Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

I would like to get no holds barred views from modelers on problems they have had (or are having) with the services and support supposedly offered by various kit manufacturers.

Are our kit manufacturers getting bought up by conglomerates, and are they loosing quality plus that essential personal touch?

Are manufacturers producing sales propaganda, but omitting essential technical specs about products that enable the knowledgeable modeler to make purchase decisions?

Are kits and kit building accessories/supplies over priced and of poor quality?

First, read about frustrating experiences (and then some good ones) I had with model kit manufacturers and catalog companies, and then tell us what you think.

Tell us about your good and bad experiences. Tell us what kit manufacturers and modeling accessory suppliers are still on the ball, and those which aren't.

Tell us why you think various outfits are failing us, if you have useful information.

All comments and opinions, disagreements, criticisms, even rassberrys if done with some diplomacy, are welcomed.

FIRST, THE NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

Item #1: I asked Dynaflite some reasonable questions about Chipmunk firewall length and engine mount fit within cowl space for a YS 120 AC in an internet customer support e-mail. A computer answered twice, with mindless and useless information. I appealed that I wanted a human, and so far days have gone by with no answers from a human.

Iten#2: A Dynaflite .pdf file of instructions on the Flybaby was on the website one day, and taken off the next. The one I wanted to study (Chipmunk) was not available.

Item#3: Tower hobbies catalog published glowing sales propaganda about Black Barron film, 21st century Coverite, Towerkote, and Monokote. But it only provided the weight per Sq yard for of Black Barron Film, and none of the others.

Item#4: The Coverite web site published the weight per Sq Yd for Black Barron Film, but skipped this spec for other products.

Item#5: A Horizon Hobbies JR 8103 system had to go back to the factory two consecutive seasons for repair, and ultimately replacement, due to failure or improper quality control of receiver and transmitter digital electronics.

Item#6: A Hobbico chicken stick for .40 engines was wraped with soft foam and was torn to shreds after three flips.

Item #7: An expensive Pro South glow plug energizer split along the plastic sleeve after 12 consecutive uses in one season. The driver won't stay seated on the glow plug.

Item#8: RC Report reported that Sig, the most highly revered kit manufacturer with a long history, has been bought out by a conglomerate, and the high quallity and experienced designers such as Mike Gretz and others no longer work there.

Item#9: Horizon Hobbies Catalog price an 80 to 100 Oz/in torque servo at close to $100, whereas a similar after market version in RC Report goes for $30.

Item#10: Tower sells 2 Oz of Hobbico after run oil for $6.37, whereas a 16 Oz can of Marvel Mystery Oil at my local Ace sells for $2.87.

Item #10: After I bought Great Planes Real Flight simulator, I was told it won't run under Windows 2000 Professional Operating system, the flag ship and highest quality Op Sys Microsoft ever produced. No explanation. A year later, it still won't. I can't run it.

Do these kit, catalog and accessory suppliers think I'm stupid?

Now, for three positive, indeed outstanding experiences:

Item #1: Central Hobbies of Montanna answered all my questions about needed engine parts and supplies, gave me excellent purchasing advice, and sent items UPS within two days.

Item#2: YS engines tech support was truly impressive. Rick Mattes answered detailed questions about rebuilding and breaking in a YS 120 AC, and gave extensive support for setting up high and low speed needle valve settings.

Item#3: Bruce Tharpe of Bruce Tharpe Engineering produced a surperlative Flying King kit. The instructions are immaculate. And in person on the phone he answered all my questions about engine choices, flaps and other building options. This guy is really impressive and straight. Interestingly, Bruce broke away from Sig (perhaps when it bought out by a conglomerate), and makes hand cut kits on his own.

Item#4: Harry Higley's books on engines and building are a model for us all of inteligence, care, detail, thought, art and craftmanship taken to the highest levels. If you really want to learn to build and fly models, study Higley.

Item#5: An Ace battery charger and recycler has worked flawlessly for 10 seasons.

Now its Your turn.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

My main complaint about kit makers is that there isn't enough of them. There are so many ARF makers now it's silly.

Note that I'm not anti-ARF. There are some very good ARF's but I see the day coming when the flightline isn't real varied. I just wish they would offer kit and ARF versions for all planes.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

I agree with Inorris. BARF's are taking over because no one wants to be bothered building anymore, so the kit MFG's are suffering for it. That's one reason I give BARF fliers such a hard time. Hopefully I can shame them into learning to build instead of flying TOY airplanes.

