I just got a chance to pull the Hybrid http://www.nesail.com/hybrid.htm out of the box and I thought I'd give the list my first impressions. First of all, it's light, VERY light. I weighed each component on a Weight Watcher scale which has a resolution of 2g. To my total amazement, each stab half was exactly the same weight, each wing tip panel was also the exact same weight! I've personally never built any plane, either from a kit or scratch built that came out exactly the same. Simply Amazing. Now for the weights:
Stabs, 34g-1.125oz Wing tips, 218g-7.5 oz Center Panel, 416g-14.25 oz Fuse, 291g-10.125 oz Pushrods, 17g-.0625 oz Bag of hardware, 44g-1.5 oz With the plane assembled but no radio gear or pushrods in the fuse, the Hybrid balances about 2" forward of the trailing edge of the wing. This of course means that very little if any nose weight will be needed to get the balance point located where it needs to be. With 6 servos, battery and rx I think we should/could make the minimum weight listed on the website! The overall craftsmanship it very nice. I left it out in the sun today to see what the covering would do and for the most part it stayed tight. Only on one wing tip and one stab tip will I need to touch it up with the heat gun. Now for the less than perfect things. First, no instructions. I got my kit second hand but the person I got it from said he didn't get any instructions either. For an experienced modeler that's no problem. At least a CG would be nice though. Next, the provided mounting bolts look perfect to put a winch frame together with, but not a high performance sailplane. The stabs appear to be a little small. But you need to remember I'm coming from a background of Super V's which have typically larger stabs than most V-tails. .Finally, the flaps only go down about 45' instead of the normal 90'. This may prove to be plenty though with the light overall weight. I also would have liked to see a towhook in provided in the accessory bag. Please remember this isn't a kit review and I'm not ragging on anyone. These are just my first impressions, not the final say so. gv RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
