Not wanting to be "just" a jet guy, I wanted to design a couple of not so well known propeller fighters. The Russian Lavochkin La-7 is one of the planes that I am in the process of designing. It's intended to be powered by a geared Speed 600 series power pack or brushless motor in the same series, but direct drive. 

This plane has a huge cowl, so fiberglassing is part of the construction. The cowl is 5" in diameter, however it weighs in at a mere 38 grams, and that's before it's trimmed. The main portions of the fuselage are foam, they will be provided to the customer cut to size and patterns will be provided so once they are glued together, shaping the contours will be fairly easy.

The wings are causing me some headaches due to their "scale" profile. Doing a simple foam core so there is a left and a right wing panel is easy, and it does fit. But to create a "scale" wing, there has to be two sections for each half. Otherwise, a lot of carving of balsa will be required along with filling with spackling compound. The vertical fin is also foam and blended into the fuselage. The mould work has been done for the gun blisters and exhaust fairings. Also, the wooden plug has been done for the canopy and the test copies of the canopy has been fitted, so that will be sent off for proper moulds to be made shortly.

I intend on using 8 - CP-1300 cells, or the new 1950 NmH cells that are just coming out on the market ( of cousre, squeezing in an extra cell or two for that extra power is an option ).

The model is 1/10th in scale, which gives me a wingspan of 38", fuselage length of 33.25", the airfoil is a 15% Clark Y. Control will be motor esc, ailerons, elevator & rudder. The wing is thick enough for the installation of retracts as the scale wheels are big enough for grass field operation. But hand or bungee launching is best.

Price of the kit will be in the $130.00 - $140.00 ( Canadian Funds ) area and will include pre-cut foam, balsa & plywood parts, moulded clear canopy, moulded gun blisters and exhaust fairings, fiberglass cowl, and an instruction book including very scale drawings. This model will soon be test flown sometime in ( May ).