DeHavilland Hornet, ready to test fly

Not my best construction, or finishing. But finally the sticks are more or less in formation and only the weather is preventing a test flight.

This is expected to be very much a do or die test. To be fair, the kit build has been massively rewarding and presented endless challenges. Which is good. On the other hand, my confidence in how I have addressed some of those challenges is not high.

Aside from anything else, I am horrified by the weight penalty for my final balancing/battery positioning. She’s ready to fly at 714g take-off weight…where the similar sized Dragon Rapid I love so much flies at 454g.

So, finishing some twiddly bits, like a well finished nose, armaments, exhausts and air scoops can all be put on the wait and see list. If it flies, brilliant. If it doesn’t, the build has been its own reward.

Click on the image below to read the final build report.

Alternatively visit the DeHavilland Hornet build page to choose from any of the previous Hornet reports. Or, visit the ‘Photo Reports‘ tab to see other wonders of manufacture and members activities, and no small list of videos too.