As far as your beef with lack of info on websites, I can tell you first hand what that's about. My company hosts some of the biggest sites on the web (I won't name our clients, but let it suffice to say that one of our SMALLER ones is an NFL team... from Florida... The ones that smell like fish).

Anyway, just to give you an idea of what's involved, one of our customers has over 18,000 products on their sight. Each product has at LEAST 4 pictures (and as many as 7). I am responsible for those pictures. If I have a $10 product that is missing a picture, and a $5000 product that is missing a picture, I'm really not overly concerned with the $10 product. Don't get me wrong, every picture is important, it's just that I have 18,000 other products that are important too. Plus, keep in mind that in most cases, the info needed for a site comes from the MFG, not from the seller. I can't tell you how many times our client buys a new product which the MFG says they will send the artwork for, and when it's time to put the product on-line... NO PICTURES!

Sig corrects mis-information
 

Scot Christensen corrects mis-information I stated at the beginning of this thread.

Peter Hoon

Christensen replies:

Partner, you are certainly the victim of bad informtion regarding your post in R/C Universe. Let me set the record straight for you:
1) Sig was purchased four years ago by an INDIVIDUAL who has been a long time friend and associate of Hazel Sig-Hester. Sorry, no "conglomerates" involved.
2) Mike Gretz has been, is and will continue to be an important part of our design team. He is, by the way, very happy.
3) Bruce Tharpe left Sig long before it was sold and did so to be geographically closer to his family and to pursue the creation of his own company.

It never ceases to amaze how bad information is spread by sources that don't take the time to check their stories.
Regards,
Scott Christensen
Vice President, Product Development
SIG Mfg. Co., Inc.

To email S. Christensen, you can use this online form:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/member.php...rm&userid=5326

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

I agree with the replies there aren't enough kits. I truly enjoy building, even though I'm rather slow due to work and family obligations. I've resorted to designing my own stuff now because I can't find kits of interest...

As for the initial post, some comments:

Beef #9: To some degree, you get what you pay for. Are JR servos $70 better? Maybe, maybe not. But at least you have the choice to buy $30 servos instead of the $100 ones (probably digitals at that).

Beef #10(b): I have run RealFlight G2 on Windows 2000 with the parallel transmitter interface for the past year and a half. No problems.

Kudo #1: Central is the absolute best. I have never had a problem with an order from them. Also, Radical R/C has been a great company to deal with for wiring and batteries.

I also have to hand out a kudo to Horizon for picking up Ultracote when Goldberg went down. I was in misery for a while having to go back to Monokote when Ultracote became scarce.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

<<That's one reason I give BARF fliers such a hard time...>>

Well, some BARF fliers are quite accomplished kit builders; but just don't have the TIME necessary to build one kit after another. Or, they get the opportunity to purchase a quality BARF at a price they couldn't build a comparable kit for- good example being the H9 CAP 232 I paid $200 for last Xmas and am just now finishing up.

I do a decent job of building; when I have the time. But ARFs are getting to the point nowadays when the quality is just as good, and in some cases, better, than I could do; and for about equal money and a LOT less time.

Bad attitude to take, Mike. How much new meat do you think would be joining our ranks without ARFs? My first R/C model was an ARF, back in 1987. I doubt I would gotten started in the hobby if I had needed to take the time and effort to build a kit. I had even less time for myself back then than I do now.

And yes, I think we are generally getting ripped on product prices. But it's a niche market; and compared to some other "specialty" hobbies, we don't have it bad.

A co-worker thinks I'm nuts for having close to two grand invested in my X-Cell helicopter. I think he is an idiot for having over TWENTY grand invested in his fishing rig; which he uses perhaps once every two months.

Whatever trips your trigger...

Steve

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Steve, you said it all. I wouldn't be flying today if it wasn't for arf.
I fly both kit and arf models. Juggling time between work, family, and kit building is a tough thing to do. I love to build and have built some nice models but If I want time to fly them, I have to own some arf's.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Appreciate the comments about ARFs.

If you apply quality control checks, so many ARFs are tradegies waiting to happen, and money wasted.

Many of us feel that the reviews in RCM and MAN come close to being nothing more than industry shills.

Why have we reached the point where we can't trust what is said in kit/ARf reviews by most modeling magazines?

Why should we, as modellers, accept such a state of affairs?

