Complexity of plans...

[AndyB]

The latest issue of the newsletter has an article that's got me thinking about the perceived complexity of a plan. I'm not talking out how simple or easy it is to build, but how simple it looks to build. Once the process of cutting wood or buying foam wings, canopies, etc. has started, the decision to build has been made and I think the vast majority of people will be able to make at least a reasonable job of it.

What I'm looking for are guidelines that can be used to draw a plan that makes a potential builder believe that it will be easy and problem-free to build. As an example, consider this - does a lot of text on a plan make it look more or less complex?...

[Phil Cooke]

Andy,
This is my personal opinion of course... ;D

...but I think that plans which have loads of text bubbles and notes from the designer advising on original build methods are generally much more reassuring and easy to use than a plan that says nothing other than outlining the form. In that case it takes a lot of study and double checking before you cut material, even on the simplest of jobs. Add as many notes as poss if you want to aid the builder - and add a materials list too!!! Inexperienced builders will worry themselves silly over material selection - quality and quantity - and this may put them off starting... with a list of materials clearly stated this again clears the way to get on with the build!

[AndyB]

The reassurance aspect is important and the idea of a materials list is a good one, but I suspect that this will really come into play once the decision to build the model has been taken.

The scenario I'm considering is this; someone gets hold of a plan, possibly as a free plan from a magazine or maybe they've ordered it from one of the plans services. They open the plan onto a flat surface and look at it for the first time. An initial impression will be formed and within a few seconds I suspect that the plan will be tentatively classified as "simple" or "complicated".

What I'm wondering is, "what is it about a plan that encourages someone reading it for the first time to classify it as 'Simple' "?

I'm not sure that the detail of the text makes much difference under those circumstances, but the amount of text might. Other possiblities might be the amount of white space between components, the number of lines on the paper (might it be better to print the plan on several smaller pieces of paper instead of one large one?), the amount of scale detail shown, how close the lines are together, how complex the sections are, how many sections are shown, etc...

[Phil Cooke]

Im not sure about this AndyB...

The 'complexity' of a plan is surely just a product of the design/build method outlined...I think that once a modeller has got the skills to look at a plan and use the seperate views to build up a 3D image of the finished product in their head, then the skills used are generic across both simple and complex plans.

Thats not to say you can't have good plans and bad plans, but that is more to do with layout and ease of use then 'complexity' I think. For example, its nice to have all formers drawn out in a logical order to visualize change of cross section along the fuz, but I think that is getting away from your original question?

[AndyB]

...once a modeller has got the skills to look at a plan and use the seperate views to build up a 3D image of the finished product in their head, then the skills used are generic across both simple and complex plans

I'm not sure it's always necessary to imagine a 3D image of the finished product - I've often started on a plan without understanding everything, on the assumption that it will all be clear later on :-). in any case, I think some people might be better at the visualisation process than others.

Thats not to say you can't have good plans and bad plans, but that is more to do with layout and ease of use then 'complexity' I think...

Ok, a couple of questions follow on from that, then:

1. What is it about the layout that makes someone form an initial impression that it will be easy to build? For instance, does everything have to line up? Should there be a certain amount of space between components? ...

2. If there are (for instance) extra sections on the plan to make it more easy to use, will that tend to make the prospective builder think it's more difficult, simply because there's more on the paper...? :-)

Also, how much of an influence is the number of parts on the plan? I think it might have an effect, but I'm not convinced that it's a significant effect.

( + I was really hoping to get some input from people who haven't built many models before...)

[rc-pilot]

I bin a'thinking about this, and have a couple of comments to make.

1. I think the way to make a plan look simple is to have as little on the paper as possible, and plenty of white space around all the components and sub-assemblies. However, I maintain that this apparent simplicity is misleading, and the model would be easier to build with more information given. As a result, your putative builder may start off thinking he has an easy build, and then castigate you for misleading him and leaving out all the really helpful stuff.

2. You can make a plan look simple in this way by leaving out much of the inessential stuff. For example, I usually show round one half of each former the finished shape of the fuselage at that position. This makes the formers look more complicated than they are, but helps the builder to see what he is supposed to be doing. By leaving these lines out, the plan may **look** simpler, but the model is actually harder to build.

3. You can assist the builder by including lots of instructional text, but again, this fills up the space and makes the plan look more complex. However, omitting this may make building even more difficult than leaving out extraneous lines, particularly if the builder is a relative novice.

