I've tried to say away - I've tried to keep my mouth close - I've tried to keep my opinion to myself BUTIJUSTCAN"T TAKETHISANYMORE. Tipo, Summit, LA-1, Conquest, EU-1A, Altanta, Beetle, Desception, Compensator, Hipo, Arrow, Curare, Jekyll and others of those great pattern days, I've seen with wheel pans. For the life of me I can't understand why. Maybe these guys don't know what is was like to fly these truely design pattern planes. Now before I continue, like me make this very clear, I'm in no way downgrading any builder on how he/she builds their plane, I have the upmost respect for all in this hobby. Your plane is a representation of you, in all its glory - so guys, just hear me out. I've flown and build most of the planes I mentioned. There were nights when I would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning finishing a wing or fuse and go to work red eye. I remember one time I go so caught up in building an MK Aurora that I didn't go to works for two days - I was so involve. As I continued from the mid 70's to the mid to late 90's, flying these rocket ships were simply amazing. Bare with me for a moment and let me refresh your memory. You arrive at the field about 6:30 or 7:00 AM, noboby around, its cold and you cansmell the air, you can fell the density in the air, just after a rainy day. You fuel up, check your battery,do a range check -you're good to go.(in my case,it was an MK Arrow with a Rossi RE). You turn the prop over several times, attach the glow driver, grab the stater, hit the TruTurn spinner and WOW - this monster fires right up. Just the sound of this motor with pipe attached, if anyone can remember, their is a distinct sound when a Rossi comes on the pipe, you can't mistake it, its unique in its on fashion. You taxi out to runway, strattle the fuse between your legs, run up the motor - you good to go. You position the plane and yourself for takeoff, you hit the throttle and off shes goes. The moment you break ground, wheels come up and she becomes a bullet in the sky. You do a flyby and into a spli-S. When you level her out, thats whenNOT having wheels pans makes all the difference in presentation. These plane have a presents in the air like no other. Case in point, take the Atlanta, probably one of the most beautiful planes that came out of the late 80's - the fuse itself shape with a teardrop with low profile canopy. I built several of these with YS motors and they scream. These planes had a purpose, to fly like a bat out of hell - and they did. I know times have change, pattern flying has changed, everything is slow and constant - turnaround pattern flying. Back in the day, flying pattern, there was no turnaround. You make you pass, do your manuver and end with a Split-S and set up for the next. Today its different, fat fuses, thin airfoil, hugh props and electric motors OH and don't foregt the wheel pans. Now, Isaid all of this to make a point, wheels pans on any of these planes does nothing but downgrade their original design, it puts them in a class where they don't belong. Again, no disrespect to anyone and anyone has the right build as they see fit. I just can't stand to see wheels pans on an Atlanta or Arrow or Tpo - and I seen them on every one of these planes. I hope that those of us who truely remember those days will holdup to their true design and fly them for what they are - bullets in the sky.
NOWICANMOVEON - just had to get this out