ORIGINAL: PilotFighter

I honestly believed I could bring mine in at 6 1/2 lbs. I was wrong. 7lbs. If I had left of the fiberglass wheel pants off and used standard 5/32 wire for the gear, I do believe I could have shaved another 5 oz off the final weight. But what happens is this: The plane starts really lookng good. So you think, Gee, it would be a shame to have such a nice plane and not put the pants on it. And then I realized I had already drilled the gear holes for 3/16, so I used the stock gear. Many people complain about the landing gear on this kit, they say the blocks eventually give way. I think its because the wire is too large. I build alot of 60 size birds, and I have never seen a kit call for 3/16 wire before. I think its too large to flex and absorb the landing shock. I believe the entire shock is transmitted to the blocks . Well, so far, they seem OK, but I did use triangle all around them. And I did hit a 6 inch ant hill with the right main sometime in the first 20 flights.