4. I'm sure that the skill level of the builder plays a part in determining - for him - whether or not a model looks easy to build (that's if he cares, of course), so the problem isn't as simple as perhaps I have intimated above. You have to know the skill level of the modellers you're aiming at before you can determine what is the "right" level of simplicity. Of course, if you're trying to interest beginners, then you know immediately where you are, and a plan that looks simple to them must look at least equally so to an old hand.

5. The aspect that has been overlooked in this discussion is that a plan must also be easy to use. If you have to do origami with it to be able to photocopy the components, and if you can't get at one part of it while you have something cooking on another part, then it can be a real pain. I did a piece in AMI some time ago on plan layout for ease of use, including being able to cut it into separate pieces so you can work on several assemblies simultaneously if you are blessed with enough space and building boards. I think I would prefer to see a plan that looks and is practical, rather than one which merely achieves the appearance of simplicity by being rudimentary.

6. Along the lines of (5) my recent plans have had all the small components grouped at one edge into A4-sized rectangles so that edge can be cut off and copied. I even went to the lengths of including each part the number of times it was required (e.g. two full sets of ribs). This makes the drawings look rather full and complicated, but actually has the opposite effect when you get down to it. Eventually, I deleted the multiple copies because I felt I had gone too far down that path, but I'm still not really sure.

In summary, I don't know the answer, and I'm not even certain there is one. The whole thing has to be so subjective that a universal answer is going to be difficult to find, and life's too short for me to go on chasing it, although I do keep trying to improve the presentation of my plans.

The problem is getting enough people to pass an objective judgement on them, and without that I never know whether they're getting better or not. I would welcome any opinions on what makes a plan look complex or simple, and whether in turn simplicity equates to attractiveness, or the reverse.

[AndyB]

This is very interesting but, on re-reading some of the posts and particularly rcpilot's last post, I think I have probably failed to make the original question clear :-).

I'm not looking for an objective view on how easy or difficult a plan is to build; I consider that once the decision to build has been made, the ease of use of the plan will not have a significant effect on whether the model will be finished - ways and means will be found to complete the job - although it might have an effect on whether another plan from the same designer is considered.

What I'm really more interested in is:

a) A subjective view of what makes a plan look easy to build.
b) A subjective view of what you think most other modellers think makes a plan look easy to build. A subjective-subjective view, if you like. :-)

I don't know whether a universal answer is going to be difficult to find or not, but I suspect that it might be easier than often supposed.

[slopetrash]

Having only been involved in this sport for 18months i`v started with artf (now theres a joke to start with) to kits (bird of time ) to building from a plan and must comment there is scope to make mistakes but mostly your average builder can scrape through to produce a plane that may differ from the designers original idea and will fly. It may help to add to plans hints and tips that may be obvious to an experenced builder to aid a novice like my self because over the past 18 months i have come across people who don`t seem to want more people joining in the sport and keep it to them selves(this comment is NOT aimed at any one connected to the PSS as help has been readly available by all).

[flyboy47]

Very interesting guys, building from plans in my humble experience really depends on wether i like the model or not, it is that simple,,
Of course all the information on construction, were it in baloons on the plan itself or an accompanying booklet do help,
But i can see your point Andy, i think your looking for the word ( PRESENTATION ) what people expect, is every thing laid out for them, neatly on the plan, listings of materials and such is great, but this will soon develop into how many pins do i have to use, and do i use 5min or 30min epoxy,
Building experience and passing on knowledge as in this forum really is the best way to ascertain how much detail you need to put onto a plan,
Attention to detail for me will always be a major factor as to building from plans, but not my choice as to wether it is built,
Having said that i have looked at many hundreds of plans over the years, and experience can tell me with one glance if the model will be difficult or relatively easy to build,
We all develop our preferences for built-up, foam, or what ever methods for construction,
So it might be decided to change say a foam wing for a more conventional built up version, to save weight or improve a wing section for our needs,
I think most of us modify things to our own preferences,

Us PSS'ers are a strange breed from the rest of the flying circle (someone told me once, any thing will fly if you bolt a big enough noisy thing to it) even a flair lightening LOL well maybe not )
Time is a factor to a lot of us, yes i would love to build from scratch all the time, not many of us do though,

Stick with it Mr slopetrash, i have a great ARTF Spit waiting for its first sorty, i dont care if it isnt quite scale, when im flying it i will feel it is a Spit, and who can look at infinite detail 100 feet out,
My point being if you like the aircraft enough you will do your very best to build it, no matter what building skill level you are at,
Thanks Andy for the enlargment see you soon m8
steve <flyboy47>