This is such kool advice. And it really took me back. About the same time as you, I was getting into flying--only with .049's. I remember I was so hot to fly, I usually took off (and crashed) before the dope was even dry.

Were the Flite Streaks of that era pre-finished ARF's like they are now? Don't recall exactly when monocote and similar mylar coatings came onto the scene, but I don't think it was till the 70's.

Great lesson in paying attention to weight--to every single gram--came last week when I was working on the CG for another 1/2A model. Found the sweet spot to place the tail weight--but forgot to factor in the weight of the epoxy. Turns out epoxy's fairly heavy stuff.

Thinking of doing all the gluing on my new Flite Streak with CA--even though it doesn't exactly agree with my sinuses.

And I'm gonna try a K&B .20 Sportster. Seems kinda heavy to me. (Got a BigMig .25 the same day, it seems way lighter than the Sportster).

Local club has a FliteStreak for a trainer, and it's mounted with a BigMig .15. Never tried it, but it presumably performs quite well--but they use shorter lines. I'm thinking of going for the default .015 60-ft. lines.

But I do love your image of a slightly under-powered, extremely light ship--particularly as I'm still very much in learn-mode.

Thanx, for the tips,
M