I decided to pull the wheel pants off and give it another try. It flew just fine! I did a couple of flights to test for the yawing action and it was nearly gone - just yawed a little on turns. On the 3rd flight, I did a few rolls and loops. I then did a Humpty Bump and when I came out of the downward vertical and leveled off, I lost all power. The battery Velcro restraints came loose and the battery slid backwards and disconnected. The plane glided autonomously for the length of the field and finally lost air speed and went in on the nose for a relatively soft crash. The damage was mainly cosmetic but some internal wing tube braces were broken. It is easily repairable and I ordered a new cowl.
With the discovery of the return to normal flight characteristic with the removal of the wheel pants, I will make the necessary repairs and start looking at landing gear modifications. I may even install some retracts I have from a previous project!
Condor, how did your retracts work out on the 50cc model?
Vic