The Showtime really interests me, it is a great flying plane. But I have seen enough build issues with it (and it's a "very good" ARF in terms of the quality) that I am very wary of buying one and seeing what comes out of the box. If I could buy a kit or plans, I would be building it right now... It may be the plane that makes me break down and try an ARF, though. Hear that Hangar9? One Showtime kit customer waiting right here! Just send me the box of ARF parts and the plans I will sort the rest myself.

Care to share the plans with a fellow scratch builder? PM me if you want to keep it private.


Mark

Mark,

http://www.rcblueprints.com/ has plans for the Funtana. The Sukoi plans are some of the best I've seen, but these aren't from an ARF. There are plans for the Katana referenced here on RCU if you do a search. These are excellent plans too. I can email those to you if you PM your address.

Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback good or bad, it's all great to read. Keep em coming!

Gibbs

Well I did it!!!. I broke down and bought another ARF. The Funtana X 100. Had to have it. It's not available in kit form so I bought it. Waiting for it to get here. From the manual I have to say there is a lot of building to be done once I get it. The instruction manual is 40 pages. I am also building a GP 60 size Cub kit. I have to say to those people I bashed about ARF's, they do have a spot in this hobby and some take a considerable amount of building so I guess I have to say you are builders too.

Gibbs

Airbatic here,

I think ARF quality has improved over the years because the supervisors are allowed to beat the workers who work eighteen hours a day building your airplane in those poor countries like Malaysia or Mali.

Kraus

18 hour days!! Boy they sure are going easy on them now!!!! The next thing you know they'll have sundays off!!!

Ken

Kraus

Kraus,
I know the economics of how/why ARF's are so cheap. I was just making a joke off of what you said about it.

If you want to know the truth, the amount that these workers are paid to assemble ARF's are some of the HIGHEST salaries in the countries that they are produced in.

Ken

I see. I thought you were trying to serious about my first comment.

Make that a big nevermind.

Kraus

Yeah right.

I just bought my 5th RC ARF a couple weeks ago. A Goldberg Skylark 56. Overall, a much better quality overall than the first couple Oriental ARF imports I've had. Better glue joints, better fitting joints in general. Even looks like they used a real wood glue and not some kind of hot melt. Still didn't like the threaded wire for the pushrods, although the clevises seem to be of higher quality than I've had in the past. The clevises actually screw on tight. Almost very other ARF I've had in the past, quality control was so bad, the threaded clevises could slide on, or were so brittle they broke while trying to install them into the control horns. The wire was so brittle, I broke three of four at the 90 degree bends. Luckily, a LHS stocks metric sized DuBro threaded rod, which is much better.

In less than 7 hours, at no more than a 1.5 hour working stint, and lots of 15 to 30 minute bursts of effort, it is ready for it's maiden flight, hopefully this weekend.

I still don't foresee my throwing out my collection of kits, balsa wood, and plans, or buying too many more ARFs. Although I've wanted a Skylark for a number of years, actually since the first version was introduced, I think I would have had much more satisfaction building from a kit or from the original plans, than I got from assembling this ARF. I am still a bit concerned about the relative softness of the plywood. Still, the Chinese builders did a pretty good job on this plane.

one thing i do hate is when manufacturers include better accessories with the arf than what is availiable for the kit. Goldberg Ultimate Bipe is one example. the kit has wire gear and abs plastic cowl and wheel pants the arf has fiberglass cowl and wheel pants and aluminum main gear. tell me how hard would it be for goldberg to have those included in the kit. or atleast have two versions the standard and the pro versions one comes with the abs and wire gear and the other fiberglass and aluminum.

Jim,

OK,you got me on this one. I guess I just want to build my Cub and not have to spend to much time on the Funtana. Although there are many more things to put together on the Funtana than most other ARF's! Your photo was a little unfair. Check out the manual and then tell me theres not much to do. Besides it does take some building experience to put together these ARF's so I guess I was unfair when I started this thread calling the ARF builders lazy. Do you have any ARF's, be honest?

Gibbs ( In response to Jim)

50+,

Check out Early R/C:

http://www.earlyrcmodels.com./

You might find something else to build in there...


Mark

I've had 2 Skylark 56 airplanes. The first was the original version that came with the twin engine nacelles in the kit. I built it as a twin with (2) Fox .15's. The second 56 was the updated version that didn't have the twin engine parts included.

The early kit also had 2 piece fuselage sides that had a sawtooth splice in it. The newer kits had 1 piece sides. I'm curious if these new kits will be the older version and if they have the twin parts included.

By the way. They were both great airplanes.

Rod

A friend of mine had an original kit version of the Skylark 56. Flew it for years with a Fox baffle 25RC engine. Might have been limited on vertical performance, but could do anything and then some. I currently have this Skylark 56 ARF, a Sr. Falcon fuse that only needs a wing, an original Falcon 56 kit, sawtooth fuse sides, that someone gave me because it didn't have any plans, and a later 1/2A Skylark kit that I think doesn't show the twin engine version. But, as far as the Falconn 56, I was able to buy the plans through the Model Aviation plan service, so one of these days I will find time to build it. along with about 146 other kits and a couple hundred plan built projects I have in mind. One of the projects is to enlarge the Falcon 56 wing plan to a size suitable for the Sr. Falcon fuse.

50+AirYears,

Just an after thought.....I paid $13.95 for my first Skylark 56 kit and only $4.95 each for the Fox .15's I put on it. Have times changed or what?...LOL

If I remember right, the Jr.Skylark were $3.95 for the kit at that time.

Rod

It's really fun to find a reproduction kit that comes in an original print box, and see the original price printed on the end flap. That original Falcon 56 kit was about 10 hours pay then, but the new one is only about 4 or 5 hours pay now. My first proportional radio in 1967 took a bit more than a month's pay as an Air Force Sergeant, but this summer I bought a 7 channel computer radio for 9 hours pay. Sometimes, those "Good Ol' Days" never were. I occasionally have a nightmare that I give up building for ARFs.

Right Bob. I have been about ten years in the hobby and have built many arfs and kits as well, I have built the kits for fun, I know I'm building somebody else's design and as you said I'm practically building an arf the hard way, but I really know what I'm doing, I like to spend the building time hearing soft or classical music, enjoying a good beberage and knowing that kids are already sleeping, I do not care if an easy kit takes me one month or a full year to complete, because I'm not in a hurry with my kits, thats why I have several ARFS, they keep me flying all the season and the kits keep me busy in home, when ever I need this activity, so as you can see I do not have any against ARFS or KITS I enjoy them all in the way that I think they were created for.
This is a Hobby.
Enjoy it.

Does anyone recommend a reliable laser kit cutter for giant scale planes. I have the planes for a Mig 3 I would like to have cut. Thanks, Chopper