Extreme Flight sells a 78" Extra (540$ delivered) with as complete a hardware package with decent quality components as one would need. The Extra is not the latest design by any account. It also isn't a composite anything...all built up, very lightweight for its size, balsa and ply. The plane as it comes is probably no more than a Sportsman capable platform....wing is just too large and control surfaces much much too large to be an effective pattern plane
There is a market for built up, true 2x2 meter balsa and ply planes. Mike Hester's and Mark Hunt's planes are proving that. Personally, if I throw the wings and stabs out and build an accurate set from foam and balsa, I will make weight easily with this plane and have a competitive plane to boot. The point is that with the right kind of wing/stab set-up, EF can make this fuse into a true pattern plane. The cost should not be any higher than the 450$ price tag it currently sells for (+90$ shipping)
No reason why a purposely designed/built balsa/ply/foam model couldn't be competitive. I urge EF to go that route. Too many folks have for whatever reason decided that the all composite, painted in the mold, full of bling plane is WHAT THEY NEED...WRONG!!!
I also want to urge the flying leaders in this sport to rethink their approach to models being offered. 25 years ago we had superb kits of the popular winning designs that could be built. I hear the argument that people don't have time to build. Well, Hester and Hunt designs have sold how many planes in the past 3-4 years? Give the average modellers options and you 'd be surprised of the response
Of course, Extreme Flight have been announcing the 2 meter Vanquish for years now, and for years stating that it is "AVAILABLE SOON".
3D hobbyshop have also stated that they are working on something, planned for release this year.
But that is not really the point of this thread.
CA models already have the molds and tooling for the Passport, Visa etc. and want to utilise these to capture the biggest possible part of the market, including those customers that can't afford/justify the higher priced products, by offering a "Budget" version of these fine designs.
And that is all very good.
But as others have stated here, I don't think Chip is going far enough with the cost cutting. I do think that a large number of people are willing to do a bit of work themselves, including making/gluing formers etc., maybe even wing sheeting. (As far as I know, there are no formers glued in to the ZN line kits, but there will be quite a few Zigris models flying around the world this year. As delivered, they are just a big open, white fiberglass fuse.
Yes Chip, bring it on!
(What's the shipping to Norway?)
Magne