Looks like you're moving right along on your build! Looks nice! I have an Ultra Sport 60 that I built almost 12 years ago. It is my longest surviving RC airplane. I started out with a Super Tiger motor on it. Big mistake. I had the Super Tiger G-90 on mine. What a piece of junk. I really know my way around a nitro motor. I'll never buy another Super Tiger. Just my advice. If I were you, I'd spend the extra dough on the OS 1.60. I now have an OS .95AX for my US60. OS is awesome. My US60 is by far the nicest flying plane I've ever built. It's like it's on rails. I can only imagine how nice the US1000 is. I keep looking for a US1000 kit for sale, but keep missing the deals. I might just build it from scratch.

I'm currently building a US40 kit that my wife bought me for Christmas. These really are great kits. LOTS of sanding though. I build in my garage here in Alaska. A couple of weeks ago, I came inside for dinner and hacked up a bunch of US40 balsa dust all over the table. I now have to wear a face mask. Anyways, I have been working on it since Christmas, but am only now just finishing up the wings. I'm installing some pneumatic, Robart retracts with robo struts on this one. I spent about a week working on each retract. I finally finished them up tonight. The pneumatic retracts are a VERY tight fit. I have to join the wings together and then move on to the fuselage. I am installing a Jett .56 motor. Should be a pretty sweet plane when I'm done.

Anyways, your build looks great, especially for your first one! I have a couple projects lined up after my US40, but if I haven't found a US1000 kit by the time I'm done with my next two, I'm going to build a US1000 from scratch. Here's a pic of my US60 when it had the ST G-90 installed. Again, please spend the extra money for the OS. My US60 has mechanical retracts. I think I'll upgrade them to some pneumatic retracts as well.