OK so spring is sprung, the grass is rising, and the Sbach/DLE30 combo maidened this monday without incident.
Came in at 11.4 lbs, and cg was a bit rearward. I found my Slipstream version had some flaws, most of which were caught in the build.
Watch the location of the ca hinge slots. Mine were not centered.
Had to excavate a garmungous hole in the firewall to get the rear carb version mounted, plus 1.25 inch standoffs. Reinforced a bit around the modified motor box and it all seems good at the moment.
The DLE rear carb is running very strong after only 5 or 6 tanks through it. I'm about to start leaning in the low end a bit to see if I can clean up the mid range burble some...it's 4-stroking pretty bad there. Top end is set a bit on the rich side of peak rpm.
I'm getting 8000 rpm on a Xoar 18 x 8 beech prop. Steady idle 1700 rpm and getting lower.
Vertical line is spectacular. Can't wait to get everything trimmed in and start flying some routines.

Thanks for the advice, all.
Gary.