An almost ready to fly (ARF or ARTF) kit is a radio-controlled airplane kit that comes partially built, usually just requiring final assembly to complete. They normally include partially assembled wings, along with a fuselage and stabilizers already pre-covered in plastic film sheeting material such as Ultracote or Monokote. The remaining assembly steps usually include the installation of control linkages and surfaces, and the purchase and installation of an engine or electric propulsion system and radio gear.
Though most require full assembly, many injection molded foam kits such as the Grand Wing Servo-Tech Formosa are considered to be almost ready to fly due to the low parts count.
Depending on the complexity of the model, this can take only an hour or as many as twenty hours to complete.
Famous quotes containing the words ready and/or fly:
“Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“He wants to fly into the hand of Michelangelo
and come out painted on a ceiling.
He wants to pierce the hornet’s nest
and come out with a long godhead.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)