Jim

I did exactly as badger5964 said, covering wise. Although I have been in this hobby for about 14 years, I do not build enough planes to be very good with the covering. Sometimes it is advisable to cover parts before assembly, as I did with the chin block, but you would virtually never glue the control surfaces on before covering. Top Flite manuals give you a suggested order for covering an airplane, and I advise you to follow it as much as possible. You generally start at the back of a model and work forwards and upwards. This will place the seams in the least objectionable locations, and helps to prevent seams that face into the air blast. This is a good idea so that the air does not have a tendency to separate the seam. Another "trick" of the really good Monokote guys is to refrain from ironing the cover to anyplace that will show, except for the actual seams. In other words, you would not iron down the covering anywhere on the wing except for the edges and the seams. This allows the covering to shrink in every direction, and also reduces the tendency of the wood graining to show through the covering.

I now have 10 flights on my Contender, and other than the pilot coming loose all is well. The plane does not need the flap, as it slows down very well without it. Some people talk about an airplane "landing like a trainer", but my observation is that the Contender is actually easier to land than a trainer! If the pilot can overcome his nervousness when the plane is near the ground, he will find that the slow speed handling of the Contender is excellent.

I have reduced the throws of the elevator and rudder, and increased for the ailerons. My extra large rudder is effective, but at maximum throw it has a very sharp coupling with the elevator, causing the plane to pitch strongly towards the wheels (ie down in level flight). Rather than programming in any more elevator "up" I have simply reduced the rudder travel.

The OS 46SF is a sweet running engine, but a tad underpowered. It swings an 11 x 6 prop pretty well, but it takes a white to spin up to max RPM, about 11,000. As it doesn't have a lot of time on it yet, I reserve my ultimate judgement for later. I think Charlie P. is on the money with a 70 four stroke.

Sandy T.