I've had a UCD .46 new in the box for two years now, waiting to get my "sticks" steady. I've been flying the UCD EP (foamie) on a Himax brushless electric for fun lately (too much flex in flight for me, but it has been fun! And a 3-cell 1350 mAh Li-Po keeps it in the sky for 20 minutes! I'm spoiled!) and have a Sig Four Star 40, a Hanger 9 Alpha and a Seagull 300S under my belt for powered flight and started out flying gliders. I started on a Gentle Lady and moved on to a 108" Wind Drifter and a nice Japanese 2-M mid-wing slope glider before moving on to powered flight. I have spent more than a few hours flying in Realflight G2 as well. I think I'm ready for 3D!
Ok, now I feel confident enough that I have started building up the UCD .46! I bought the OS Max .50 SX when I purchased the plane thinking that 1.8 bhp would be plenty, considering the light weight of the motor and power to weight ratios. I have been searching the threads, without any luck, for ANYONE else who has used this combination, much less has anything to say about it. Everyone seems to have gone 4-stroke and I am "high and dry" on 4-strokes. I do have a new OS Max .61 (for a vintage SIG Cessna 150 kit I have) but I assumed that it would be too much 2-stroke for the UCD, with-out mods at least. Has anyone tried the OS Max .50 SX on this plane?
I also have seen more than a few UCD .46's that have been fitted with tail wires. Is this something I need to worry about. I was aware that this was not a pylon racer and would never want to flutter myself to the ground so I am not interested in speed. What will wires do for me besides added strength and weight in the tail? (as for flutter, I would think that there is enough gap between the control surfaces to cause flutter anyway, wires wouldn't stop this, right?)
I noticed too, that the stock landing gear has caused more than a few problems. I wondered about this myself even before reading the threads about it. As I mounted the gear onto my UCD, I thought, "Geez, those are dinky little cap screws to be holding on this gear!" I reached for the threadlock (surprised it didn't mention it in the manual) and proceeded. (actually, I put threadlock on every screw in the plane that has a backing nut!) Did this make a difference to anyone or should I plan on beefing up the gear area still. I read that some glassing was done on some and epoxy reinforcement on others. I am not clear if they were strengthening the fuse or if they were actually glassing/epoxying the gear onto the plane as well as using the "dinky" cap screws. Any suggestions to keep my gear on?
I can't wait to join the ranks of you guys who fly this plane! It's been a long two years, casting those long dreamy glances at the virgin box that contained the unbuilt UCD as I gained experience and confidence on the others. The last thing that I did to allow me to approach the build was to obtain a new Hitec Optic 6 radio with the Spectra (dial-a-crash!) module and Supreme 8-ch receiver! My old JR 431EX just didn't have the brains to use on the UCD. Not that I'm THAT ready for mixes, but I had no choice, since as for the dual elevator set-up, I didn't want to use a Y-harness. Same thing for the ailerons. I also had no dual rate ability with 431EX!
My last question is concerning the servos. I know I will need to get a 90 oz. high torque servo for the rudder, but I have several JR NES-517's and 527's I want to use for the other controls. I know that these are only good for 40.(?) oz. @ 4.8 volts, but after a call to JR, I was told that they are indeed rated up to 6 volts! Unlike Futaba and other servos however, nothing is published as to the torque/speed specs. at 6 volts. (JR hasn't been any help there either) Most other servos that do 40+ oz. @ 4.8 volts jump to around 55+ oz. at 6 volts plus the speed almost doubles from .25 sec. to around .14! I would assume that the 517/527's would do nearly if not the same or better. 56 to 58 oz. @ .15 sec. should be plenty for all but rudder in this ship, right?
Looking forward to your feedback. I know this will be a fun experience, from the many threads on the UCD .46, this plane has brought a lot of happiness to many of you! I'll be the next to find out how much fun this bird is, let's hope! And I am impressed with how many of you out there are so helpful and willing to share this info with us.
Thanks in advance!

Rob AKA "Blisster"
Tulsa, OK (Home of Brandon Chitty, one of two guys in the country lucky enough to be sponsored by Hitec and one of the best new 3d pilots on the scene! Check him out at www.chitty3d.com)