Today was the maiden flight and it went exceptionally well with the settings given in the manual. For anyone considering this plane, I highly recommend it. I want to thank DaRock for all his help. First, the maiden flight: the sun was out and I just got it up about 300 ft and shut the motor off and flew until my neck was tired [20 minutes]. Using a 3S 1800 , it still had 4.0 volts/cell . My "deluxe Hobbyking propulsion system" [see above] had perfect power, it pulls 20A with a 10x8 prop. It has a Turnigy 40A ESC [remeber you need one with BRAKE function], and the battery is way back with maybe an inch out into the canopy area. Weight is 36 oz with battery and a WCL of 3.3.. My other plane is a Phoenix 2000, an excellent value, but with a WCL of 5.3 it would have needed a lot of motor to stay in the game today. Now for the details of construction:
I put RTV under the V tail, plus the one screw; I used DaRock's design for the support of the M3 nut for the V tail; I used the stock 0.030" wire and pre-bent it 90 deg, put wires thru elevon horns and bent again to form a "Z". used 6 pcs Hextronix HXT-900 [these are about $ 3.00]; I hold the canopy on with rubber bands, the birds are the only ones that can see it ! I added a balsa cross bar to hold the motor wires away from the motor; I tried RTV but it came off. I programmed a 7 ch receiver so that I could eliminate 2 "Y" cords but really there is enough space for Y cords and the weight is minimal.
I bought the Avia from Espirit Model in Florida, the plane is made by Topmodel in Czechoslovakia. Their instructions are basic and accurate but take some studying. I will probably just leave the servo covers off, and so far I have not figured out how their decal works, but again, birds can't read.