My best guess is that the quality of an amateur-built aircraft is established even before the first rivet is driven. Some people have the patience and inherent disposition to build quality and others do not.
And you can tell which tribe they come from simply by the building advice they give to others. Here are some examples:
Build on
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good
Perfection is the enemy of completion
Build to go, not to show
or the diametrically opposing view
Compromise is the enemy of quality
Time spent equals quality (T=Q)
I'll leave it to you to guess who's building the better quality aircraft.
Oh good grief. There is nothing wrong with building a show-plane OR a go-plane. Just decide which you want and don't compromise on airworthiness items. But don't tell new builders they HAVE to build a perfect show-plane, or most of us would have never finished and given up in frustration. I'd love to do it on my SECOND plane. But I can tell you I have just as much or more fun in my unpainted plane with a small smiley on the vertical stabilizer than any of the Lindy winners. We need to be encouraging new builders, not telling them that they have to rebuild every part with a minor superficial flaw - it's admirable, but certainly not necessary.
Chris
Too valuable to let disappear.