Dan and Zepp,

Floats: They are gel coated fiberglass floats from ESprit Models ([link=http://www.espritmodels.com]www.espritmodels.com[/link]). I ordered the 36 inch sized ones. They look great and are easy to work with. If you get them, you will definitely want to check for leaks in the fiberglass seal (both mine and another guy's had leaks).

Building: Like I said, this was my first kit. To me, the kit directions were definitely straight forward and easy to follow. But I still had troubles, like I said. As far as I know, the materials were fine. I do agree about the wheel pants Zepp. I still have not finished them. If you have information on the ones your dad used Zepp, I would like to check them out. For the most part, I built per the plans. There were a few things I changed. First, I filled in the area of the former that the wing dowels fit into. This really cleaned up the look of that area without having to paint the canopy. (see picture below) Second, I added a hatch to the bottom of the fuselage. (see picture below) This allows me to add in things like cameras, parachute drop mechanisms, etc. All I do is make a new hatch with the function I want. I think I also opened up the hole in the rudder. Another thing I did was add some reinforcement to the cockpit area (triangle stock in the corners, etc). I added reinforcement to the stringers on the fuselage (the butt joint isn't quite good enough). I used a different tail wheel mount (Dubro I believe).

I wanted to add in a pilot. My first choice is Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. I've had a hard time finding an action figure in the stores.

Equipment: I used a O.S. .46FX engine. This engine definitely has enough power for the plane. You said you might go electric Dan, and I think you probably can, as the plane seems to be light for its size, as far as I know. I too am only using 3 servos.

Flying: I really enjoy flying this plane. Zepp, your assessment is right on. Some of the guys in my club thought it should land a little slower though (being a 3 channel plane). I thought it landed just fine.

Future Plans: I plan on building a second wing with ailerons. I'm going to hold off though, as a guy in our club is already doing that. I want to see how his version flies before I build mine.

Anyway, enough for now.