I was talking to one of the Classic Pattern forum members yesterday and we were discussing the rewards of building kits and from plans and how many molders in the US can and do build. What would your estimate be?

Good question 8178.

I think it has a lot to do with when people entered the R/C hobby. I'd say of those who got in the hobby in the last five years, maybe 3%; the last ten years maybe 10%; and the last twenty years or more 50%.

Now, of those who have been in the hobby twenty or more years, how many are still active and what percentage of current flyers do they constitute?

So do you think there are 100, 200, 300, etc?

That's really hard to answer. There's probably about three or maybe four members at every club that still build. The AMA web site says there are over 2500 chartered clubs, with over 170,000 members. I'll guess between 7,500 and 10,000 AMA members in the US who build from kits and/or plans.

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For every AMA member, there are probably 20 to 30 folks that build and fly models that have never belonged to the AMA, nor will they ever. This is just a WAG, but it has been my experience over the years. Some folks are not "joiners". Nor will they ever post to the internet, nor send a letter to an R/C magazine.

When the ARF/RTF craze is over, the builders will remain behind.

We tend to think in the terms of our own surroundings. We in clubs and on the net tend to be a gregarious bunch, but we are greatly outnumbered by folks that participate actively in the hobby that have no official connection to our organizations, nor our clubs. I wouldn't underestimate the economic power that these folks unknowingly wield.

I think that all your number estimates are suspect. I suspect that inspite of the inroads made by ARF's, that a large percentage do on occasion build. As far as the estimate of 20 or 30 flyiers for every AMA member, it might depend on where a person lives. Around larger cities, clubs seem to dominate, while rural areas would appear to have few clubs.

AMA 41701