This past weekend, at the Marshinke AA, Tucson,

One of our Advanced fliers suffered a failure we've - most of us anyway - heard about before. His ARF shed covering off the lower outboard wing in a scored flight.

Per the AMA Rulebook, a foul, a charged attempt - not a disqualification, nor an official flight with ZERO as score.

He withdrew from the event, as he had no backup model, and was unwilling to try an emergency repair with unpredictable consequences. We've ALL heard of certain ARF providers doing less than an ideal job of covering their models; from fuel seepage into leading edges that barely meet the adjacent piece of covering, to shedding pieces next to each other.

Not knocking the guys who offer us a great bargain in cost and time to get something flying... Just offering the thought that "wiser" flying buddies OWE newer guys a careful look at (most of?) the ARFs brought out to the field, to catch things such as happened to my friend at Tucson.

Personal opinion: Nothing drives people away faster than a supposed sure-fire starter kit that fails. The advice of our "wiser" guys can get the new flying buddy past that with the interest to move even further along. We need new blood, but it has to be worth it to our new friends...

It is.

We know it.

Let's share that secret...