• Wing Span: 84 in. (213 cm)
• Wing Area: 1,596 sq. in. (10,297 cm²)
• Length: 52.5 in. (133 cm)
• Weight: 20.0 lbs. (9.1 kg)
• Engine: 1.8 - 4.2 2 - cycle
  (29.5 - 68.8 cc 2 - cycle)
• 6 Servos required

The box containing this kit is enormous but this gives motivation to the builder to complete the project, just to get rid of the box. Most of the wood was of good quality, however the ailerons were banana shaped along the wrong axis (if placed against the wing, the middle portion contacted the wing, whereas the ends were out by about 1/2" each). Living in Australia, a simple call to the factory was not an option, so a thorough wetting process was undertaken, augmented by weights and a straight jig. They came out fine in the end. Aileron thickness also had to be boosted by the application of 1/16" sheeting.

The wings were straight and true right out of the box, and took no time to build. Elmer's White Glue was used to attach the balsa spars and capping, epoxy to join the wings together with the plywood brace, and 3M adhesive spray for the balsa sheeting. A builder really has to work hard to mess up this stage of the construction.

The tail group was next, which is built up with square balsa stock. Again, there are no real challenges here but a little time must be taken in getting the butt joints sanded right. The holes for the hardwood dowels are best drilled using the appropriate thickness copper tubing, as it leaves no burred sides like drill bits can. The workbench must be absolutely straight to ensure that the wing is built straight.

The fuselage is next and requires the most work. There is nothing too hard about the construction but care must be taken in joining the sides, as it can cause some grief later if they are not joined true. Everything went together according to plan, except that the tank cover was not glued on but rather it was held in place with screws. This makes accessing the tank much easier. In fact, getting a 32-ounce tank in to the compartment without a removable cover is a real challenge. A remote gas filler was installed on the fuselage side, just behind cowl.

The elevator and rudder servos are metal geared, ball bearing 1/4 scale, with a separate servo dedicated to each elevator side. They are mounted in the tail section of the fuselage, allowing a very short and strong pushrod length. Also, the weight will offset the extra weight of the selected engine. Comments have been made that the servo output-power is overkill but it is better to have too much power where it counts than not enough. In addition, 1/4 scale servos on each aileron. A high output FMA servo was used for the throttle and a standard servo for the kill switch actuator.

The decision was made to glass the inside of the tank compartment, strengthening the firewall in the process. Other areas to be glassed were the wing saddle cover, tank cover and cowling. Joining the plastic bulkheads for the saddle cover and rear tank cover took patience, but were not overly difficult. A pilot figure was not installed, but instead the canopy was tinted with Rit navy blue dye. The dye was not as dark as expected but it looks nice nevertheless. The aircraft was covered with Monokote Yellow, Red and Orange, in a style similar to another plane. The plastic parts were painted with yellow and orange Lustercote and a high gloss red enamel that was mixed by my local paint shop. The color matches were all outstanding.

A Zenoah G-62 mounted on a Great Planes Large Scale Isolation Mount was selected to power the plane. A Great Planes ignition switch was installed with a servo actuated kill switch. Initially, the ON/OFF placard was reversed and the engine refused to start on the first attempts but this problem has been corrected. A Top Flight Powerpoint 20x10 prop is used on the G-62, which matches the engine extremely well.

Two 1400MaH, 6 volt batteries, wired through an EMS-Jomar Battery Backer, power all the moving parts. Two switch harnesses are used, one for each battery pack. The Backer sends power from whichever battery is turned on first, and automatically switches over to the redundant power source should low voltage or a fault occur. It is better to pay the extra money to have this redundancy on board, than having to live with the burden should the aircraft lose battery power and kill someone in the resulting crash, not to mention the cost of the aircraft, engine and servos.

After getting the aircraft certified to fly to meet the Australian Government requirement for all models over 7kg empty weight, it was taken to the airfield. The first flight was exceptional. The leading edge had been rounded more than called for on the plans, on the advice of another Stinger builder. This cuts down on pitch sensitivity, making a smoother-flying airplane. It really does fly well. It is nice and stable when wanted, but can be downright outrageous when required. This is the first giant project and led to an addiction to gas powered models. This kit is strongly recommended for anyone's first giant project. The flying qualities and value for money cannot be beat.