The VIPER llm meets all the requirements of the serious competitor seeking to get away from the usual fiberglass fuselage without surrendering the advantages of recent developments in aerobatic design and aircraft specifications. A balsa and ply fuselage can be lighter than fiberglass and have greater rigidity. It can also better absorb the punishing vibrations of the latest 4 stroke motors.

The deluxe kit contains an accurately framed balsa and ply fuselage. All holes for wing tube, aileron servo leads, retract pushrods and alignment pins are predrilled. Matching holes are drilled in the ply root ribs which the builder glues to the wing after fitting the wing root against the fuselage.

The plug-in wings have a thinner airfoil in line with most other leading pattern ships and are reinforced with carbon fiber top and bottom. The finely sanded wing skins are attached to the foam with epoxy. All the control surfaces are finished and are ready for hinges. The phenolic sleeve is epoxied into the core at the factory and the dihedral is checked. The outer end of the phenolic sleeve is supported by balsa half ribs which are inserted in the core prior to sheeting. Holes for the aileron servo lead are predrilled in the foam core. The wheel wells and recess for the retract units are cutout. The balsa half rib is also used to support the ply plate holding the retract unit. The wing tips and the ply root rib are supplied but are not installed. Since most pattern flyers have their own method of installing servos the cut-out for the aileron servo has not been made but our preferred method is described in the instructions and the necessary materials are included.

The firewall on the standard Viper is drilled for the Dave Brown Vibradamp Mount and Side thrust and Down thrust are built in. However some pattern flyers prefer the Hyde mount which requires a different location and a slightly wider fuselage at that point. To accommodate this and any other preferred mount we offer the option of a custom built fuselage. We recommend that a nose ring be fitted into the 3" diameter ply spinner disc.

The tuned pipe exhaust system of the 4 stroke motors fits in a 24" long open tunnel. To accommodate the large two stroke motors and their very long tuned pipes the tunnel must be extended to 36". Since this is best done during construction of the fuselage we need to know which engine will be installed. Access to the centrally mounted tank and radio compartment is through the removable canopy unit which is supplied framed but without the clear Lexan canopy installed to allow fitting of cockpit detail and pilot.