ARF's
 

Just a comment, I finally have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter the manufacturer's name, or reputation, ARF stands for Almost Ready For. Almost ready for Alignment, Glue, Epoxy, Braces, Re-engineering...I think I'm gonna start Plan and Scratch building. I know for sure I'll end up with a much better product. No more wood that has less strength than my local newspaper, no more formers and bulkheads that have all the wood carved out in the intrest of "lightening". No more glue joints without the glue. I didn't single out any one manufacturer, because I believe they are all guilty of not doing their best.

RE: ARF's
 

My life in this hobby has been soiled with ARFs a few times...but never again. They are what Budweiser is to craft/homebrew beer, what Velveeta is to real cheese, what Wonderbread is to San Francisco Sour Dough.
There are limited production ARFs that are high quality but the "dime store" stuff is just exactly what you pay for.....a box full of "question marks..??????????".........:D
The most expensive way to do this hobby is to do it cheaply.
There are exceptions to this "rule" and I am always on the prowl to find reliable ways to save money.

RE: ARF's
 

I've actually had good luck buying used planes that started as ARF's. I figure if an airframe makes it through a year of flying with another pilot all the bugs are worked out, and all the factory defects have been fixed. The ones that are no good have already been crashed by then, so it's a pretty low risk proposition to buy them.

RE: ARF's
 

The one thing ARFs do better than me is build light. I can make a nice model from a kit - but it always comes out 20% heavier than it should because I beef up structures and work in extra thoughts.

I have had some great ARFs. Some I had to tweak a bit. Others that were delightful just as they came. I wish I could still get the Goldberg Hot Stik.

And I also used to poo-poo foamy electrics . . . until I started flying a few around my yard. Opened up a whole new world for grabbing a quick flight when I could. The little four channel 15" wingspan models fly pretty darned good anymore!

This year I'm flying an ARFtwin-enginedG-44 Widgeon flying boatwith a fiberglass fuselage, wing floatsand nacelles. I'm pretty sure I couldn't make a one-off hull that nice.


And check out some of the ARFs from Wild Hare or Chief Aircraft. Never in my life could Ibuild like that. Or even Precision Aerobatics - some airframe no matter who made it!</p>

RE: ARF's
 

I am grateful for the availability of wood made ARF planes. Of course, It is probably better to build a plane from scratch but Iwould probably not be in the hobby right now due to lack of time if ARFs were not available. I will take a laser cut balsa/ply ARF plane over a foam plane any time any day. I don't have anything against foam planes, in fact Iown many of them. It is just that the wood ones feel more like a hobby and less like a toy.

RE: ARF's
 

<div>I recently bought my first ARF after 25 years in the hobby. I bought a highly regarded kit that was supposed to be truly almost ready to fly. I openly admit that I bought it out of laziness. In the time I have spent remanufacturing this kit into to something I would even consider putting into the air, I could have built the plane in kit form. The end result would have been lighter, straighter, and the engineering would have been better as things could have been done right the first time.</div><div>
</div><div>I could care less what other pilots throw in the air but I also know that from now on I will be building every plane I fly for the piece of mind that it is done right and the pride I can feel while flying it.</div><div>
</div><div>My current build has been on the board for months as the only time I have had is an hour before work most mornings. So be it. Some things are worth the wait.</div><div>
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RE: ARF's
 

I would like to see the ARC make a come back. They were all built and ready to cover. That way you had an airframe to work with.


Buzz.

RE: ARF's
 

I though ARC was Almost Ready to Crash!!:D:D

Terry

RE: ARF's
 

I quit flying fixed wing (financial issues) back before Carl Goldberg became part of the great planes tower hobby empire. I'm going to start flying again, and all I see are arf and rtf. Not so many kits. I like to build my own so I know it was done right and I make templates so I can rebuild/repair.