Hi all:
I've read a few of the posts on this thread and believe that I can shed some light on some of this.
The original Stiletto 35 was never actually published. We saw photos of it at Bob Lampione's apartment around 1970 or so. Les had not yet exploded onto the national scene. When he did make his first appearance it was with a modified Formula S, with a somewhat thinner wing than the Formula S, that he named the Tropicaire. Beautiful ship!
He apparently liked the Formula S "foils" and used basically that wing for the first Stiletto 35. The one he flew at the Nats in 1973 (the one published in MAN) used the thinner wing like the one in the Tropicaire.
He flew another .35 size Stiletto in 1974 at the Nats and this one had a "kink" in the rear turtledeck. I don't think Les really likes that one... He never flew it again in national competition.
In the winter of 1974-75 Les called me and asked me to cut and cover a foam wing for the ship that was to become the Stiletto 700. Really nice plane, and, yes, as someone mentioned it would be perfect with one of today's powerplants (even electric!). Les used the Stiletto 700 to place 4th at the 1975 Team Selections. Bob Gieseke was so impressed with Les’ flying at that Team Selection that he opted to return to the World Championships as the defending champ (He won the WC’s in 1974). This meant that Les could join the team.
In 1976 Les built two new Stilettos; one had a wider chord wing. The second new one was what he called the Stiletto 660. And it was by far the better of the two. With this model Les Won the 1976 World Championships and almost won the 1976 Nats. On his second flight at the Nats Les' ship ran out of fuel in the clover.
The following year Les took a year off from competition, but he did hit the workbench to produce the first of the I-Beam Stilettos. This is the one he flew at the World Championships in England in 1978. During his second qualification flight at that WC’s the clouds unloaded and the ship was so soaked that it could barely climb to the top of the circle. Les was not given another flight, but the contest was suspended right after he landed. I'll always wonder what the outcome would have been if he had received another flight...
Les placed 4th at that worlds, but came back strong in 1979, again flying the Stiletto 660 powered by a Stan Powell reworked K&B 40. He handily won the Team Selection that year in Dayton, Ohio. He kept the string going at the next World Championships in Poland with the 660, capturing a convincing win. He came home and won the Nats that year to complete the Grand Slam - Team Selection first place, World Champion and Nats Champion in one year!
Les again flew the Stiletto 660 in 1981 in Seguin, Texas and placed third behind Bill Werwage and Ted Fancher. He sat out the FAI Team Selection as the reigning World Champion and judged that year.
In 1982 Les again won the World Championships in Sweden with the second I-Beam Stiletto, which was also the last Stiletto that he built.
In 1983 Les sat out again and opted to go as defending champ.
In 1984 Les flew the second I-Beam Stiletto to 5th at the World Championships in Chicopee, Massachusetts. In my opinion he flew the most amazing and perfect wind flight I've ever seen at that Championships.
Les retired after that meet.
I just got off the phone with Les and verified all of this information. I've asked Les to write an in depth history of the Stiletto for Stunt News. I've also asked him to write a history of the 1970s in stunt from his perspective. That should be some interesting and fun reading to be sure!
My thanks go out to Les for the time he took to go through all this with me.
I have cut many, many Stiletto 35 foam core wings over the years and probably even more Stiletto 660 wings. Either one of these can also be rendered in Lost-Foam and I've done a bunch of each for builders the world over. I have plans and templates for the Stiletto 35 and the Stiletto 660.
The plans for the Stiletto 700 do not exist. If someone says that they have them, then they have drawn an unauthorized set. Les just confirmed that the original Stiletto 700 was sold to a local flier who promptly crashed it. He also confirmed that he never drew formal plans for that ship. So, sadly, we cannot accurately reproduce that design. Too bad, as it was one of the most beautiful stunt models I've ever seen.
Bob Hunt