I built a Balsa USA Phaeton II last year, and I have a Hog Bike just about ready to cover. My Phaeton II flys beautifully with a Saito 80 up front. It is easy to takeoff and land on a paved runway and it looks great in the air. I couldn't be more pleased with it's flying. Obviously I can't comment on the Hog's flight yet but will try to have a flight report this spring.

I will comment on the kits and some differences in building.

Neither kit would be suitable for an inexperienced builder. Both kits have clean die cut parts and the Hog has laser cut plywood parts. The choice of wood in both kits was excellent, with only minor substitutions. On the Phaeton II the cabane, and interplane struts are formed wire and require some accurate wrapping and soldering to assemble. I made a jig to hold the pieces in place for soldering, and don't believe I could have done the job without it. It is a complex assembly and any slop will make the rigging of the wings almost impossible. Once everything is assembled and rigged, it is a strong structure. Assembly at the field is not bad if you have four hands available but with only two it is a pain. I made a cradle to fit the bed of my truck and transport it assembled.

The Hog Bipe has an entirely different approach to mounting the wings. Two preformed aluminum struts form the superstructure to support the upper wing, and with a little care, can be installed accurately with little fuss. The interplane struts are plywood and are attached with three bolts each. If everything is accurately done they should fit. It doesn't take much to cause problems. My first fit up just wouldn't quite line up and after some suitable words, I had to plug one of the mounting holes in the upper wing, and redrill it about 1/16 inch over. If everything doesn't fall into place, any forcing will result in a warp of the wing. Once everything is right, it should be relatively easy to assemble at the field. Plug in the aileron lead, bolt the wings in place and attach the interplane struts. I'm guessing ten minutes at most.

Other than the wing supports, the remaining parts are conventional balsa and lite ply construction, and other than a higher parts count should go as well as most monoplane kits.

Based on several suggestions from other builders, I did move the main landing gear forward about 3/4 inch. I don't know if it will help but it looks better.