Well I'd be interested in people just using wood!
At least in my area, there seems to be a resurgence of jet flyers coming back. Just in my local area we have several that quit when the economy was down, and now that it's rebounding some are coming back. But overall, I'm not sure it's just related to the economy, st least not here, but we've seen drops in pattern and IMAC pilots. No new blood, no younger pilots either... seems many disciplines are either in a big lull, or on the way out. Conversely, some like warbird racing (with YS115s) is huge out here!
So with that, I just think people are leaving, taking a break, or like you said can't afford the spendy stuff...
But the interest seems to be on the cheaper foam stuff... it's just more accessible. Fewer people at clubs actually build anymore, hobby shops largely employ people who can't spell the word "build"... so it's slowly going away.
I think that's reflected in those that do podcasts too. Many of these folks aren't airplane nerds, they aren't drawn to airplanes because they always lived for and obsessed over aviation... they just saw somebody fly a foamie at a park and it looked cool. So they tried it. Nothing wrong with it, just different.
Just like there used to be builders (still are but they are quieter now), the tinkerers are still there but they are doing 3D printing and CNC stuff. I do find that really cool. But it's a complete mystery to me.
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