2012 - F3F- USA Team Selects (6 min 7 sec)

Nates Ridge (3 min 41 sec)

2010 F3F Promo (4 min 7 sec)

Went with uni on the elevons for some added stiffness. Also some uni at the trailing edge of the vertical stab (sharp as a knife). 2 layers of bi-directional tape on the wings, followed with Ultra coat for color. Finished wing with 2 layers of 10mil laminate, this thing won't bent, no way-no how
I've always had good luck with solar-tex on the fuse so after the bi-directional / goop series I covered with red solar-tex. A little to faded for my liking so 5 or 6 more coats of tinted red goop (Testers Red). Went with 4-40 rods and Sullivan linkage. The 5245's come with aluminum servo arms, and I used super tall Dubro T-style Large control horns. These seem almost comical at first glance but there is nothing stronger for this application and absolutely no slop at all Finished the elevon install with 3m 5200 silicon hinges, once again, nothing stronger IMHO. Maiden flight up at Weldon and she flew like a dream. Cruising in the 120's was effortless and no bad habits, I'm gonna like this.

I'd been on the fence about adding this type of plane to my arsenal, until getting the opportunity to take my good friend Gregg Boltons DSII for a spin. The plane was so stable and easy to fly, diving into the backside, axial rolls, inverted, it just did whatever I wanted with precision and ease. It was hard to believe this was a 90oz foamie, kind of a cross between a Cadillac and Ferrari Another plus is nice having the owner and developer of the Gulp series of planes as your neighbor, so naturally I decided to pay Steve a visit to talk shop about this build and get started. I wanted to shoot for 85-90oz dry with the ability to "load her up" on the really big days

Somewhat typical (yeah right) foam plank affair, with some serious mods:
Joined wing halves, double full length carbon spars, 2' carbon ballast tube, square carbon drag spar, potted HS-5245's, fixed 3" of elevon at tips, added spars in fuse at (LE & TE of wing) and put all electronics in the wing.

Next I started on the new fuse. Decided to add a switch & charging lead on top under a plywood lid. Continued with carving out the removable nose cone to allow for the battery, Rx, and balancing lead (this removable nose seems like a really great idea Steve has come up with). I ran the push rods through the wing and lined up the linkage. Got her wrapped up in one layer of bi-directional tape and started the covering. I was on a Green kick so I picked up some Kawasaki Green Ultra Coat and went to town. Finished with some pin-striping and was very happy with the outcome. Did some test throws in the park and went for the maiden. She flew like a dream. The SR is one fast foamy and bangs a turn like a pro. (move ahead 2 months) I've since added some laminating film to stiffen her up and push the backside speed. Got 124mph at Parker in about 20-25mph winds. Wings were flexing at that speed so I didn't push it. All in all I was very please with the SR's overall flight performance. The frontside is definitely where is shines.
Will be looking at the DSII soon.

Got together with Steve Drake and he set me up with a new fuse / tail and elevons. I started by filling the old servo pockets with EPP (they were under the fuse and drove torque rods). I then put in new servo pockets and potted the servos. Then I fixed the outboard end of the elevon. Added some uni in an attempt to strengthen, but doubt it did much. Also added uni to the drag spar.
Did some plywood inserts at the control horn attachment points and at the ends of the elevons.

This really qualifies as a "Re-build" but with the time I spent it felt more like a full build, (note to myself.....never again)
I started with an older SR that I picked up second, no make that third or forth hand. Regardless, I got it from Adrian "codezilla" and it was a great deal, pretty much RTF. First thing I noticed when I picked it up is it was completely covered in Solar-tex and was, well I think the best description is "baggy". I did my best to tighten it up but it still had a lot of sags in the covering and the elevons had a quarter inch play up & down , not good on a plank.

Anyhow, after a few weeks of trying to make the best of it I gave in and started ripping the cover off. When I was done, I could hardly believe my eyes, 7.5 ounces in covering and a fuse that was slightly beyond repair.