RE: The Scratch Plane featured in Fly Rc
Great to hear that it went so well.
I have a Hacker 20-22L, Eflite 25A. Originally I had a TP 1320mah but I think I was running to close to 100% of the max C rating and only got about 50 cycles out of it. I now have a couple of different 2100mah (Thunder Power and First Flight I think) and a Parkzone 1800mah. All three of these batteries move the CofG forward about an inch but it still flies well. The prop is a 9x7.5 SF and I have broken two or three over the 100 or so flights in the last 4 months. I have the ESC brake on but I am landing in weeds or hard dirt which is not very forgiving. I have tried a 10x4.7 and that definitely generates more lift with less top speed. With over 100 flights I have only crashed badly once, but had quite a few close calls. When I crashed a big cloud of dust came up and I was sure the plane toast. Fortunately it hit straight on and did not cart wheel. The firewall pushed out, and the wing pushed the former out and the nylon bolt broke as it was supposed to. It took about 3 - 4 hours to rebuild and it is a good as new - the 1/64 ply doublers really saved the fuselage.
I have actually built a second plane to the point of covering but haven't finished it - I really like the wood working part but dislike putting the ultracoat on. I have a couple of different BP motors and a BP ESC ready to go. One of the motors is quite a bit more powerful. I have various props to try also. The two servo thing makes sense to me - the aileron linkages are a pain to get straight, although on the second plane I did much better than the first.
I am considering putting landing gear on but haven't gotten around to it.
This is only my second RC plane and it has been a great learning exercise from both the building and flying standpoint.
I fly about five minutes from my house so I frequently disappear after dinner or on the weekend and get one or two flights in - it is a great stress relief.