cleaner. JMO.

MormonMike

My Feedback: (2)

[&o] [sigh] mm.

NorfolkSouthern

Electric is a convenient form of recreation, and people want to get into the air just as soon as they open the box, which is understandable for the most part. They don't want the hassle of joining a club or buying AMA insurance. There is no fuel to pump into the engine and no mess to clean up. Yup, gas is obsolete and electric is the best thing since sliced bread. Just take the park flyer to the local school yard, empty parking lot, or what ever and go play. Or, fly it out the back door for that matter. Park flyers are quiet, they're cheap, and they require very little operating space.

Now, I bought a gas model. Sure, an electric would have made more sense. I just like the feel of the prop when I would flip it. It's the sound of the engine, and the feel of the plane when I open up the throttle and hang on to it before taking off. I even like a two stroke better than a four. My engine has a good muffler on it, so it's not excessively noisy (unlike the big 50cc gas engines on some models). If all I want to do is manipulate the controls on a radio, heck, I could have bought a simulator cheaper and wouldn't have to worry about crashing it.

Although I strongly prefer a glow engine, I still have some use for an electric. Accessibility comes to mind here, as I could take the park flyer out and fly it just about any place. A nearby parking lot would do just fine. No license, no insurance fee, no club dues, and no transporting a .40 sized plane to a field that's 15 miles away. And that, folks, is part of the reason why the small electrics are gaining so much popularity. Not many people want a gas model bad enough to go through the time and trouble required.

NorfolkSouthern