RE: R and D
I have the third 35% Edge but unfortunately I haven't been home long enough to do anything with it.
As for the Katana design, SD models had been the company that had been making the 35% planes. As many know SD was bought out by Thunder Tiger and the SD line of planes was supposed to be hitting the market again in mid May. Looks like this has fallen into the crapper after most of the previous employees left the Thunder Tiger operation to rejoin their previous leader in a new upstart manufacturing business. At least for now, nobody has a clue when the SD models will hit the market again, if ever.
I know who did the design for the SD 35% Katama and he has the plans and working drawings. I also know that he has the authority to re-use those plans and other tools to make the kit on his own if desired. With the right incentive he just might cut them loose. The SD planes flew great but had a problem with people in the shipping department failing to mate the wing and fuselage boxes up with the correct part numbers. That's why they had a fit problem. Had the eastern shippers simply matched fuse box one with wing bx 1, then move on to fuse box 2 with wing box 2 there never would have been fit issues.