Thanks for the engine tuning tips. I do think I will run the opto-kill, though. With the light wing loading and the wide open area I fly, I'm much less concerned about a dead stick than I would be about a run-away. Having a 2nd method to kill the engine in the event of throttle linkage or servo problem appeals to me, plus it would prevent a major problem if the receiver ever lost power (unlikely with redundant bats) or if someone did something stupid like start the engine with the receiver off...
Anyway, I rethought the servo thing, and will go 133 in/oz metal geared on all surfaces. More than it needs I'm sure, but I guess a bit of overkill is better than underkill.
The kit finally arrived earlier today. Apparently they were having problems getting in big blocks.
There is a LOT of wood in that box. The wood seems to be super-nice, uniform density. Also more than just the ribs appear to be pre-cut, which will be nice. Getting to glance at the plans, it seems pretty straight forward.
I'm wondering, though, if I could/should add a joiner tube?
Anyway, I've got another plane under construction, so this will wait for a little bit until I wrap that up.