redbluffwingnut

My Feedback: (2)

I look in the for sale ads and i see the very nice aircrafts that are brand new never used , when i build a plane i fly it , can anyone inlighten me just gessing i tend to think something went bad with the build but there are too many being sold for that to be true on all of them

Don41

Just speculating here but there are many people (myself included) that love to build but find the actual flying of lesser interest.

If the builder has taken the time to set the control throws and carefully balance the plane then it should be okay. After all,, look at all the ARFs out there and I know (based on the few I've assembled for others) that they are riddled with problems yet most will fly fairly well.

redbluffwingnut

My Feedback: (2)

I can understand that but why take a loss when you sell , offer to build other peoples aircraft that don't build

Don41

I'm not sure what you mean by taking a loss. You didn't mention that in the original post.

Speaking for myself I might build a plane and try to price it out at my actual expense but unfortunately a builder usually spends a lot more on a plane than he could ever hope to recoup simply because he buys quality material and in very small quantities.

I just recently started in again (about a year ago) building planes but I can see the handwriting on the walls,,, I rarely try to sell anything so I'll have rafters collecting planes once again (:-).

Unlike the parties you refer to I always fly my creations for awhile but inevitably a new kit is there, luring me back to the building table.

redbluffwingnut

My Feedback: (2)

What i was refering to was that if you have 1,000.00 invested why sell it for 800.00 never used

BadSplice

My Feedback: (1)

I would guess that to some people it doesnt look like a loss. If just the process of creating the plane is the fun part, and gazing at the finished product... and you would never want to fly it... then youre left with a large, basically useless, thing that you have to store.

On the other hand, if you sell it, you not only have the room, but most of the cash to get on to the next project, and actually, you have made a bunch of money in the process over flying and perhaps crashing the plane. In fact, now you already have most of what you need for the next thing you want to make!

Not saying this is my strategy, but I can imagine it. I still want to find that perfect relationship my uncle had with a flying friend of his... My uncle could fly, but wasnt much of a builder, and his friend could build beautiful planes, but would crash them if he tried to fly... (I would be the one flying hehe)

Flying freak

Some of the BIG rtf stuff i suspect its a guys dream plane he built a 40% or what ever spent 10k but now doesnt have the guts to fly it so its turned into a hanger queen for 5 years and is now selling im sure thats a story that is duplicated many times.

redbluffwingnut

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks guys i was just gunshy about buying something that had more into it than they are asking

Live Wire

red
What you are looking at is an expensive hobby with a bunch of cheep skates looking for a free ride. I am one that build for the love of it not what I can gain from another but just try to get your investment back [:@] NO WAY. When you can buy an ARF for way less than you can buy a good kit built plane why mess with the good builder. Just put the screws to him

rcpilot96080

I build and fly and as with Redbluff if i build it i will fly it at least once before i sell or trade i too am a bit gunshy for i have bought a so called good deal just find a BIG BIG mistake hidden in the build i have built ARF's and Kits and some building from plans. Now i'm not saying that every one out there is selling Crap i know better i have bought Tons of other peoples used planes and i Stress Used i have never in the 18 yrs of flying bought a plane that was built but not tryed for i feel if someone goes to all the trouble of building it they can at least have some experanced pilot fly it to show the builder what wonderful builder he or she is (my wife builds but hardly ever flys ) thanks for the time

DON

broke_n_bummin

As for the "taking a loss" idea, well, that happens. You buy an OS .81 Four stroke for $400 today to go on a plane that never gets built. 2 or 3 years later, that same engine only costs $250. You're faced with a choice: Keep the $400 paper weight or try to get what you can out of it. ARFs and kits work the same way. The only way you can get most of your money back is to find a quality ARF somewhere like a hobby shop that has gone out of business, throw in a few servos you have laying around, blow the dust off a transmitter that hasn't been used in a few years and sell it as an RTF (that's never been flown).

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

FOR SALE : One Slightly Screwed Up Kit. Never Flown. Looks Perfect .

At least thats how I read it.

Stickbuilder

Gee, I guess that If I build a nice model and then make a gift of it to a beginner, then the investment into growing the hobby is considered a loss. I don't think so. I would never build a model for someone else, nor will I sell one of my scale models for someone to pass off as his own (did that once, never again). I do, however, make gifts of planes occasionally, to a beginner. These guys are in the hobby for the pure fun of it. I don's see it as a loss. I see it as an investment for the future of the hobby. He gets a nice model, I get the space, I had the enjoyment of building and flying it until I was tired of it, and he learns to fly something besides a powered bread sack. It is a win-win situation. I would have spent more money on green fees, and cart rentals than I spent on the materials in the plane, if I had spent the same amount of time on the Golf course, as I spent on building the model (I might have found a way to correct my slice though).

