ORIGINAL: MHester
Yes, I really liked them a lot....with certain modifications. How well did I like them? In 2002, I flew one and a friend flew my other one. Between us, they got 16 1st place and one close second (at the Nationals, just behind Michael Hill). That's not too shabby. In fact, they have only lost twice...the once at the Nats, and I got second place at my first pattern contest ever (when the plane was about a week old).
So if I can come up with a more current design along the same lines, that's all I need. Let the other guy spend a zillion dollars for a ZN kit (nice planes, but too pricey for me). I like my wood planes anyway, it's a lot easier to control the final product and they last longer (if properly taken care of).
Now I just gotta learn to make cowls and I'm all set.
-Mike
MHester, great accomplishment. Second place at the nats, that's something to be proud of. Congratulations!
It would be so nice if you can improve this design and still preserve it's character.
One of the reason I like this plane is because it really stands out from the rest. There are so many designs that just look almost identical.
I can understand the snap-spin problem. The wing is huge, so this plane must be stable. How much throw did you use on the elevator and did you enlarge the elevator in any of your modifications?