"The original 60-size engine was mounted in the prone position within the open cheeks. The current engine is an ASP 80 4-cycle. Preference was given to a 90 degree engine position. This orientation allowed for a clean top contour but presented the problem of interference with the one cheek. Since it was a rebuild, the engine-side cheek was cut as a separate plate with a knock-out for the engine head contour. That cheek was made removable to allow for eventual removal of the engine using two nylon bolts wound into small tapped quarter round blocks fixed to the firewall, all out of sight. Furthermore, a very thin plywood skin was applied and secured with small cap screws to enclose the engine cavity. Ample ventilation exit ports were provided underneath. A further access plate was fitted beneath the fuselage just aft of the firewall should access be required to repair the landing block or get at the fuel tank, etc.
"The canopy was moved back on the fuselage about 1 inch to effectively lengthen the deck and add a sleeker appearance to the model. The inside surface of the canopy was lightly spray-tinted and use of an action figure head provided a good scale-like pilot. Another aesthetic feature is a 1/4 inch square balsa runner along the entire length of the fuselage which does a nice job of breaking up the flat sidewalls. The color motif is conservative, using tan-colored and black MonoKote in a simple two-tone approach. To greatly assist with orientation in the air, a 3” square checkerboard was created on the bottom of the wing and stabilizer. Many have commented on how interesting a checkerboard pattern is on the wing bottom. To achieve the checkers, the black MonoKote was pre-cut and applied over the tan covering with a heat iron. A Dubro fibreglass wheel truss with rubber 3.5” wheels allows for the occasional hard landing.
"Although a good performing plane in 2009 with the full wing, I followed some well-established V60 blogger advice to clip the wing removing one bay on each end. To my delight, the roll rate and staight axial direction improved significantly. Barrel rolls were fine before but the clipped wing has helped this V60 become an advanced aerobatic plane performing well in the IMAC basic sequences and in other standard aerobatic stunts. It tracks straight and punches through turbulance without bouncing around. Slow fly-bys are unaffected by the reduced wing area and landing approaches yield a predictable and comfortable rate of decent. This plane is a favorite at a field full of impressive craft!"
