CB-

Sorry it took awhile to get you a reply. I built the GP .60 Cub as my first kit. I built the full span, but wish I had built the clipped wing. The fuse is made primarily of sheet balsa, with lite ply doublers for reinforcement. The contour of the side is made by adding 1/4 inch square balsa to the sheet balsa sides. The rear deck from the cockpit down to the tail is made by 3 dowels glued to balsa formers on top of the sheet balsa fuse.

It is VERY durable. I have had two pretty hairy crashes. One was on floats where I dove into the water from about 30 feet. It ripped out one of the pieces of plywood that the floats mounted to, but no other damage. Another when I was taking off from land. I pulled up too soon without enough airspeed. Stalled and hit hard from about 15 feet up. Bent the gear up and ripped out the plywood gear mount, but no othe damage. The wing and the fuse are both built like a tank.

It is big plane, much bigger than the typical .40 size Cub. I think you will be happy with it. I fly with a Saito .91, which is more than enough power. I fly at less than half throttle when I'm on wheels. When I have the floats on, I have to fly at about 3/4 throttle because of the extra weight and drag. If you are thinking of using floats, I would go with a .91 4-stroke. Anything more is a waste of money. The Saito is a great engine. The Magnum .91 is also a pretty good deal. I mounted my engine to the side, sticking out of the cowl, with the dummy engine to the other side. I ditched the plastic cowl that came with the kit and ordered a one-piece fiberglass cowl from Stan's Fibertech.

Have fun and let me know if you have any questions.

-Scott