I have put mine on an excercise program as well but went in the other direction. I pulled the Magnum .91 4 stroke and replaced it with a Super Tiger .90. Much superior performance. Its not even close. Verticle is forever and lots more authority. May just be me, but I prefer the way a 2 stroke performs on planes that are ment to fly at higher velocities like the VF's. I have one of the small VF Extra's still in its box. It is a real delight with a ST .90 but I will not build it till my Edge gets retired.

Building a belly pan replacement is not all that difficult. You can frame it up with framing along the sides set in the groove where the plastic one sits and have front and rear bulkheads that rest on the those same rails. At the front you can put the bulkhead either in front of or behind the bulkead that the plastic one secures to. You can just monocoat it open bay or sheet it and cover it. Its easier on the 58 inch Extra because you can attach it directly to the wing. But its not difficult on the Edge if you just think it thru. I have had 2 of the small extras (HiTec transmitter failures) and just made balsa and monocoat ones up rather than the plastic after the first time I killed the plastic belly pan. Another option is just make a mold in foam and lay one up in glass.

On another project, I am having to make a new cowling for the Edge for the ST unless someone has an extra they would like to sell. Mine got cracked in a landing accident and isn't worth trying to fix esthetically. I'll use light fiberglass CA'd to the cowl outise to get it all alighned and together. Then I'll tape the openings and fill up the inside with plaster. After it sets I'll have a mold for a new fiberglass cowl and just lay it up.

I do find that I do not fly the planes as aggressively as I used to since they are now collector's items. Nice to see what they are going for NIB. I wish VF had sold them for that kind of money, they might still be around. But they were very concerned about price and apparently saw considerable drop off in sales with just small price breaks. So in the end, we are the poorer for it. We American's need to learn that sometimes its worth paying what something is worth rather than looking for the cheapest deal.

ok, I'm off my soapbox. Sure miss em though.

bob branch