Hi Guys,

Mike,

When I did my 2nd Partner just before the Nats the only change I made was to use .062 carbon sheet for the aft spider support instead of the .093 I used on the 1st. Everything else was identical. And thanks for the kind comment, it was good to be back at the Nats!

Barye,

The idle trim I use depends on the conditions. If it is calm, I use a minimum idle trim, just enough to turn the prop over. If it is windy, I raise the idle trim to keep the plane from getting too slow on downlines. That helps me maintain shapes in the wind.

Just as an update, Partner #1 now has 766 flights and #2, which I did use at the Nats, has 38. #2 started off so well that I had to use it in the Nats even though I don't like flying brand new models in big competitions. It came out at 10 lb 7 oz with the 5300 mah packs. #1 is 10 lb 13 oz with 5300's.

So far, the new Pro-Lite cells seem to be holding up very well. I have a 6,000 mah Pro-Lite pack that has 60 cycles on it and it shows no degradation compared to newer packs. The 5300's are showing the same pattern but the most I have on one of those is 30 cycles.

I do have an Abbra I am going to try. Jerry Budd's looks very good, so I am hopeful it will be a good model. But it will have to fly very well to replace my Partner's.

Have fun!

Tony