I am pretty happy with how these planes performed since I did not do any lighting of the wood. No modifications and used the Guillows props. They are a little tough to trim because of the weight but all and all not bad. I wish someone up there at Guillows was listening and would institute some quality control with the balsa so it is around 8-12 lb balsa. These are great designs and can be a lot of fun. Also I am a little disappointed with Guillows Customer service. I called about the heavy wood and was willing to BUY replacement wood that was lighter, but they said they have no control over that and what I get is what I get. I really hope Guillows reads these forums....Enough ranting.
Today was a nice day here in So. Cal so I decided to fly my WWII birds. We took a lot of pictures but most did not turn out. It is real hard to take pictures with the planes fly fast and the camera wants to focus in on the background. Hellcat- The Hellcat did real well with flights near a minute on 3/16 rubber. It stayed in the air until the rubber wound down. Little nose weight and down thrust and she was ready to go...........The best WWII performer that Guillows has. Here is the kicker...My other Guillows Hellcat that is totally modified with contest balsa flies just as good as this one with no mods and using kit wood. They both fly close to a minute.
Zero........Added weight up front and down thrust. Flew with 3/16 rubber for 32 seconds. Could use a little more washout in both tips, but all and all not bad.
Messerschmitt. This is the 4th time I took this gem out, still a nice flyer at 35 seconds with 2 lengths of 1/8 rubber and weighing in at 41 grams.....I removed the landing gear.