Here is my foam and glass Kwik Fli III that I kitted in the 60's. This picture is of the kit prototype – note the un-muffled Enya 60. We didn't use mufflers when I built this model. The engine is mounted on a Tatone aluminum mount with an integral nose gear mount.

The Kwik Fli as shown here came about in a series of incremental steps. It began when I saw an article in one of the model magazines advocating a 'taco' shell fuselage construction technique using nylon cloth and polyester resin. The bottom of the fuselage ahead and behind the wing was to have been closed with balsa. The idea of fiberglass fascinated me because I'd done some experimenting using fiberglass resin to customize cars.

The Kiwk Fli III plans had just been published in MAN and I decided to try making a basic fuselage without a cowl based on the plans. I built a plywood and balsa plug and used a relatively new epoxy mold making material called Epoxical. The first fuselage layup with nylon was a loser. The next attempt using fiberglass mat was a loser too! Nearly ready to give up on the idea, I made a last attempt using fiberglass cloth. That showed real promise and by the 3rd attempt with cloth I had a useable fuselage.

I decided I didn't like that un-cowled engine hanging out in the breeze. So I made a mold for a slip over cowl. And a glass filler between the wing leading edge and the firewall. Much better, but it was still not as sleek as I wanted. The next attempt was a fuselage with a one piece nose which I carefully cut it apart on both sides alone a diagonal line running between the wing leading edge and the horizontal thrust line at the spinner. The two halves became the plugs for the final molds. The bottom of the fuselage behind the wing had a ladder structure of 1/4" sq balsa structure with a 1/4" sheet cover that was glassed.

When I took this fuselage to a club meeting show-and-tell it generated a lot of interest and I was encouraged to make kits available. Which I did. I don't have any of my old sales records left but I sold a lot of them here in the Northwest. They were one of the few foam and glass kits on the market back then. For some reason this kit didn't exhibit the classic 'Kiwk Fli dance'. Perhaps it was the slightly raised thrust line. Or maybe it was the wing fillets. Or the tapered wing. Who knows?

The success of this kit encouraged me to produce a couple of other pattern planes and an FAI pylon Mustang along with a flying boat. And 8178 built all of my kits - everyone was a construction masterpiece.

All-in-all it was a fun time – all those hours spent hunched over my drafting table drawing plans, getting my secretary at work to type the 4 pages of instructions, cutting the kit parts on my jig saw. It's SPA legal but I'm not making the kits anymore.

Sorry about carrying on so long … it's fun reminiscing. For me any way.