Ron,

glad to be of help and inspiration. And great picture of DB at the 79 nats!

That is definitely a Tipo by virtue of the wing location and also the fact that Hanson's Tipo article wasn't published until 1980. I would have been surprised that the Illusion existed by then. On the other hand, I purchased my Tipo from GP in '82 and I believe they first released the kit in '81 although they presumably were available from WK beforehand (1980 time frame). I would venture that DH and DB were testing the Illusion in the '80-'82 time frame with GP releasing the kit in '82.

Attached is a scan of a '82 GP brochure showing both the Tipo and the Illusion. The other photo shows we know who with Tipo in BG (note anhedral) and Illusion in FG (again, note anhedral). This photo also leads one to believe that the stab on the Illusion was larger and that the dihedral was diminished but it's hard to confirm. Further, it's possible that the Illusion had less pronounced and shorter tuck lines at the canopy level.

Later this summer, I should be able to confirm whether the stab is any different from the Tipo and if so, produce cores of it.

David.