John, got your e-mail! I normally never look at this forum so thanks for the heads up. I hope this info is of help.



Gerry,

Yep, all the parts come in the kit. As you can see from John's pix there aren't too many of them! The all time record for framing one up is 2 1/2 hours! As for gear, there is none, you hand launch it. You set the prop to stop horizontally and just belly it in.

You can cover it with MonoKote if you don't put too much horsepower on it. If you want to go real fast you need to cover it with Ultracoat and seal the seams with epoxy.

For all-around fun power it with a hot 32 like a Webra or OS 32SX. To go 140 mph or so a 46FX with a 9X8 APC is a good choice. To go scary fast (200 mph plus) you will need a racing 40 or a Jett 50. You can use a ducted fan motor but they are a little more trouble due to the rear induction and high nitro requirement. Jett QM 40's or Jett FIRE 50's run on 15%.

With lower power engines standard ball-bearing servos will work fine, but I would suggest JR mid size digitals or super strong coreless servos like JR 8101 or 2721 if you want to fly in the 200 mph plus regime. That's just my opinion, some guys run standard servos and get away with it.

I powered mine with a Jett F.I.R.E (front induction rear exhaust) 50 fitted with a MACS Quiet Pipe. Mine is set up for high-torque, turning a 10 pitch prop at 16,300 on the ground, which puts the airspeed at around 200 mph in level flight. I hope to pick up an EMS-Jomar airspeed data logger at the Toledo show on Saturday and hopefully confirm those figures in the near future. I use JR 8101 servos, an FMA Quantum receiver and a Sanyo 1100 pack placed just ahead of the rear spar.

The airplane is supposed to be hand-launched by someone else holding it by the wingtips. Problem is it's hard to get people to do it more than once, unless they never look down and see the mess of exhaust residue all over their shirt! I solved the problem with a simple mod. Just fill in the empty bay between the fins with light balsa so you can hold the airplane and handlaunch it yourself. I also widened the notch between the elevons a bit and stuck some sandpaper on the top and bottom for a no slip grip.

If you build one you want to balance it right on the front spar. It flies like a dream that way.

Here's some pictures. The top is florescent UltraCote orange and the bottom is white UltraCote with 3 full size stripes of black MonoKote trim sheet. It makes for a real high viz scheme, something you definitely need with this bird!

I've got a video of it I hope to get posted once I get it digitized.

Have fun with your Diamond Dust!