Hi Steve,

All the guys in the Southwest are always having fun, and giving each other a hard time about what class they're flying. It's definitely a "game", and we all enjoy it. We have a large group of guys that fly together a lot, tease each other a lot, help each other a lot, and congratulate each other's success a lot. As for the competition part, we like getting a chance to compete against each other, too. We have an awesome region to fly in.

The Composite-ARF airplanes usually are pre-painted in the mold. Occassionally, someone will order a white one and paint it themselves. That's why you see the discussion on which scheme someone is buying. It's already painted just like you see in the pictures in my first post. The picture of the yelllow one is just the plane taken out of the box, setting the hatch on, setting the rudder on, plugging the wings and stabs in, and setting the cowl on. As Shawn mentions, the wing is a composite shell. It has a main spar, a balsa trailing edge in front of the hinge line, and a continuous hinge laminated into the wing across the entire length of the aileron. The wings are light and strong!!

Good luck with your contests in 2006. You'll learn a lot, meet a bunch of cool people, and hopefully have a blast!!

Take care,

Dean Bird
Sun Valley Fliers
Phoenix, AZ