Steve thats a great setup. Very clean and functional.

I know the big glow engine or the gasser will be overpowering the snot outta this plane. I want to be able to fly 3D with authority. At this altitude (6000'), it's going to take a lot of horsepower and plenty of dinosaurs down the carb. to make the plane perform well.

Many people don't realize just how much power loss we suffer at this altitude. It's at least 20%. You ALWAYS put the biggest engine on a plane that the manuf. suggests. And thats just for trainers and sport planes. If you want true 3D capability (hovering and waterfalls, for instance); you need to put an engine on your plane thats about 2 or 3 times bigger than recommended.

This gets really tricky. Such large engines require taller landing gear, bigger tanks, strategic balancing tecniques, and of course, bigger servos. This all equates to higher wing loading. You'd be amazed at our landing speeds. We bring the big birds in with power on and moving fast. I don't cut my power completely, untill I'm over the end of the runway and/or less than 3 feet off the runway and sinking. These planes sink fast up here, even with a little power on.

I flew my Sig Cap 231EX 1/4 scale today. You all know that sound a big ST3000 makes when you finally cut back to an idle--ning ning ning ning ning ning ning ding ding ding ding--well; I don't usually hear that sound untill shes about 2 feet off the runway and sinking fast. The Cap only weighs about 10.5 or 10.75 pounds. It wouldn't hover with a ST2500 or an MDS 148. It does hover with the ST3000. It really does take that much engine up here.

I guess I'm saying that I don't think the MVVS 2.15 will be all that big for this altitude. It's sure gonna bring my landing speeds up even higher though. BUT, when I decide it's time to hover--------she'll do it.