Thanks Jim. Well, here it is almost ten and I'm just about to head out to start covering. It'll be another long night!

PS I have decided not to do the filets, hope I don't regret it later...

Didn't get as far as I wanted last night. Was out till 5:30 AM!!! Did some more this afternoon, and am about to head back out. Here's a pic!

Definitely a 5:30 AM pic!

Red or white on top? Wings?

Looking good!

David

Going with orange with white accent. Thanks!!

Well, after working on the bird Thursday till 5:30 am, Friday till 4:30 am, and then not going to bed at all Friday night, I did finish and fly it in Saturday's contest!!! I really didn't expect to be competitive at this contest, just flying it was a win for me... this time. I moved into expert this season and placed third at the first two contest, all while flying a slab nosed Original Kaos. I LOVE the way this Compensator grooves, and feel it will give me the edge to move up the podium! Of coarse I will need to trim it out, and PRACTICE!

I did not have time to do anything with the canopy, or finish the trim (Monokote), need to bend another set of mains, and balance. Over all I am very satisfied with the build. I have not built a foam wing in years, they just always seemed to be heavy. I skinned this one with some non-contest grade wood, using Gorilla glue, and a vacuum pump. I learned from David that I should shoot for 2.5lbs, and it finished out at 2lbs .7oz! That was a pleasant surprise. The plane ready to fly as in the pic is 6lbs even. It feels good and the 61 SF pulls it very well.

Great job just to finish and fly. I would have fell asleep flying on Saturday with the hours you spent on final details

Hello Blake,

That's an awesome looking Compensator. Congrats on your excellent build and results at the flying event. Thanks for sharing your build with us............

David

Thanks Guys! I'll post some pics when I get her all finished.

Here is a pic of the Compensator and yours truly. These pics are used for the trophy's... as you may expect, I did not see this on a trophy [:@] I did find out that in the fourth round, the planes third flight (first round engine died on rotation), I was in second place, 7% points from the winner!

Rick Byrd, whom flies IMAC and this past year returned to flying AMA pattern, Masters class for his return... who also managed to win the class at the national level, was kind enough to host a day of set up, trimming and training for all Thunderbird club members interested. This was held Sunday, and could not have come at a more perfect time. I had the plane set up well, but it needed the cg moved forward, and could use more dihedral. Fortunately I was able to mix the tuck and roll out of the knife edge, and it tracked through the loop well. I still need to fine tune it, but he saved me lots of time with his exceptional experience. (I believe he started flying pattern in 1980 and won Masters in 1989.)