Well I'll at least answer your last question--I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio and my Profile and FAI competition models are scratch built; my Sport Scale and Fun Scale models are converted R/C kits.

I'll keep my opinions on your other questions to myself.
Chuck

Larry--you certainly did not offend me.

Chuck

Larry,
As I recall you are producing a Fokker DVII as a scale kit. Cool for me, as at 48 I can recall as a little boy going to Frank Tallman's Tallmantz Movieland of the Air Museum at Orange County Airport and seeing those airplanes and watching them fly on certain days.

I for the life of me cannot remember when I last saw a real WWI airplane at an airshow that my kids looked at. I watched the Tri-Plane and Camel with a real rotary in it at the Planes of Fame show last year, but the kids were looking at WWII, Korean War jets, and airshow airplanes like the Edge and Extra, and Sukoi's that have spectacular paint jobs to get the kid's attention.

The airplanes that we grew up with aren't too popular with the kids these days. They don't read about Rickenbacker and McCudden in the pulps! But, there are Discovery Channel specials on dogfights and simulator games featuring many different WWII and newer stuff. These ships do attract some youth attention. My ten year olds favorite airplane right now is the P-38. He sees it at the Museum and sees it fly occasionally and he likes it's non-standard look, so it attracts attention.

In my mind a big seller to kids in the hobby shop isn't likely a Fokker DVII. It isn't my cup of tea either, and I won't be buying one. But there is hope. If one's efforts were to ask kid's at the airshow, "what do you like?" and they said "...the Edge, Tumbling Bear Zlin, and the Sea Fury with smoke behind it and the jets...", that might give one an idea of at least some interest in cool and/or older stuff.

I often think of a jet with one of these little electric fans (that really do put out some decent thrust!) that would make jets at least doable, too.

So scale is cool and kids like the models. But; the kids doing it are (like it was when I was a kid) most likely the ones that have dad's that do it too, and will only be motivated if they can find some subject to model that will fire the kids imagination.

Thanks for continuing to produce some interesting kits and subjects not done elsewhere, but if you are going to think about kitting some larger sized scale kits, it would be worth your while, in my opinion only, to make some stuff that will apeal to the children that at least go to the airshow with their folks and see the stuff there. A 36 inch Mig 15 or F-16 would be a really neat model, and they aren't any harder to build than a biplane. But they sure do appeal to the youth. A fifty inch Profile Scale Mustang or full bodied Red Bull Edge would sure be nice, too. These fit into contest events and look the part.
 

Thanks,
Chris...

Picture is of my eldest son's 1991 Nats winning 1/2A Typhoon. Jeremiah built this when he was ten years old.   

Larry;
    Scale models need to be larger to fly well in all weather conditions. My Ryan NYP has a forty inch wing span weights about 2 lbs and is powered by 0.25, and if there is any wind blowing on contest day I might as well go home. There is no way it is able to slow down and do good touch and goes and landings if there is any wind. My 0.40 size and larger plans weighing 5 to 10 lbs fly much better, or at least they fly consitant even if the nut on the handle doesn't.

Leroy