I might have plenty of time if I knew what I was doing!
I’ve flown Advanced the last 3 years at the Nats with SV11 ARFs. If I can quit screwing up my morning flight, I should make the cutoff reasonably easy. Winning is currently out of the question but I can foresee getting very close over the next 3-4 years.
I’m working on the Vector with Sig dope now. Dope is all I’ve ever painted with on airplanes. I’ve used a few other finishes on guitars but was never 100% happy with them.
Matt
I am sorry, Matt, I am sure we have met or run into each other, but placing the name and the face might not always work so well any more.
In any case, everybody starts out not knowing how to do it, and the only cure is to just try. Stunt fliers tend to have a problem with perfectionism, anything that is not perfect is unacceptable. But to make progress, sometimes you have to just do your best and it comes out how it comes out. Don't like it, learn and do better next time.
Given the situation, I think it does make sense to try and do something pretty simple but, you should do it yourself. I am not a big fan of dope (a lot of work shrinks forever, is incredibly fragile, and also tends to be heavier than the alternatives for a given quality of finish), but moving to more conventional/modern materials might be a bit of a stretch for an entire airplane. Maybe, do the one you are doing as it you were planning, but for the monokote airplane, cover the wings and tail, and paint the fuse with Klass Kote or some modern 2-part finishes. If you just count working time (not sitting in my living room half-done for a year), I did my entire airplane with about 7-8 days of actual working and waiting for things to cure, and while I did have some high-end advice from multiple Concours winner and 20-pointer Jim Aron, I did it all from start to finish. Just the fuse could be as little as 4-5 days for a very high-quality finish, and you can get *acceptable* results in about 48 hours. '
At any rate, I think it is far too early to wave the white flag, I am sure you can manage it in the time available and it will get you at least another 13-18 points. In NATS Advanced, that is maybe 10 or more positions, so don't concede just yet...
Brett