I built this over Christmas 2017 to be my go to plane in 2018. It tried to be a premium kit, but falls short because any buyer should address flaws in the design/kitting of the ARF before flying. As it stands, I wish Great Planes had warned me about some of the stuff in a tech note or something. A Mk II version that corrects the flaws and has instructions for a DLE 20 or something could be a fantastic plane.

Pros:
- Looks great on the ground
- Flys great in the air
- "Feel big" but is easy to transport

Cons:
- Landing gear twisted off due to a slight crosswind on the 4th flight. Inspection revealed it to be installed with very little glue to the structure. Repaired and reinforced with epoxy thickened with milled fiberglass and is currently holding well
- Tailwheel bracket in the kit is wholly inadequate for this size of plane. It plugs into the soft balsa in the rudder which crushed after only a few flights leading to substantial slot and poor ground handling. I replaced with a "Sullivan Tailwheel Bracket 40-60 5-12 lbs" which can use the original wheel and wheel collar from the kit and it is working well. You can't access the rear fuselage cavity to install bind nuts, but I drilled a small hole and put down a layer of epoxy, into which I could secure the bracket with self tapping screws. I used a similar approach in the tail cavity to hold the wire for steering the tailwheel in place

Other modifications (due to personal preference):
- Replaced single spinner bolt spinner in the kit with plastic Dubro with 4 bolts
- Replaced nylon clevis with steel clevis

I have been flying it over two months now. I easily powered it with a DLE 20. It flies as good as the pilot. It's fast when needed and very responsive. My only compliant would be the landing gear. It is a two piece fiberglass and you need to beef it up. Even on what should be a perfect landing on grass I have had it seperate twice. I now bedded it in silicone and used fender washers to hold it. Time will tell. ✈

The quality of the kit was stellar, the fit and finish was very good. I was impressed that the landing gear was powder coated not just painted. and the Alum. spinner was a very nice extra. There were just a few issues the wing pin wholes in the body needed to be elongated and the powder coated landing gear needed to be reamed out. the wing tube was very tight and needed to be worked to loosen the fit but now after 3 flights they are as smooth as silk.

This is the best flying plane in my hanger, straight and true.

I put a DLE-20 in the plane and it FLYS Awesome It a nice one