I have never seen one of the older ones so I will compare to other SM models I have seen first hand... From what I saw in this one, first everything fits perfectly. There are no aluminium spars for the wings or other surfaces, it is all a solid carbon tube, much lighter.... There are no hinges in the elevons or rudder, it is called active hinging. Similar to the Comp ARF stuff but higher quality and more strengh like Todd said. Because of this you don't have to hinge the elevons or rudder, the hole setup is done for you. The airframe is lighter than previous ones. Also with this one you can install a 14lbs turbine on the tail of the jet, this eliminates the use of a pipe. This is how this one is going to be setup for the owner. Al formers are perfectly glued, no missed spots. The general finish and work in the model is awesome, no seams or weird finishing problems are seen and the model is very soft and smooth. I would personally give it an A++ to this one.

Perhaps Eric or Duke from Airpac can fill us a bit more. I know Duke has flown this bird allready...

Hope this helps,

Michel