I am in the process of building a second Stryker-based plane which is hardened for combat. I will use my blog to document the build in case there is anyone out there who would like to look at my methods and improve upon them. I have dubbed it a Mutant Stryker build because the only thing I use of the Stryker parts are the body and fins. The rest is hand crafted. The first one has been used for about the past three months in combat. As it turns out, combat is a useful way of finding the weak points and learning how to strengthen them. Here's the parts list with approximate cost:

Spare Stryker body from LHS: $20
Spare Stryker fins from LHS: $8
EMAX 28-12 motor: $6
Sword 18 amp ESC: $15
1/8 inch balsa for elevons: $3
Control horns: $2
Adjustable control rods: $2
2 24-inch 2mm CF rods $5
1 24-inch 3.5 mm CF tube $5
4 3-mm bolts and nuts for motor $3
5 nylon bolts and nuts $4
3M 77 adhesive spray $10
7X5 APC prop $2
Prop saver $2
Two servos (MG preferred) $40
The rest are odds and ends that you will see in the pictures that follow: some formica, various adhesives, coroplast, a few square inches of left over covering, tape...

In the pictures below I am more than half way finished. I have the reinforcements finished, the elevons cut and covered, the motor cut-out is done, and the nylon bolts are in place to hold down the hatch. I expect to finish next week.

In part 2 I have pictures of the finished plane. I will show the remainder of the build info in the pictures here. Some points about the mods:

1) The black metal seen on the top and bottom of the motor mounts is very thin steel cut from a steel "keep out!" sign I got at Home Depot. It is hot glued in place slightly overlapping the edge of the formica motor mount plate. It keeps the motor mount from separating in a violent crash (of which I know a lot about). This motor mounting system with the four CF tubes in the airframe and the overlapping steel is very strong.

2) You can't see much of the formica motor mount plate in the pics. Sorry, I should have taken more pics during the build. I cut the formica by scoring with a sheet rock knife then snapping the cuts. I use course sandpaper to round off the sharp corners to just the shape I want. In this case the shape exactly fits the back of the airframe. I drill holes for the mounting bolts. The bolt head goes on the back of the formica with the bolts protruding through the formica then through the motor mounting plate. Nuts are then secured. I cut out notches in the airframe foam for the bolt heads before hot gluing to the airframe. I also to a lot of trimming of the foam with a razor and testing to make sure I have the correct thrust angle before gluing the formica plate in place.

3) Slots for the CF rods are all cut with a hot soldering iron. I have cut a slot in the side of the soldering iron with a hacksaw at the proper depth. When I make the cuts I line up a steel ruler then by running the soldering iron against the ruler with the edge of the ruler fitted into the slot I can control the depth of the cut for the entire length.

4) The Stryker spare body and nose come in a bag together with servo tape that is apparently supposed to hold the nose to the body. I throw the servo tape away, and securely glue on the nose with gorilla glue. I also use needle nose pliers to remove the bolt that has been place in the nose for weight.

5) My elevons are 1 3/4 inches wide. This is significantly wider than the stock elevons. What can I say. I guess I like fast rolls. This will roll too fast to count.