<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Why are these kits so expensive? As a manufacturer of pattern kits I can offer some insight. Not long ago,1999 I paid $425 for a Prophecy kit. This kit was a wet layup, a couple of layers of fiberglass, and chin cover and belly cover of the same contruction, and the needed foam pieces for for wings/stab. Great plane good value. Now look at the construction of the kits everyone is getting now. Vacuum bagged "A" sandwich fuses needing no additional formers, twice the area size of the older kit at about the same weight, primed-painted in the mold, preskinned wings and stab, carbon fiber, kevelar reinforcements. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">What this means is these kits require about twice the labor of the older kits, and for materials....I buy 1 square yard of fiberglass (like the old kits were made from) for $4-5/yd. The carbon fiber used on the CF-Aries and the up coming Symphony costs $75/yd-no kidding.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">In addition, to these costs, to make these complex planes better and more accurrate, the use of 3-D CAD is really a necessity. You can do it by hand for hundreds and hundreds of hours or you can do it on the computer for thousands and thousands (and thousands) of dollars. Everyone wants preskinned wings and ARFS because they do not have time to build....same with us, so we opted for the 3-D CAD, and I assume so does Pl and ZN.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">If you want to see what I mean by the 3D CAD go to the Aeroslave web site and click on the Symphony. 3-D CAD is great, but very expensive, and that has to be passed on to the consumer. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Pl and ZN have alot of secondary cost issues because they are imported. Remove all that and you have about an $800-1200 kit, that is much more complex and has extras never offered on the $425 kit. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">As you can see, I still work a real job, manufacturing composite missiles and bombs (and loving it) for the pointed delivery to the bad guys, because I would starve on pattern planes alone. Most pattern suppliers are like Aeroslave...doing it because we thought it would be fun-it sure aint for the money....even with the expensive kits.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">In opinionated summary...I think todays kits are a better value than yestedays kits.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Gray Fowler<br>
Principal Chemical Engineer<br>
Composites Engineering</font>