The Howard is not really very fast because it has a lot of drag. The 7-77 is a good match but the plane is quite heavy ( I have not weighed the plane but I am sure it weighs in excess of 25 lbs). I had the engine pretty rich on the first flight and the plane flew at a real scale speed. On the second flight, I leaned out the engine a bit and the plane was a lot faster. It has a tendency to sink really fast at low power even with the flaps down so one must use a bit of power when landing but it flies and lands very nicely. I had to put a full pound in the rear to get close to the recommended balance and I will have to figure out a way to hide those weights now that the plane is performing well. I am pretty sure that the plane is still a bit nose heavy but that is better than tail heavy. I just flew it around because I was concerned that the weight would be too much for the wing if one did any heavy aerobatics. If careful, I think rolls, hammer heads and loops would be OK with throttle management. Gentle aerobatics will be in the near future for my Howard.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (AKA Roger the radial rabbit)