Finally got out today and flew the flextail...never showed how I finished it, so it's pictured below.
I'd been flying my .061-powered LittleAxe and Frankenstone Arrow, so I had my 48' lines out...too lazy to reel 'em in and run out 42', I first flew the combat wing on the 48s. Man! You wouldn't think 6' would make such a difference. It has a VA .049 on bladder pressure; got up with a less-than-perfect engine run, not bad, just not quite peak, and it really struggled to pull the long lines. Didn't do much that flight but get it down in one piece.
Then I ran out the 42' lines and tried again. Better engine setting too; made a world of difference. The plane flies pretty near as I expected: Basic design is stable and sensitive--no difference there; this turned a little tighter inside and b-i-i-g outside-- needed much more outside control.
For comparison, I next flew an old stock Rumbler with the same setup--VA .049 on pressure (second picture below).This really is a sweet flying plane; maybe not a fair comparison since the older one is in perfect flying and fighting trim whereas the new flextail isn't; but I had to admit I haven't managed to improve on it yet.
Flextail needed more down--pushrod is straight, no adjustment there, so I loosened the horn and put a washer under the back of it, tilting it forward to gain more down/less up, and flew it again. Better, closer to what I'm looking for; but it does require some line tension for real positive control. If you catch the wind wrong and momentarily lose a little tension--not slack, just light--it really opens up the maneuvers.
The stab seems a little bit stiffer than my earlier ones. I'm going to strip the finish and sand it down thinner to increase the flexibility, and try it again. So far so good.
--Ray