Hi Chuck,
Great looking Ringmaster!  Should be a great addition to the Fly A Thon!  Do you have an all up weight for it?
Good Luck!
Bill

Bill,
 
I have a confession. I never weigh an airplane until I have to for a pull test. Why? Because in my mind "straight trumps weight" and I've seen too many guys over the years show up with a new ship already disappointed before they even fly it because "it's too heavy". Once they get that into their head they can never enjoy flying it. It becomes a built-in excuse.

All I do is build as light as I can using the best wood I can get my hands on and try to keep the paint under control. Then I go start flying and trimming. It's worked for me for over forty years.  I've also had people give me ships that "were overweight" and thus "flew terrible". Almost every case, it was a trimming issue or a motor/prop issue and once the ship got sorted and flew nicely.

So this little Ringmaster... not enough wood in one to make a big difference, lol! I replaced the sticks and sheeting with 4-6# A-grain stuff. It feels about right, maybe could have been an ounce lighter had I replaced the kit fuse with an expensive piece of 4#, but then you end up nose heavy(er) and it might not fly as good. Since Ringmasters tend to be nose heavy I kept the stock stab and elevator- helps with the balance and the stiffness is a plus.

Like I say, for me straight trumps weight. Personally, I think there's a lot of fish-stories about weight and head games being played on the internet. All IMHO and YMMV.

Chuck

"most kit wood in the rm was too heavy for much other than making crates. I didn't have a good rm until one that I did not build, but was built out of contest weed, silk span and very light weight. It would fly the pattern very well with a Fox .35 stunt. I let somebody fly it and it met with a terrible end."

Hey, Squirrel...I guess you get good "contest weed" in BC? HAHAHAHAHAHA...talk about a Freudian Slip of the fingers! 

Do you recall a combat flier around here named, coincidentally, "Chuck Smith"? I think I'm correct. He flew Combat Cats with Johnson CS power. I don't recall what club he flew with...maybe AirKnockers or Skyraiders? Probably a different Smith, of course.    Steve
 

It is not " weight and head games".  Over weight Ringmasters do not fly well.  If you're not going to fly in actual completion, don't worry about it.  I had one that was 28 oz.  It was awful.  I had another that was 22 oz.  It was pretty good, but not great.

Tim, did you win?  Probably not, there is not argument.