Ladies and gentlemen, we can do a lot to get the quality of kits and ARFs up to higher levels. One place to begin, its to demand higher quallity kit and ARF reviews from RC Modeller, RC Report, High Flight, MAN, etc.

I've been reading a lot of ARF (and kit) reviews, particualrly by Dick Petite, in RC Report. If you ignore the bland propaganda that many reviewers seem compelled to include at the end of reviews, such as: "The plane flew well!", or "There are only 800 being offered!" "Get one!", "Aside from the stated instruction manual problems, this ARF flew well!" and concentrate on the content of the review, you will find that many ARFs are lousy, and some kits are a waste of money.

I've been able to find fatal flaws in many of the reviews, that to any throughtful modeler, should be big warning, red flags: Mix of metric and SAE, landing gear too thin (Chineese steel), missing items, incomplete or confusing instructions, had to dig for a motor mount that would fit, had to buy many parts to complete, had to wait for parts I found out I needed to order after I received the kit, cowl was flimsy anhd bought after market fibre-glass replacement, retract landing gear collapsed, instructions out of sequence, poorly written descriptions with no pictures, instructions incorrect at various points, had to buy quality replacement control horns, etc.

If you find even two of these in an ARF/kit review, don't buy it!

Gentlemen and ladies, if we buy the really quality kits and ARFS, and refuse to compromise, the industry will shape up!

Reviews need to be more honest and hard hitting. And Dick Petite and others at RC Report can do a better job of this. RCM, High Flight, and MAN need to first make the necessary changes to get up to Dick Petite's standards, and then go beyond them.

I think RC Report is good, but Dick Petite (for whom I have a lot of respect) needs to do a better job in reporting the problems he ran across. There is too much repetition across reviews of the obvious mundane, routine building steps, that simply tells us nothing, and takes up valuable space. He should concentrate on describing the building problems he ran across, the methods he used to overcome them, and whether the kit/ARF manufacturer could have included better materials, designs, or instructions, that would have made the problems easier to surmount.

A lot of space is spent telling me that "the plane tracked down the runway and headed into the sky with authority at 1/2 throttle."

So what? They all do. Give me useful, real information: Tell me how you set up the controls, whether the recommended throws need to be changed, whether you recommend metal, fibreglass replacement of plastic horns the kit came with, should a 100 oz/in torque servo be placed on the rudder if I want do knife edges?, is a metal gear servo a good choice for this model's stab?, what percent of down elevator did you mix in for the 1/2 inch flap movement?, if I get tired, can the plane fly itself at low throttlewith a little bit of stick input to keep a figure 8 going?, etc.

Editors should require kit/ARF reviewers to give overall letter grades to kits and ARFs they review. Is it an A, B, C or D? I think editors should require review summaries with letter ratings in separate categories: The clairity and completeness of instructions, part/wood quality (chinzy low quality hardware or high quality), plans readability, difficulty/skill level required, tool complexity required, kit/ARF design (excessive parts count vs. simplicity and low parts count), overall structural strength, how well the buidling sequence was designed, enjoyability (was it hair pulling to get it together, or was it really a satisfying and enjoyable process?), and finally, flight capability.


For example, most modelers and kit reviewers agree that a Bruce Tharpe kit is something special. Bruce specifically designs kits so that building them is an enjoyable process, not a bunch of frustration and anger. Flight capability is outstanding. Here is a kit standard to judge others by. Does the Dynaflite Chipmunk measure up to the Bruce Tharpe quality? If not, how far from it is it, and what needs to be done to get up to that standard?

Who wouldn't pay more to own a kit like this?

If a reviewer gives a kit/ARF a low rating, the editor should give the kit/ARF manufacturer rebuttal space (standard journalistic practice) to say what changes he is making, why, and when a new, revised kit/ARF with the changes will be available.

Once, Petite reviewed an SE 5 kit that crashed on the first flight due to structural problems. There should have been more emphasis on what exactly failed and why. The kit manufacturer should have been allowed rebuttal space in the next issue so they could tell us how they were going to change the design for future purchasers.

Are there new tests underway to search for new flaws?

We can all learn so much from a crash like this. It can be a chance for a kit manufacturer to redeem himself, and describe new changes and improvements in the next issue that make the kit now worth buying, after all.

I don't expect kit/ARF manufacturers and reviewers to be perfect. I just want them to be honest, and in there fighting for the every-day modeller like me.

