Okay all, here it is. I'm going to start building my own SES. I've been lurking on the forums for a month or so, and decided to bite the bullet after reading some VERY lengthy build logs on the SES.
Some background is in order. I've been flying Electrics for about 9 months, mainly just park flyers. I also bought Real Flight G3 about a year ago and been flying planes on there quite a bit. Now I know I'm probably not qualified to be building this as my first non-electric plane, but I have one very important reason to be doing so.
My father did line control planes back in the late 60's and in the 70's. He started building an RC plane in the early 70's but stopped when he started having kids. On Dec. 23rd, my dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, which has invaded his colon, lymph nodes, stomach and they did tests on Friday to see if its moved to his brain, reults are not in yet. Ever since I started flying my electric, its all we talk about, and he really regrets never showing me the hobby before a year or so ago (found the planes in the attic about a year ago). Well my dad has until June (so the Dr's say) so I decided part of my tax return is going to get me my first kit plane, and show him that he wasn't too late in getting me into the hobby.
If I had the time, I would definitely get a real trainer as my first one, but I hope with the help of the local club instructors and some guidance from you all, I'll get more then 2 flights out of it ... if not, as long as my dad gets to see if before he dies, I'll be just as happy.
So I went ahead and got everything prepped, and the build starts tonight!
The first picture is where I will do most of my building. Its two saw horses with 2 pieces of perfectly flat 3/4" plywood on top. Ontop of that is 1/2" styrofoam insulation for pinning to.
Second picture is the box, obviously
Third picture is my workbench right next to my workspace, this wasn't flat enough for me, off about 1/16" of an inch in the middle from the sides so I will be using it as parts staging.
Forth picture is the radio I bought. Futaba 7CAP with 4 servos, reciever, charger, etc
Well its off to start building, and please help me out with tips and suggestions ... I'll need em!