Part Two...

Grant,

I went over to the SFA site and printed the Cadet plans to compare to the Skyray. I notice that the construction methods are similar. One difference is that the Skyray is built of thinner balsa. This will make it lighter, and hopefully fly better.

What Cox engine are you using?

When you have cut out the wings, make sure they are absolutely flat. A warped wing will not fly as well. If you do end up with a warp, there are ways to correct it. You do not have to sand an airfoil, just round the edges. Note that locations for controls, etc. are printed on the wing. You can sand the printing off before painting.

Take the time to build it straight and make sure alignment is correct before painting.

As someone mentioned, don't try for a great finish. Just apply several coats of clear, sanding after each coat except the last. Add a couple coats of solid color (Mine is sky blue like the one on the box). Use the decals for your trim. You will have time to apply fancier paint jobs on later models.

Don't bother with a landing gear if you can fly over grass. It flies better without it. Half A planes don't land well in grass, they mostly tumble, as you may have already found out.

Now, about that Cadet. If you built it once, you can replace parts on it. By the way, did you connect the elevator with cloth hinges or sewn hinges? Both methods work well. Another type of hinge is to install a strip of cloth on the lower part of the stabilizer and elevator. Some Scientific kits used this. I prefer the over/under (Chinese) cloth hinges, in most cases.

And above all, don't get discouraged. Everyone (I think) goes through a few planes while learning...and the dizziness goes away.

George