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

wingedwonder

i think also that many people buy new planes just to keep the hobby new and fun.when the snow is falling and days are numbered for flying but still fly when its not totally freezing. its fun to get a new plane home and get started on it. then some where down the road you realize this isnt the plane you really want so to the auction block it goes. lol also on the same not ive been one of those guys that have been only flying arfs and didnt really have any interest in buying a kit plane or trying to build a kit plane.i didnt want to be building when i could be flying.but now that ive bought several kit planes and see how detailed and the time put in to them to get them ready to fly.building is deffinatly a whole other side to enjoying the hobby, to seewhat youve created fly and touch down for a great flight,thats deffinatly rewarding.my uncle was kind that person,he loved to put them together and watch them fly much more than flying them him self.when i would fly his planes i would always ask him if he want to fly it around some and he would always say "no no i like to see what you can make it do " well gladly i would fly his plane to the best of my ability and grease it in as best as i could on the landing . i could tell right away he enjoyed seeing the plane fly then actually flying it.he never really flew anything more than a trainer and he was fine with that.even though he was just learning how to fly he bought many planes from 30% planes to small 1/2A.he had more planes in 3 years in the hobby than ive had in 20 years but that was his enjoyment in the hobby. i guess thats why some people dont understand when a new plane thats never been flow goes up for sale,why is it for sale before its been flown. some just like the enjoyment of a new plane. kraig

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

It's pretty much the same as buying a set of golf clubs or a good selection of fishing equipment. That is the price YOU pay to enjoy YOUR chosen hobby. If you buy those things thinking you will recover your money when you decide to get out of the hobby, you best not do it. If I build an airplane and have $1,000.00 in it and decide to sell it for $800.00, it has cost me $200.00 to enjoy my chosen hobby for that period of time. I need to understand and accept that going in. The money one spends on enjoying his chosen hobby had best be disposable money that he understands is gone forever. If at some point he gets some of it back, wonderful, but don't count on it.

If I'm going to make an investment with an eye to making a profit, I will buy Krugerrands or Maple Leafs, put them in a glass case and hide them somewhere, and then worry about somebody stealing them from me. Loads of satisfaction there.

summerwind

i'm a modeler of 44 years, from Free Flight competition models to all out scale. when Dad passed away in '92 i gave up modeling as i found no time anymore fro some reason, or i just lacked the desire beings that my Dad was now gone.
for 15 years i got involved in photography which i still love, but at the beginning of this year i was surfing the net, came on to Towers site and saw all the newest breed of ARF's.............saw the GP Super Skybolt and it was all over....that plane was/is me. i bought 2 of them, built the one i just started flying (actually built it in March, chickened out and started with a Big Stik), and the bird flew out of the box.
in the meantime i wanted another bird, and the Super Stearman hit me.......bought it, set it up with an OS ft160 twin. my flying buddy from way back scorned me for not at least building something that showed my skills, (last bird i built was a Proctor Nieuport 28) so i'm now building a Proctor Nieuport 11 with which i bought a Laser 80 for, and after seeing the Laser, i got the urge to get another Nieuport 28 plus a Laser 200V for the 28............guess where the money has to come from?
so i'm currently selling my Super Stearman to help fund the Laser...........not everyone who sells a plane here is selling junk.

rcpilot96080

I myself was not saying all new aircraft were junk i was just trying to understand why after building an ARF or Kit why it would be sold without at least putting in the air once i allways fly my Babys at least once that way i know it was built right and when someone ask me how it flys i can tell them or if i made a mistake in the build (like thats gonna happen LOL) i can fix it or trash it // i have built planes that fly fine but after flying i found it wasn't my cup of tea and i never ask new prices on anything i sell as i fly it at least once that makes it used with me the selling price is obout half for i had the joy of building and flying it and for the people that build you know what i'm talking about // thanks for your feedback

DON

summerwind

i concur Don,

in my case, as much love as i put into the Stearman i'm selling, i'd rather not take a chance with it. being an ARF, i have no loveloss for the aircraft other than what it stands for design wise.
if i had built it from the ground up, i'd probably not ever let it go.
ARF's are great, but they are like clothing to me.............5 guys can wear the same exact suit, but the one that was custom made is always going to wear differently.

sebo

Selling at a discount in order to pay for medical expenses, car wreck, wife's Christmas present.
Lots of reasons. When we recognize that sometimes something means more to us than an airplane or two, we bite the bullet and unload it at a price less than what we have put into it.
In some cases it is a matter of priorities.