Declan

Each to their own seems to be the most sensible and common sense approach. Personally I've put a one on every German ww2 model I've made both rc and static. The models IMO just don't look 'right' without them on the tails. It was a very prominent feature of all German aircraft, more so than their tanks for example.

Konrad, I have the Arrows Marlin already, it's my first EDF. I'm hoping to step up to the larger models. The freewing Avanti is a Motion RC model and they are based in Europe. This makes them subject to import tax and VAT.

Time for the glow engine! I've flown this model quite a few times and it's been good. I have been chucking it about a bit and it is very robust. However, flying it last week in very windy weather pulled the undercarriage off with a bad landing (some might call it a crash). Only minor damage and I am genuinely impressed with this models resilience to less than ideal piloting. So I've decided to fit an OS MAX46 as I think it will give the model better balance in the air.

Central section formed with final filling applied prior to sanding. I'll glass the wings once this has been finished.

Konrad, thank you for the detailed reply which I'm just picking up now. I had removed the Freewing Avanti from the list once I'd worked out the total cost from Motion RC with import duty and VAT added. The FMS Avanti does look nice and at my age the way it stands out in the sky is very important! I like E flite as I've got a couple of their models and I like the quality and general setup. The Viper in white and grey does worry me flying in our downcast skies. I'm nowhere near ready for the thrust vectoring option as I'm new to EDF's and trying to get my eye in with an Arrows Marlin. Flying it is no problem but I've found landings a bit challenging as I like to bring my prop models in very slow and gentle. I think I need a bit of a technique change and fly the model down a bit more. So no real rush on purchase as I'm not really ready for it TBH.

I've seen the same mistake made in so many other walks of life. Organisations move all the goal posts to try to attract the younger audience/crowd/participation. What I think they fail to realise is that younger people, and I agree with leccyflyer in calling thirty somethings younger people, are doing other things. Will that change in the future, I certainly hope so and once this fad with sit on your sofa and have everything at your fingertips right now is done, the traditional pastimes will make a comeback. This is happening with model railways who are attracting younger participants. All we can do as older persons is keep this hobby going long enough for it still to be there when the younger generations come around. So I totally concur with leccyflyer that the magazines should be aimed at who is actually buying them.

Has anyone purchased an order of note from Motion Rc recently? Their guidance is that the prices shown in GBP are exclusive of VAT. So the Freewing Avanti at ~£340 (on the Motion RC website today) plus 20% VAT collectable by FedEx at import plus £12 admin making it a total of ~£420. Is this assumption correct?

Laid down the fiberglass jointing strip in the middle of the wing prior to shaping the lower fuselage section with balsa. I'll cut out the openings for the wing bolts afterwards and recess these into the formed fuselage. Once this is completed I'll then glass this section overlapping to the wings. Don't think it will break!

Nice paint scheme, looks amazing! I have an Arrows Marlin already so I'm looking for something a bit bigger. I've been using my 2600 batteries in it but I must try the larger 3300s. I haven't yet because I thought they might be too heavy but I will give them a go. 6S, lol, they're not cheap. I must have more money than sense! Still, you can't take it with you.....

I'm looking to get a sport jet. The main three contenders seem to be the Freewing Avanti, FMS Avanti or the E-Flite Viper 90mm. I'm edging towards the Freewing Avanti as it's about £150 cheaper and being only 80mm should be a bit easier on the batteries. I like the look of the FMS Avanti as it's physically bigger I think, so easier to see in the sky. E-Flite seems good and I like the brand but the white and red scheme I fear will be a bit obscure in the sky at certain angles, especially with our frequent grey skies. Anyone got any thoughts on these, good or bad. Or have I missed another contender? I'm not keen on the look of the futura.

As an update to this I would like to say that the Sportix has been, and still is, an excellent flyer. Nice and easy to transport and then a real point and shoot type of flier, more pattern than 3D. Liking the brand so I have now purchased the Eflite extra 330. A real nice model to fly.

Wingtip now shaped and the aileron boxes filled around the edges prior to final sanding before glassing. I'm quite happy with the expansion of my gorilla glue and shavings concoction. It's expanded very nicely to fill the void. I'll remember that for future use.

Filled in the channel above the installed conduit in the wing. I've created a fixing panel with dowels to go into the fuselage with a ply profile at the front to match the fuselage. Experimenting with a wood shaving (from the wingtips) and gorilla glue mix to fill in the void behind the ply. Hopefully the glue will expand as usual and create a lightweight filler in the space. I'll clad this in balsa shaped to match the fuselage and feather it into the middle of the wing. I will need to apply a glass bandage on the joint first for strength. This will be overlapped from both sides with the wing cloth sheeting which I'll do before fixing the engine nacelles for simplicity. The sealed glass wing should be a better fix than the sheeted polystyrene wing core I think. Once I've finished the wing fixing and central area I'll start on the engine nacelles.

Test fitting of control surfaces to the wings prior to wingtip shaping.

Been a bit busy with other models and flying lately but finally got around to pushing this model along a bit further. Latest picture of where I'm at.