So close...yet so far...

Just when I thought I had the old Webra 40 I'd blogged about a couple of times finally running well, wrong-o.

Took it out a couple of weeks ago, fired it up, everything seemed OK.

I got it ready for takeoff; the 30-year old Super Sportster gets off the ground followed by cough-hack-sputter-die-tip stall-splat.

The saving grace through all this is the fact this particular model is as rugged as the average log. It's skinned, covered and doped to where it seems as if it's carved instead of built.

All that broke was the prop.

The right horizontal stab popped off, but it had been repaired sometime in the model's past. Fixing it right with some 30-minute epoxy will be a cinch.

A friend says that he has an unused Evolution .46 which should suit this old bird just fine. I'll lose the cool vintage look and that uber-cool vintage exhaust pipe, but I can rest assured that I'll have an engine as reliable and tough as an anvil. I have an Evo .46 in another plane; it starts and runs every time I take it to the flight line. It doesn't make as much power as my other .46s simply because of the flywheel which makes it so beginner friendly, but an Evolution in the Super Sportster ought to be a nice match anyway.

Work is delayed somewhat on my Great Planes Ultimate Biplane project while I work on some reviews for The E Zone. Hacker Model Production of the Czech Republic is making some really nice 3D profile foamies, among other things. Reviews of two of those foamies will be hitting the site within a couple of weeks. The first should hit a bit sooner than that.

Now, what to do with nearly a gallon of FAI fuel...?