Hey all - got the kit in the mail today - going to post a few pics and observations. (My camera sucks - hopefully Santa might hook me up...)

It was packaged well, no damage due to shipping. Everything is in the kit that is supposed to be there.

Firewall is notched like some of the Seagull planes - that would allow a standard muffler to be used when engine is mounted on it's side. Saving you $35 on a pitts.

Covering is probably chinacote - but is applied very well - hardly any wrinkles or bubbles that need to be ironed out. the Cub yellow is semi-transparent - you can see woodgrain through it. I'll go over everything with an iron on med heat before it flies.

Wings are balsa sheeted, foam cored. Plug-in style with an aluminum wing tube. The fuse and wings both have a fiberglass sleeve for the tube to slide into. One thing I'm not sure if I like is the wing bolt - they want you to tighten a bolt through the upper wing panel to tighten on the wing tube. I would much rather have a bolt that goes through the fuse wall into a blind nut or something.

Before I cut the covering to allow the wing bolt to slide in, I may have one of the giant scale guys in our club take a look at modding the wings for a bolt. The only hesitation is that the root rib on the wings appears to be 1/8th" balsa, and realatively soft at that.

also - the anti rotation pin setup is a little different than I have seen before - pay attention to the picture of the hardware - the anti-rotation pin assemblies bolt into the fuse from the inside - and they are adjustible to allow incidence to be tweaked.

the rest of the hardware needed to complete the plane is included - the wheels are 2.5" generic foam models - light, but I hate how a foam wheel will lose shape if it sits on them for too long. I have a pair of sullivan skylites laying around I thik I'll substitute.

The landing gear legs are 2 piece, and thick - heavy too. The fuel tank is a smallish 320cc tank - about 11 oz - I'm going to try to get a 14oz I have into it if possible.

Tail sections are conventional. The rudder and elevators are stick-built, while the horiz and vertical stabs are solid 1/4" balsa. I'm going to install a set of flying wires I think. All control surfaces are pre-hinged on one side with CA hinges. I might go to the trouble of cutting them and installing pivot style hinge - but most likely not. Control surfaces are generous - not super 3D sized, but larger than I have seen on other planes.

The tailwheel assembly just looks downright flimsy. I have a sullivan 60-90 size tailwheel I will install - the fuse does have a layer of lite ply at the tailwheel mount as a hardpoint.

The ailerons have a lite ply hardpoint in them too for secure control horn installation. The stock control horn assemblies are pretty nice looking - similar to the dubro 867 in function, but with a more conventional plastic base. I have a few sets of the dubro's laying around that I think I'm going to install. I think the supplied horns are fine - I just like the dubro stuff, and already have it. The stock pushrods seem heavy to me - might just be my mind playing tricks on me there.

The fiberglass cowl is nicely painted, and almost matches the colors perfectly. The wheelpants are a joke - they are plastic - and not ABS plastic - they seem more like a cheap dog's toy, made out of a flexible plastic. I doubt I'll use them. I fly off grass so I may not put any pants on it - but if I do - I like buying the fiberglass pants from the U Can Do series - usually less than $18 a pair from Tower. I think the ones from the .60 would fit this plane well.

Motormount is included - although you have to line up and drill the firewall. Not something I normally see on an ARF. Also included is a white 2.5" spinner - it doesn't really match the plane, and the opening ring on the cowl is 2.75" in diameter. 3" would look less out of place than a 2.5" if you can't find a 2.75". The included 2.5" would still perform fine - it's all an asthetics thing.

Of all the hardware - at first inspection, only the tailwheel bracket, and the wheelpants don't pass the test if I had to fly the plane straight out of the box. (tailwheel bracket might work if flying off a paved runway all the time).