Hi all. I am ready to start scratch building my own design. It's actually based on the Gator Giles. I've had the wood version plans for over a year, and finally decided to get started on it.

I was considering asking the Gator folks if I could get a copy of the CAD file so that I could print patterns for all the parts. I figured they would say no (wouldn't blame them, actually). So, I took some measurements to get the basic moments, etc, then I drew up my own set of plans.

The fuselage is very similar to the Giles. I plan to mold my own cowl and canopy. I've done cowls and wheel pants, and am getting pretty confident with the process. I've never vacuum formed anything, and if it looks like time will be an issue I'll go ahead and order the canopy from Gator.

I am down-sizing the wing. The stock Giles wing is HUGE! The chord at the root is 20 inches, as opposed to the 17 inches of the Hydeout that I have nearly finished. It seems that the smaller wing is more typical, and M. Hester has already suggested reducing the span by two inches.

BTW, MHester, do you think I could get the root and tip chord for the Tempest? It is probably in this thread somewhere, but I dread looking for it.

I have been following this thread, and find the posts by Sigurdur and Mike H. to be very informative.

I am nearly finished cutting the *kit*, and am wondering if I should jump in to this thread, or start my own, like TPH1. What do you guys think?

Dave