I finished my second Funder & Lightning today. It was painted red to resemble the 5000th built P-38J called "Yippee". I'll draw in the canopy and slap on a few star stickers. Not sure I can spell out YIPPEE on the bottom as the Hitec servos will be in the way....we'll see.

Unlike the first F&L built with DOW Blue foam, this one was constructed with Midwest CellFoam 88. Seems a bit lighter and stiffer. One nice thing about CellFoam 88 is that regular CA works just fine...especially ZAP medium. They say only use foam safe CA but I didn't find any problems. I'm also a huge fan of Gorilla Glue. All the major joints were sealed with GG. This makes the build take longer...but you end up with a very strong plane.

Funder & Lightning v2 Specs:

- Esskay 400XT motor w/APC 9x6 prop (needs an 8x6)
- EFlite 20 amp brushless controller
- Thunder Power 3S 1320mAh LiPo
- Spektrum AR6100
- (3) Hitec HS-55s
- AUW: 12.8 oz
- WOT: 13.2 amps

My first F&L uses a Himax 2812-850 motor. The 400XT is lighter and has more speed. On the flip side, running close to 13 amps with the 9x6 prop is not recommended. I've heard others running the 400XT that hot but I think I'll switch to an 8x6 to bring her down closer to 10 amps.

She maidened today in 15mph+ winds. Something between 5-10mph is better. Aileron throws are higher than the first kit and she rolls with authority. Climbs like a rocket with that 400XT. Super Sweet!

Some of my friends just don't realize how much I like this plane. A photo is a good way of proving my point...

I own four (4) Kyosho Cessna 177 Cardinal models. These were made in the late 80's and discontinued shortly after. The fuselage is made of a polyethylene plastic mold and the wings are foam core covered in plastic sheeting. Strong, durable...easy to assemble. All of my flying models are very agile and extremely fun to fly. Many are surprised to see how acrobatic they are.

My father purchased my first Cardinal in the early 90's (first one on the left). It is gas powered by an O/S .15. The engine is actually older than the plane and still runs perfectly! I've flown this model for over 15 years and still enjoy flying it as I did when it was new. It hasn't required much in the terms of repair...but, as you can see, the window stickers are long gone. Fuel has a way of doing that to decals.

The second kit was purchased about 2 years ago off of Ebay (top center of photo). It was a gas powered kit that I converted to electric. Powering this plane is an AXI 2814-12 outrunner....in a word, ZOOOOOM! Way overpowered as take-off runs are probably 20' or less. Thrust ratio is close to 1:1. Very manuverable and probably my favorite plane of all my kits.

The boxed plane was also purchased off of Ebay (thank God for Ebay) and is quiety awaiting it's time for construction. After building the electric version, I wanted to make sure I had a 'backup'...Continue Reading