RE: New Viper 500 RTC
Scott,
Actually the Viper sides are only 3/32" balsa. Not even 1/8". And the doublers are 3/32" light ply.
If you chisel out the triangle stock behind the firewall and put in a piece of 1/4" plywood (after removing the blind nuts), you can pin the new piece of plywood from the sides. And it goes through the 3/32" ply doublers. Granted, it would be good to use 1/8" ply for the hatch and pin from the top as well. And probably do an inch or so of the bottom. The bottom is curved though, so replacing the whole nose bottom is not the easiest unless you do a little extra work.
I talked to Mike Cross about the deficiencies in the Viper right after it came out. Some were addressed. Others were not.
I was excited to see the RTC/ARC. Even though I'm competing with it, Great Planes has much bigger audience and if the general population preps the plane better and has a better experience, that is good for pylon. We need all the new blood we can get.