I've always liked Dan Santich's original Hots. I've built 7 of them through the years. As I destroyed them and replaced them, they've gotten lighter and faster. My latest Hots came out at just over 3 lbs and with the OS .46 it is quick. But I've been wanting to build something really fast. Finally I decided that instead of an all out speed plane, I'd just build something faster, something "Hotser". It's not going to be as fast as the things I read about here but I think it'll be a good next step.

The Hots, the original purpose built Fun Fly plane, has a thick airfoil, nearly 20%. The first thing I did was thin this down. I shrunk the original rib template down to something that looked good and it turned out at 11.5%. The difference between the two templates is impressive. Instead of a flat firewall for the front end, I planning on a spinner and cowl. I was originally thinking no landing gear but finally decided to go with racing wheels and gear.

My pal Scott came up with a Webra Speed .40 Pylon engine for it (Thanks Scotty!) and I've got a pipe and header for it on the way. I recently aquired a large collection of contest balsa from an estate auction so the Hotser will be built mostly from 4 - 6 lb balsa.

So far, ribs have been cut, the fuselage is framed and this evening I started construction on the wing. (Don't hold your breath though, I've been pretty slow on building lately).

It's not going to be an all out speed plane but it should be a barrel of fun.

Dave