I am new to the RC Airplane industry, but I am still looking forward to building the kit. I am going to buy a ARF for my trainer but am going to spend time building as well. The reason I want to build my second plane is so that it is what I want, not what the majority of people want in that plane. If I want to mod it, or fix it I will know how after I am done building. Not relying on others to do it for me, or go out and buy a new kit. Just my .02 cents


New to sport but going to enjoy the build.

That is another very good point for kit building. I have to save my pennies to shell out for an ARF whereas buying a kit is not as bad and then you can spread the cost of building out over time. The one thing that i am struggling with most of all is covering wings. I have no trouble on the fuse but the wing i have a heck of a time with and with covering at $20/roll it becomes costly when i rip it off due to wrinkles and such. Oh well a little more covering used now will mean better covering jobs in the future i guess.

Flyboy76

Cost vs. Results example:

I am currently building a Carl Goldberg Ultimate Kit and I wish to share the comparative cold numbers with all of you.

Cost of the Carl Goldberg Ultimate ARF version: $329.99

Cost of the items to match the same plane with the kit version:
Kit: $169.99
Great Planes wheels: $5.19 (Better than wheels provided on the ARF version)
Dubro 16 oz Tank: $4.79 (Better and bigger tank than the ARF)
Great Planes Tail wheel: $1.99 (Better than the one provided on the ARF)
Top Flite Paint Lustrokote $6.99 (The ARF comes with fiber glass cowling and the paint is far better in the ARF version)
Top Flite Monokote 3 rolls: $30.47 (Same covering quality)
Glue and sanding materials: $25.00
Fun for building: Priceless

Kit and materials total: $244.42

You are saving $85.57 and investing a considerable amount of time to match the ARF version.

Maybe I have forgotten something but these items were on my Tower Hobbies bills, everything else was already in my shop.

Thanks.

How much is it worth to you to know that the airframe is assembled correctly, and that there is adequate glue (and the correct type of glue) in the joints. Did you know that there is a higher parts count in the kit built version? The ARF get's by with the absolute minimum of parts for speed of assembly. How much is the experience that you gained by building worth? There are lots more in the way of intangibles that I will not go into here, but enjoy the build, and don't worry about those who say that they have no time to build. You find time to do whatever you really want to do.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

You are absolutely right about finding the time to do what you really want to do. Right now i am not concerned with finding the time to build, i have other priorities that are more important. however once my kids are through their minor hockey career (which is something i really want to be involved in ... coaching and such) then i will find the time to build as i really enjoy it and like you said nothing can compare to the satisfaction of seeing a plane in the air for the first time that before you got to it was just a pile of sticks. I will eventually build a WACO but that is a ways off yet.

Flyboy76

I guess it all depends on the ARF or KIT in question.

I do feel however, that everyone should have build a kit somewhere down the line, just for building experience. Even with an ARF you'll have to do some (re)building sooner or later, you can't just go out and buy a new ARF everytime something breaks.

I would recommend buying an ARF for learning to fly and just messing around. This advice is based on the fact that an ARF is easy to replace.

I have not yet seen an ARF that is really well build all the way, but most are sufficiently built just to fly with. They may not be perfectly glued on every join, but who cares if it flies fine and you never notice that.

I use a ARF for everyday flying and a kit for scale fun and so on.