You're starting to see the light. You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear...it's easier to start with the right basic airframe to begin with. Some of the other items you'll have to change to bring the Vailly Birddog up to snuff are the landing gear. They look like football players legs on a ballerina. The Birddog has very elegant, slim legs, thank you. And the cowl...it ain't right. Your photos will tell you that. The full scale cowl only has a nose bowl. That's because the rest of the cowl is flat sheet, bent to shape. It's not like a 150 or 172 cowling at all.

And then there's the weight...unless you change you basic thought process from boatbuilding to airplane making...you'll always be building something that's heavy like a boat. In my book, 27 lbs. for a 8' wingspan aircraft is way over the limit for scale flying of this particular aircraft. As an officianado, (Which I appreciate you for), you know the Birddog is nothing short of spectacular in a high performance, STOL takeoff or landing. That's because it's a stressed skin airplane that weighs far less than any other Cessna with little cross section drag and lots of wing/power.

Why not build a truly, stressed skinned aircraft that's got similar weight/wing/power/drag ratios. My 5th scale Birddog will weigh in around 8 lbs. finished. 1/4 scale should come in around 12-15 lbs. Yeah! put a 120 nitro or 26cc gasser in the 1/5th scale and a 35-42cc gasser in the 1/4 scale for almost vertical performance. (Geee, like the "real" one!)

For stand-off scale, Vailly's and Ikon N'west are okay. (Ikon's are even worse when it comes to flying weight...kind of like old Nosen kits...glue all the blocks together and carve off what you don't want.) Marutaka's got a great kit but...it's stand-off scale, not a Master Modeler's foundation.

As I said, I consider you a comrade because we share a love for this airplane and I'm trying to help other modelers move into the next generation of truly scale airplanes that aren't like the loveable F-4's...rocks with big motors that CAN and DO fly.

I'll be doing a construction article for MAN so you'll see the proof of the pudding in progress.

Later