Are you or will you be building from a traditional kit or plan?

[alan king]

currently building a wellington from a kit am starting a 1/4 scale Beechcraft Staggerwing and a Cessna Skymaster 1/4 scale both from plan, love building but put up with ARTF planes simply due to keeping up flying, enjoy building interesting planes and repairing crashed ones for friends often repair ARTF planes for those that plant them.

[r6dan]

Building, if i get my act together..... Xtra Wot, webbitttttttt and fixing slope machine!

[Tim Morton]

I cannot see anyway to vote so how does one vote there's no button to click on or whatever - or is it because i'm on a Mac?

[Tim Morton]

forgot to add - building from plans (1/4 scale Fly Baby & a TN Hurricane)

[fly-navy]

One or two repairs,minor,revamping another model from a Cub to a Cruiser really want to send for the plan for the Flowers FlyBaby biplane and keep thinking I ought to finsh my MR Hurricane kit I bought off Alan C.Too busy enjoying life flying and holidays though.

Much prefer plan building though,getting the plan,absorbing it and what wood is req'd then plan of attack.

John

[Seamus O'Leprosy]

Just finishing a Mantua Fiesler Storch Kit, next a HobbyKing Tiger Moth foamy (lovely little plane and cheap as chips) and for my winter project a DB 1/4 Blackburn Monoplane

[Grumpy61]

Almost finished a Stringbox from plan, just got to make the wheels and cover the plane.

 

DB Tiger Moth kit next.

[Ady Hayward]

Hmm. A bit of all. Just working on a prototype for a foamy kit, then building a different foamy kit for fun/ demos. I've a scratch build balsa/ ply Miles Sparrowjet drawn up for a pair of 40mm edf units which will be started very soon. Who knows what may be inserted into the build schedule.

 

Ady

[FWAL]

In the process of building a 126" Topaz II from kit, designed and building a new fuse for my homebrew OCD, tweaking diff's on my homebrew, rehab 'eppler 374' wing. Also refurbishing a phase 6 and I have acquired an old vintage IC trainer from a neighbour. I've repaired the tailplane and should post some pictures to find out what it is.

[Ben B]

Currently building a Cambrian Hurricane funfighter and loving every minute of it. Proper aeromodelling

[Lee Damms]

Just finishing off Sharkface from plan, Matador next from plan bought at nationals then priory models silhouette kit. ARTF's are just too fragile for my kind of flying/crashing.

[RCMan]

Have been ARTF pretty much since I started, more due to a lack of time than anything but determined to use the winter slow down to build from plan this year, must be ultimatley satisfying to see fly what you have built.

[Paul Adams]

Does building a new wing out of foam to replace a built up wing for a ARTF model count as building from plan, design own or ARTF

[Broken Prop]

I have been buiding a Feiseler Storch (from plans by the other lot) since the dawn of creation.. Only the undercart to do and it will be ready for covering.

I thoroughly enjoy trad building but never seem to get much time to do so. With retirement looming I hope soon to be depleting the balsa forests single handed!

[Peter Miller]

Currently finishing off a 2/9ths scale Druine Turbulent which is commisioned for a part kit manufacturer.

 

Then one of my stretched racing aircraft. Then??????? Perhaps one from my long list of "To do" models

[Alwyn Gee]

I've just added my vote as an ARTF builder following a comment I read on another thread that claims most forumites are trad builders. I couldn't see the results untill I added my vote.

I see that this takes the total of voters to 418. Considering the number of people who seem to pass through this forum it does not seem a very representative sample. I fear that most of the ARTF peeps like me have probably given this one a fly-by. Whilst the vast majority of members on the forum are very welcoming to others of whaterver persuation there are unfortuneatly a few who seem to think we ARTF buiders do not belong to the aeromodelling fraternity. Still the flying field is a great leveller.

Alwyn

[Cyclicscooby]

I don't think that Alwyn..

I fully appreciate, that whilst i've always been a techy, nerdy, hands on person, many people are not.. My brother can chuck out a 'Da Vinci' painting in 5mins, but can barely wire a plug.. I'm the opposite..

