After a year of designing, testing, mid-airs, rebuilding and testing some more, I'm happy to announce that the Black Magic plans, templates and parts are here!

I've been asked by quite a few people to make this plane available, and after much head scratching I've finally reached a point where I can make it happen. I have quite a few pictures of the building process, so I'll be sharing those as we go. if you have any specific questions, email me at [email protected] and I'll be glad to help you as much as I possibly can.

The version I'm offering is the V-2, a slightly refined form from the prototype. With the -07 FAI schedules in mind, a few changes were made to the prototype to make this plane capable at all levels of competition. The prototype flies P-07 as well or better than most "top end" planes out there, but it needed slightly more fuse and vertical stab area for the rollers and integrated "S" segments in the new pattern. So this was addressed.

The nice thing about this plane is the simplicity of the construction. It's basically sheeted foam and formed composites attached to a wood box, but when finished you'd never guess it's not a fully composite plane. This offers quite a few advantages, longevity and ease of maintenace and repair being foremost. With the belly pan being all composite and held on by 7 screws, and running from the chin all the way behind the wing, you can have one heck of a bad landing and not really damage the plane. Just replace and paint the belly pan, and voila, back in the air! (I've already done this twice now myself).

A few notes about the parts and prices: I've done the math and looked at saving pennies everywhere I can. These prices are in line with the classic Patriot 3D; the construction is similar in many ways...but easier. The composites are made to order by me personally. Don't expect european gelcoated TAVS stuff here, these are hand layed parts. They have a decent finish with not too many pinholes and defects, but there are still seams and imperfections to deal with. Such is the nature of composites.

Most parts are made from fiberglass, with carbon tow reinforcement in the corners. I will in the future make super light carbon canopies by special request, but realize that the material cost for this alone is about $40. The belly pans come from me with phenolic hard points already bonded. Note that all parts are untrimmed.


Specific information can be found at: [link=http://www.customairframes.com]www.customairframes.com[/link]

Specifications can be found [link=http://www.customairframes.com/v2.html]here[/link]

Pricing info can be found [link=http://www.customairframes.com/pricelist.html]here[/link]

Also realize I'm NOT a web designer; this is my first one and it's only 3 days old. I'll be adding a ton of stuff to it over time, so bookmark it and have a look from time to time.

For all of you I've spoken with, over the phone, PMs, Emails, etc, I haven't been ignoring you....I just haven't had an answer until now. Thank you for your patience and kind support from the bottom of my heart, I hope you enjoy this plane as much as I do.

So without further delay, let's get cracking, the 2006 season is right around the corner!

-Mike

PS the 3rd picture shows what the new version is shaped like around the tail as opposed to the prototype.

Update: Cores are available, all prices are finalized. Now taking full orders!