Status update - the canopy is on - I used little screws. I'm going to paint it black from the inside but everything looks pretty nice inside. I glued some tiny pieces of light ply under the front two screws for extra strength. I might add a few more screws but it seems like the thing is on there pretty solid.

By the way, the canopy comes with guidelines molded right in – I just followed them and it fit nicely. I just did some very minor trimming from that point. The two screws in the front do a nice job of forcing the canopy to follow the contour of the fuse.

I covered the hatch to see what it looks like. It came out OK - but it is not perfect. I had to use some light filler to clean things up - the finish could have been better. This part was the reason I came up with the sheeting technique posted above.

I did some very rough balancing with the configuration you see:

- control surfaces not hinged - held on with masking tape,
- I just rested the ailerons on the trailing edge of the wing,
- I threw a few servos in the tail,
- I did the best I could in simulating the weight of the push rods and control horns on the tail group ...

And .... it balanced just fine (about 4" behind the leading edge with the battery under the canopy). I doubt that I will need to add any weight – just moving the battery around seems to do the trick. This is a large plane and the battery could very easily go under to fuel tank or the canopy or virtually anywhere in between.

By the way, that composite gear sounds very nice. I may have to get me a set.

Moses