We shouldn't diss-allow non-builders, not to enjoy the fun of flying, hence ARTF / RTF models taking off so well

If you are prepared to make your own plane, there are other considerations

I started with two ARTF's, and glueing the tailplane on WAS a massive surgical task, I wasn't sure I could do properly...

It takes time to learn.. and maybe a banana or two trying, but the satisfaction, at the end is emense, and will drive you on to do more

All that aside, building requires £££ of tools, and more importantly TIME... And NONE of us, regardless of money or experience, have enuf of that..!!!

You enjoy yourself, that's what it's all about, not who's got the biggest workbench..

Luv

Chrisie.. xx

[ken anderson.]

three massive cheers for young chrisie's view above.......think she should be next Mod for the forum........

ken anderson ne..1 ...chrisie fan club/north east.

[Myron Beaumont]

Ken

After your good self of course

Myron chrisie & ken fan club dept./ N Yorks

[alan king]

Alwyn

if you fly ARTF aircraft the only problem you may encounter is the repairs you need to do when you suffer a heavy arrival, the fact has to be that ARTF aircraft have done more for the hobby than anything else has over the years, some enterprising manufacturer has been clever enough to use modern equipment to offer light very flyable planes built on the whole well and accurately.

i built my first kit when I was six, i build off plan and from kit and I fly ARTF planes too, the fact is that i enjoy the challange of flying as much as i enjoy building, I like to make changes to ARTF kits that make them more accurate in scale but otherwise I appreciate the place they hold in the hobby.

It is a sad fact though that as many people have one point of view their are others who will have another, now here is my question to the builders only out there, is your kit built/ plan built model better than an ARTF which has purpose made wheel rims, purpose built cockpit, purpose built onboard starter and then is flown using an engine with a purpose built exhaust etc and also may be stripped and recovered and scale detail added.

the fact is that some people do not have the skills required to do things and some do not have enough time in their lives to build all the planes they would like to fly so why not make use of a service which makes this possible, do you turn your nose up at those who see a financial advisor or a mechanic or a paint shop for the car.

welcome all to your flying field and stop trying to impress others they are impressed enough to see your creations fly and sometimes it is impressive to see a well presented ARTF fly, you would not fly in a A380 i had cobbled together in my garden would you, well knowing some peoples DIY skills I would not want to be near to any of the creations they build when they fly them.

Building from plan or kit is fun but then so is flying.

[Cyclicscooby]

Luv

Chrisie.. xx

[Del Wheatley]

I like to build my own stuff from kits,i enjoy the building more than flying.

I only started in the hobby about 6 months ago,so far i have a half finnished nijhuis sky 40 and a west wings beguine that i threw together so i could teach myself to fly.

I am going to get an artf because my nephew has shown an intrest in flying not building(yet).So i will let him have a go and see how he get on with it.

[Richard V-D]

Building (albeit slowly) a Flair Cub. My first build and a bit of a learning curve in places.

[buster prop]

I've built from kits and plans and own a few ARTFs as well. I must admit that I don't own-design, mainly because all the building time, wood and expense may result in a plane that flies like a pig. However, I built a West Wings Orion-E from the kit over last winter and a small vintage plane from a free plan. They both fly well. Having said all that I was in my LMS the other day and bought a Park Zone Micro T-28 which was on offer as an BNF. I bound it to my Tx and set up the controls. Have just taxied it around the kitchen floor but haven't flown it yet as its really windy here and keeps raining. The T-28 joins my Micro Mustang which is a great little flier. I put free plans that I like the look of aside for possible building projects, now have quite a pile of them.

[David Hodgson]

I'm about to start building a Limbo Dancer from plan followed by a large (90" span) Decathlon which is part plan /part own design. If weather is nice I'll go fly my ARTFs, when is not creating a hosepipe ban I will escape to the workshop. Either way I'm happy.

Edited By David Hodgson on 26/04/2012 15:02:45