Dear Mike,

First, great plane [sm=thumbup.gif]! We just had our maiden on my sons Hell Raiser... what a blast! Two clicks on the elevator and she was trimmed perfectly. I have a few engineering thoughts you might want to consider... and some comments about the Hobby Lobby site setup.

First, we ordered all the goodies that HL recommended. This was our first electric foamie, so we assumed it would all be there based on the ARF Nitro kits we have put together. There are several items that required an extra trip to the LHS to complete the material list:

1. Foam Freindly Spray Adheasive.
2. Hinge Tape.
3. Wheels (2 inch)
4. M3 x 10 mm Button Head Screws (motor mounting).
5. Tail Skid. (Dubro #853)
6. 5 minute epoxy.

If you want builders to really have all they need, these items should appear on the recommended buy list that comes up. You might want to get them to add this stuff on the webpage and/or include them in the accessory kit. It's real frustrating for the novice builder to hit the wall during a build like that (on Christmas day ).

Second, a few comments you might consider to improve the instructions, kit and design.

a. We were not pleased to glue our servos into the cabane. Everywhere else, they screw mount (nice). We fasioned a double tee bracket from popsicle sticks with mounting surfaces that sandwich the cabane and allow screw-mounting. See photo. It's really tough, and adds that little touch of class. I'm sure with a little thought, you could put these parts, or variations of them, in the ply panel. They are very small and add very little weight. We left the lower half of the cutout between the servos, and did not use double-sided tape. For those using a single servo, you could still drop out the center piece, and put screw holes on the centerline for that install option too.

b. The battery mounting is very vague. You do not define the recommended install location very well, and the only surface worthy of battery velcro is the side wall. We put it there on the sidewall, as the ply section does not provide any flat surface to adheare to. It warps the fuse wall when you do that. A good photo of the recommeded location of the RX, ESC and Battery would really help people out a lot. We placed the RX where you said, then had to move it forward because the wires from the recommended ESC were too short to reach the battery compartment (all stock hardware as recommended).

c. When we installed the ply front structure, there was no tabs in the very front of the front fuse panel to position it. Ours was just a smidge off (high maybe 3/32 inch) on the first step (step 10), so when we rolled the other side over and glued it (step 11), there ended up being a twist and bow in the fuse. You don't even notice it till the glue is all set up and you can eyeball the lines. It seems to fly okay, but there is concern that this error will be detrimental as we become more proficient at flying precision stuff. Once you discover this error, you can't undo it and make it right. Some tabs on the very front would prevent this problem.

d. We can't get the CG back far enough. The bulkhead won't allow moving the battery any further rearward. Suggest you provide a battery mounting surface that allows the battery to pass into the second compartment for those that want to dial-in the CG or play with tail-heavy conditions.

e. HL recommends air scoops. We bought them, but have no idea where to put them. Do we need them? Your instructions don't even mention installing these things. Either have HL take them off the site, or give us instruction on location and cutouts.

f. Creating hinges from tape is a trick I learned way back in my control-line days. So, we knew how to do it, but your instructions don't address it at all. You might want to show the proper way to fabricate and install them.

g. You may want to consider putting a warning everywhere you apply the thin CA. We accedentally dribbled a little on some foam and found that it ate it up instantly. When you are making the control links, one slip and you have big messy holes in your model.

h. Everywhere you say "glue it", but you don't make it clear with which glue. We found the foam-safe CA that came in the kit would take hours to set in some cases. We reverted to using 5-minute epoxy everywhere, which seems to make a really super bond and beefy jounts.

I hope this doesn't sound picky, and you see it in the light we do. Maybe the experienced foamie builders have all this knowledge, but I'm sure there are a number of customers scratching thier heads like we did. I am an engineer, so I look for perfection in design. You have an awesome product here... don't get me wrong. I can tell from this thread you are improving the design, so I thought I would throw in my two cents. My son's is flying and we are starting to build mine now . The second one will be way better. This thing rocks!

Best regards,