Geez, I have klutzy moments when I read and re-read the instructions with no clue as to what they mean. Then in exasperation, the next minute I've jabbed an exacto knife into my thumb and Barbara can't find the bandaids! Hell, its time to quit and go for a jog.

Give me the kit/ARF manufacturer who made changes in response to problems noted by others, and now offers an improved product, any day. Give me the kit manufacturer who includes an addenda to his instruction manual. This is the guy who is humble. This is the guy who is a scholar and a gentleman. This is the guy I could call and get some advice from. This is the guy who will inspire me to learn from my problems, and move forward.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Arf's do have their pros and cons. First it allows people to get into the hobby with minimal time and knowledge. Second, it allows people that don't have time to build, time to fly.
a Con would be that all of them look alike. From what I have found, having a few arfs are alright, but when arfs are all one has in their stable, there is something wrong with it. A bit of the hobby has been lost when one doesn't build their aircraft. Truthfully I like building more than flying. Seeing my creation fly just happens to be the icing on my cake.
Kyle

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

<<...reviews in RCM and MAN...industry shills...>>

Well, are you surprised? The advertising industry is what drives print media. Like everything else in the world, it boils down to one of three things; money, power, or sex. In this case, the big-buck advertising fees that magazines charge fuels an entire business.

I know more about this than I care to, due to having been involved as a writer for more than a few years. The basic name of the game is "don't irritate the advertisers". Some magazines (and writers) are more truthful than others (R/C Report shines here), but even they can be guilty of soft-soaping a problem. Forget about MAN; you will NEVER see anything majorly negative in that rag. Just a quick look at the tooth-to-tail ratio (the number of pages with genuine editorial content vs the number of pages crammed with ads) is a big clue there. They have lots of glitzy photos, though. What more can a guy ask for???<G>

Having "irritated the advertisers", I can tell you that their reprisal is usually swift and vicious. My editor at the time stood behind me, as well as standing behind the other writers who called it like they saw it. The result was no big-buck advertisers, and the publication has languished for the last few years; although it is back now with a new owner/publisher and new blood. We'll see how it does.

As long as you keep in mind that your average modeling magazine is really a sort of monthly catalog, you'll be okay. A few writers can be depended upon to tell the whole story, but most of them (and/or their editors) know which side of the bread has the butter.

It ain't right, but it's real...

Steve

Great Planes
 

Have you looked at them as a model for kits? I have built so many Great Planes kits, I could not put a number on it and the reason that I do build them is that they are all top quality with a support net work that cannot be beat. I have had a number of problems with, missing pieces, wrong parts, 2 lefts and no rights, and Great Planes has alway's been right on the mark as far as fixing the problems. They have most of the technical stuff about all the kits on the web, ie throws and balance, and when I have asked for tech support on a question that I have had, they have always gotten back to me in a day or two. They have even posted recalls on the net for problem products. Just my thoughts on what a kit manufactour shpould be like. Good Luck, Dave

Re: Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Item#9: Horizon Hobbies Catalog price an 80 to 100 Oz/in torque servo at close to $100, whereas a similar after market version in RC Report goes for $30.

What are the brands and model numbers of the servos in question?


Item#10: Tower sells 2 Oz of Hobbico after run oil for $6.37, whereas a 16 Oz can of Marvel Mystery Oil at my local Ace sells for $2.87.

What? Where did you hear that? The current price is $2.29

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...1&I=LXL391&P=7

Item #10: After I bought Great Planes Real Flight simulator, I was told it won't run under Windows 2000 Professional Operating system, the flag ship and highest quality Op Sys Microsoft ever produced. No explanation. A year later, it still won't. I can't run it.

Thats odd, it works fine in Win2k for me. Are you sure its not due to your hardware or out of date drivers? Does your video card properly support DirectX? Do you have the most up to date DirectX installed?


Do these kit, catalog and accessory suppliers think I'm stupid?

No, they are probably just understaffed and overworked like every other business right now.

-Jeremy

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

KUDOS to the posts by Phoon, Kylenlord, Steve Campbell2 and David Agar!

Although I do take a small exception to one of Kyle's remarks about ARF's...
You list this as a PRO, I see it as a CON.

