I built this kit last fall. I sold it ready to cover to someone else. I don't know if he has finished or flown it yet. Here are some tips for you guys planning to build one:

Definitely order the kit specified 220 cc tank from OK models. It is an obround shape and none of the tanks available from US manufacturers will fit in the plane without a lot of modification. The kit has plywood formers with precut openings for this special tank.

The built up tapered stab is a major chore. The kit also comes with a flat stab option that would be much, much easier to build. I don't know if the built up tapered stab is worth all the extra work. Also be sure to install the elevator joiner wire before you glue in the tapered stab. It can't be added after the stab is installed.

The landing gear looks weak. I would replace it with something stronger while building the kit. This would be easier than retrofitting later. TNT could probably supply the same shaped gear made from thicker aluminum.

The filler blocks that go on top of the stab along side the fin are a major pain to shape. The blocks are made up of glued together plates. The glue joints show up when shaping. Replace this wood with solid soft balsa, glue the blocks together with an easy to sand glue like SIG sigment, or redesign this area some how. There is a very small fin that sticks above the turtle deck only about 2 inches. I noticed on the Wildstyle that they just added this area to the rudder and eliminated this little fin. You could then extend the sheeted turtle deck all the way to the rear of the plane and eliminate the filler blocks. This would also save some weight.

The dehedral instructions are very confusing. Another guy contacted OK Models for an interpretation. The correct total dehedral is 1.215 inches measured at the tip rib. With one wing flat on the building board, the other wing tip should be 1.215 inches above the building board.

The kit comes with a little piece of clear vacuum formed plastic. The instructions don't explain what it is for. It is supposed to be glued into the rear of the landing gear cavity at an angle to streamline this area. I threw mine away and used a piece of thin balsa instead.

Definitely do not try to tint the cowl or canopy in hot water. The heat destroys them and the replacements from Japan are very expensive. Don't ask how I know.

When assembling the fuselage sides, you are supposed to leave a 1/16 inch offset of the layers along the top edge. This then creates a shouldered area for the turtle deck and front deck sheeting to glue into. The instructions aren't to clear on this detail. The fuselage sides have several seams. If you use CA glue and it runs through the seams to the outside of the fuse, the glue is very hard to sand off later. I would use an easy to sand type of glue in this area.

The turtle deck formers are too far apart and the stringers are very weak. Put a lot of reinforcing cross braces between the turtle deck stringers before sheeting this area. Or better yet, add two additional turtle deck formers. Otherwise the first side of the turtle deck sheeting will warp the stringers. When you put on the other side, it follows the warp and then the whole turltle deck has a warp or warps in it.

The kit comes with a clear plastic cowl. The plastic is tougher than the white ABS cowls, but I would still be worried that it may develop cracks. Reinforce the mounting holes with a layer of plastic from trimming the canopy, thin ply, fiberglass or something.

I did not use the plastic wing tips and extra balsa wing tip plates. I added a layer of 1/32 inch plywood to the tip rib. This saved about an ounce of weight. I also taper the outer 6 inches of the ailerons by about 1/2 inch to reduce flutter.

I did not use most of the metric kit hardware, especially the threaded wheel axles. The kit uses threaded screws for control horns on the ailerons, elevator and rudder. These are shown just screwed through the soft balsa control surfaces. This seems like a weak design. I recommend adding a 3/8 inch dowel hard point in these locations or using a different type of control horn.

The wing goes together beautifully. The kit has excellent light wood and ply. I thought the wood in the tail, especially the rudder, was actually a little too light. I estimate the plane would have come out at about 4 pounds 6 ounces with the YS 63. The kit comes with a very heavy plastic mount for the YS 63. I cut the excess beam length off this mount and drilled lightening holes in it. I would consider replacing it with something lighter.

The kit has built in right thrust. Pay close attention to left and right fuse parts to get this right. When adding parts U-2, X-3 and W-3 to the bottom front of the fuse, the parts on the right side of the fuse have to be shortened because of the right thrust angle of the firewall. Be sure to remove material from the front, not the rear, of these parts. Otherwise the landing gear notches end up in the wrong place.

The rudder pushrod is long and unsupported. I recommend a small diameter carbon figber rod with threaded fittings on the end. I think a piece of 2-56 sized wire might vibrate a lot and/or bend. A 4-40 rod seems like it would be too heavy. The pushrod location seems kind of weird, but I couldn't find a better way to position it. Maybe someone else has a better idea for this problem.

The instructions and assembly pictures are printed on a piece of paper the same size as the plans. I cut the sheet into separate pieces for each section of the plans: tail, wing, fuse, etc. The instructions are somewhat brief and omit a lot of steps. This kit is not for an inexperienced builder.

If you have any questions while building the kit, just ask and I may have the answer. I am looking forward to more flight reports on this plane.