This beautiful model took six months to build, from the Pilot kit. Itwas a real builder's model with hundreds (and hundreds) of beautifully die-cut parts. All the trim was hand-cut from Solartrim, to the patterns printed on the reverse of the plan supplied with the kit
In flight it was disappointing, being tail-heavy - even with a heavy OS .61 FX engine and plenty of lead up front (the kit, it says, was designed for a .45 engine!). With an even bigger, heavier engine it would undoubtedly have been ok, but I wasn't prepared to go larger. It was also a nightmare to keep clean, and I didn't enjoy having the engine inverted (especially for starting) so I reluctantly sold the model
The new owner later told me he'd fitted a .91 engine and it flew perfectly. But one day the engine died and the model wouldn't glide. It just "dropped from the sky," he said. I guess he had too much weight up front, as the model's engine cut a couple of times when I flew it, and the glide was exceptional (even though the model was tail-heavy)