Somehow, I’m sure someone here has posted something like this, my searches aren’t finding it.

I just bought a GP laser incidence meter, and discovered how much the thrust angle is off the mark. Luckily haven’t flown yet. I am using the wing incidence as my reference point. Looks like I will need to re-mount the motor. (I suppose everything needs to be measured and nothing taken for granted).

Anyway, the documentation states I should be using stabilizer incidence as reference point, but not sure I would measure this on a v-tail and am assuming using the wing was ok. Any comments appreciated.

If the V-tail joint is clear of any fuselage on top and if the tail panels are flat, you can generally just park the incidence meter on top of the joint and get a reading, if you can retract the adjustable ends enough to both fit on top.

Great, thxs for the answer. I ended up leaving the wing incidence alone; advice from others after looking at the plane. I was told ships like the Renny are supposed to have more negative decalage then high-performance planes, which does make sense for a “floater”.

The initial glide test last Friday was successful, but I didn't launch, I suppose it was "first-flight' apprehension. I haven’t yet converted to 2.4 Ghz, so that was my excuse, but I do have a frequency counter which lets me monitor the entire area. This of course won’t stop someone from turning on mid-flight. I did notice over the weekend there were some pilots who didn’t even bother to ask, and I’m betting they might not have even invested in frequency counters to ensure their own safety since they were flying entry-level ships.

Anyway, today, on Easter Sunday, 1 month after receiving the plane and with all my theory and concerns behind me, I had my maiden power-on flight, around 30 minutes of stellar flying, complete with 2 smooth landings Nothing fancy; this plane wasn’t designed for off-the cuff flying anyway. I did find the Renny does not climb out “vertical”; could be from lower-thrust angle, or the supplied prop with the motor package being smaller than the Graupner 11 X 9 which is what I had originally expected. I was told the motor should have a longer life due to the smaller prop size.

The motor exhibited “glitches” towards the end of the session, which is why I stopped flying. I had noticed this before while programming the radio. I am guessing it has something to do with noise from the servos; or transmitter too close to the plane and ant drawn out (?). Since my power-on test this morning didn’t reveal this problem, I proceeded to launch, and everything was stable.

After a 5-year absence in the hobby, I’m glad to be back, and even more grateful for all the individuals who offer invaluable tips as there is always something more to learn.

Wishing everyone blue skies and uneventful landings!