But that's beside the point. As many of you have seen, I have not had very many good things to say about ARF's. I am still not crazy about the idea, and I really can't see ever buying one because, like Kyle, I like building as well as flying, and I too think that you're losing an important aspect of the hobby if you're not building. And while I try to think that I don't care about what other people think, the fact of the matter is, I do. I build very nice, precision, wooden model aircraft. And I would love to tell people about it. But unfortunately, VERY few people outside the hobby know anything about it. So at a party, for instance, my wife may tell someone, "Mike builds model airplanes". And the people look at you, smile politely, and say something like "Oh, that's nice." while they are picturing you sitting at a little table gluing 6" plastic wings onto a plastic body and hanging it up in your bedroom. Too many people think I'm playing with toys here, and some of the ARF's on the market are (IMO) not much more that a step above, and THAT is what I resent. That someone may have seen an R/C field where people are flying some of these "TOY" airplanes and think that that is what I do.
But I must eat a little crow here. (and I plan to post this in the ARF forum as well) Last night a guest arrived at our field with an ARF called the "Aresti" (Help me out with the pronunciation here. Is it Ar'-estee or a-REST'-ee? Is the "A" like "ARROW, or like "ARGYLE", or like "Arrest"?) Anyway, I must say that this was a VERY nice airplane. If all ARF's were like this, I wouldn't feel so compelled to insult the people who buy them.

Let's get together and demand more quality!!!

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Just want to put my 2 cents in for Sig kits. I personally own and fly about six Sig kits. Profile ultimate, King Kobra, (my Favorite) Hog bipe, Kavelier, Kougar, Profile Fazer (she's gone to that balsa dust factory in the sky now) and have had their 4 star series 120 and 40.....They are all great builders and flyers.....
I have found Sig offers great support of their kits. Did you know you can call them and buy any piece or pieces of their kits that you need at very reasonable prices. I crashed the King Kobra last fall and they were great. When I asked them if I could buy certian items they told me " you can get anything you need" and they mean it ! They also offer fuse and wing kits....how many times have you had a fuse or wing survive a crash and wish you could just replace the needed items. I will cont. to deal with Sig thay are great !
My 2 cents
Brian

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

I build Sig kits also and them and Great Planes are easier to build than some ARFS I've seen.

The only beef I have against them is why don't they offer their 1/4 scale ARFs in kit form? I'd LOVE to build the Cap 231EX. Does Sig feel that it's too complicated for us and that only $1/day workers in China have the skills to build it?

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

I totally agree with the comments about SIG and Great Planes kits! They are second to none! (Goldberg comes in a respectable third)

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

To Jharkin:

"Item#9: Horizon Hobbies Catalog price an 80 to 100 Oz/in torque servo at close to $100, whereas a similar after market version in RC Report goes for $30.

What are the brands and model numbers of the servos in question?"


Right after page 13 of September RC reports, MPI Speciality Servos (www.maxxprod.com), MX-460-HPX, 100 oz/in Torque, 2 BB (not digital) lists for $29.99. A roughly equivalent JR servo in Horizon Hobbies Big Book Vol II goes for $90. This servo is also not digital.

"Thats odd, it works fine in Win2k for me. Are you sure its not due to your hardware or out of date drivers?"

Thanks. I'm pleased to learn that flight Simulator may now work under Win2K after all. I have a 4 meg, pretty good video driver. I'll get right on the possibility of getting the simulator up and running at last.

Peter Hoon

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Thats your problem right there - the 4 meg video card. The system requirements are a minimum 3d accelerated card with 8MB of memory.

http://www.realflight.com/g2_system.html

Nowadays, even bargain cards have 32MB of ram or more, decent inexpensive ones include:

Nvidia GeForce 4 MX420 64MB, usually around $70-90
ATI Radeon 8500LE 64MB, around $90
Matrox G450 32MB, around $80

You may even be able to find an older Geforce 2 card for $50 or less.

Or, if your willing to spend more($150-$300), one of the GeForce4 Ti boards or the new ATI Radeon 9000 series will make G2 run really smooth with all detail on.

Sources for the lowest prices on various cards:AnandTech Vid Card Price Guide

-Jeremy

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

At the risk of giving away my age here, I have built models since 1956. Over the years, I have seen great improvements in the kits. You even get hardware in the kits now. I usually judge kit quality by price. If I give around 150 bucks for a 80" scale, I know I have a lot of building to do and some hardware to replace. I feel that it is a trade off. I can either build longer or pay more.

