Wow means awesome. The thing was pretty nose heavy for the first flight, but I sort of expected that and just wanted to see what I had. Not a whole lot of turn, but boy did it groove.
The addition of about an ounce of tail weight (bringing the overall weight up to a whooping 50 oz.) and the addition of a lighter spinner did the trick. Almost a full pattern the second flight (just a bit short on fuel - plenty of room, just needed to figure out how much to put in).
So, 4 flights and by the 4th I was putting in the best pattern I've flown in about 6 months. At the end of the day, I needed to bend the header a touch (the pipe was just rubbing on the gear leg (remember, the gear is a retrofit), Needed to bury the lead in the tail and I needed to de-pitch the prop a touch. I started on 62 foot lines but by the second flight had jumped to 67 footers to slow things down. Really flies great on those.
Steve,
No, no wire. I came up with a little trick to stiffen the legs that work ridiculously well. By the end of the day, I was thinking about a full bodied version. Hmmm....
So, it's about 600 square inches (56 inch span), about 50oz. and uses an OS 40VF for power. I suppose I could switch out to the PA 40UL, but then I'm probably need nose weight. And after the trimming, man does it groove and turn. I love this plane. Pete fergeson was already asking about plans (too bad there aren't any).