Originally Posted by
speedracerntrixie
If the kit you have is built anything like the original Spickler kit I would say the fuselage is fine as is. You can replace the 3/16 tail pieces with some denser balsa and pin the tail section in place. I would move the firewall back an inch to help with balance but keep in mind that makes installing your fuel tank more difficult. Make a hatch behind the wing for the RX battery. The wings should be OK except on the original kit, there is no dihedral brace. On mine I just glassed the center. On anything faster I would add a brace to the third rib and glass. Here is a picture of mine, built from a 1980 original Spickler kit.
Beautiful Spickler! Brings back lots of memories. I was a very active Q500 racer from the beginning in the 70's well into the 2000's. I was fortunate to be able to race and win in 4 decades. I saw the event start with the Spickler, powered mostly with the K&B 40. Then watched it grow and change through several airframe and powerplant changes to what the event is today. Overall though, I think the most fun times were in the beginning. Through the years I also sport flew the older airframes with a variety of engines but any of the newer OS46 (or anything similar) with an APC 10-7 prop is hard to beat for decent speed and general flyability. Good fun and I still have 5 of them hanging from the ceiling that get flown on occasion. Again, thanks for the memories and keep that beautiful Spickler flying!