Kit vs arf- Here is my beef- Why don't the mfg's offer the arfs in covered or ready to cover. The ready to cover would slow down the clone effect, allow beefing up of the glue joints, and let you change hard point hardware such as those tiny metal screws that attach struts. The arc cost should be better and you could choose the covering material of your choice.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

To Minnflyer:

Thanks for your support in getting improved quality.

You said:

"VERY few people outside the hobby know anything about it. So at a party, for instance, my wife may tell someone, "Mike builds model airplanes". And the people look at you, smile politely, and say something like "Oh, that's nice." while they are picturing you sitting at a little table gluing 6" plastic wings onto a plastic body and hanging it up in your bedroom."

Most fellows describe building and flying RC as a "Hobby" or "Sport". Its not. Its time that we move from away macho denial, and state the truth:

Building and flying RC is an art from just like any other art form: painting, pottery, sculpture, Renaissance art, Impressionist art, Modern art.

When you are building an RC ship, you are participating in the joys and frustrations of an artistic process, that changes and grows, and which is an essential part of the human experience. And while you build, you build a common bond with artists through the ages.

Flying the ship is just as demanding artistically, maybe more so.

I didn't like the Church Crucifixion and Alter paintings in Florence during a trip to Italy. Barbara said I was becomming "irritable". But when I arrived at the Uffizi Gallery, and sat down to look at Michelangelo's "David", all that changed.

I spent 90 minutes studying the sculpture from various directions. The detail on muscle and t endon was beyond beleif. By the time I left, I had tears in my eyes. I'll never forget it.

Last Spring at Top Gun, I saw a Stearman Bipe. I asked the owner if I could look at it. I watched it fly. Then I studied it from several vantage points, closeup, and when I left, I had tears in my eyes. I'll never forget it.

Minnflyer, from now on, I think you and your wife should think in different terms:

"Mike is an artist. He's developing artistic talent, technique and skill, and making progress. He seeks to build replicas of various famous airplanes through the history of flight from the turn of the last century. He's never quite satisfied with his work (no artist is), and he's hoping for greater realism in his next project.

Come on upstairs and take a look at his latest effort. It's in a "skeleton" stage.

And you know what? The amazing part is that Mike's art is kinetic. His artistic replicas actually fly!"

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

phoon: If only I could use your whole post in my sig...

Wonderfully done!!!

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Gee folks, I'm speechless... <Blush>

But you are right, this IS an art form in many ways, and I DO look at it as such. I really am an artist, not just with my planes but also with my work. I do artwork for catalogs and web pages etc. I also do a lot of work with community theater, from acting to singing (everything from Broadway Tunes to Opera) I even did a small stint off Broadway when I was younger. Now I mostly direct shows. But it is all ART!

(Ok, I guess I wasn't so speechless after all)

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

Oh Brother!,
Remember its not "garbage man" but "Sanitation Engineer"
No more "swamps" but "protected wetlands". Never "bilked investors out of millions through fraud" just "accounting irregularities". We have new definitions for "is" and new definitions of what "sex" is. Now we have to describe ourselves as "artists"? Not me, I'm a guy who likes to fly R/C airplanes for fun. As in "Hobby!"

My neighbors who spend thousands on golf and boating activities, think it's just a waste of money. And they are, of course, correct: I enjoy "wasting" my money on this hobby as much as they enjoy wasting theirs on hitting a ball in a hole and chasing fish. And when its all over, I'll zero regrets over enjoying my life!

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

To Steve Campbell2:

<<As long as you keep in mind that your average modeling magazine is really a sort of monthly catalog, you'll be okay. A few writers can be depended upon to tell the whole story, but most of them (and/or their editors) know which side of the bread has the butter.>>

Steve, thanks for setting me straight on this fact of life.

Maybe we all should move away from the the model mags, to books.

It could be that in a book, we would get more solid information on techniqe, alternatives, materials.

I mentioned the impressive Higley books.

Are there ways we could encourage more talented and knowledgeable modelers, such as Dick Pettit, Frank Tiano, Chip Hyde and others to write books about buidling and flying?

We have the Higley serries, but we need a greater variety of potential authors to step forward and write.

Maybe in a book, authors would give us choices, options, opinions, do's and don'ts, free from advertizer pressures.

Poor service and support in Kit Industry
 

So you're saying that even though I am an artist by trade, that there is no artistic achievement in the airplanes that I build? Sorry, I beg to differ.