I am not sure of the weight yet. I ahve not measured it. I did not do anything to lighten it. I have a 700mAh Nimh on ignition and a 2100 mAh 6.0 volt NiMh battery pack on the receiver. I added a pilot and two instrument panels (from DP and they are NICE!). I also added an I4C volt meter panel to the side. I will probably replace the super light wheels with more durable rubber wheels. I fly off of pavement and it eats foam wheels. Plus I hate the flatspots they get if the plane sits in one place too long.

I am sure you are right about the actual speed vs relative speed - although, I think the Giles has a lighter wing loading I am adding tuned cans/3 blade prop to it now and having to do a lot of airframe modifications. Once that is done, I hope to fly them back to back to get a better comparison.

I am glad someone else found the elevator sensitive too. I set about 60% expo on the elevator. That cured ti for straight and level and making subtle changes, but I still think the low rates are too high for competition flying. I pull full up on low rates going into a loop or vertical maneuver and it chops off the corner. I will try reducing the throws and let you know what I find to work well. Most sport flyers will hate this set-up, but after spending most of last season at the bottom of the contest list, I learned this little trick. Sure seems to help make things look smooth. We will see if my scores improve this season.