Southridge CNC Hyper Viper

duaneh on Sat Dec 28, 2019 8:55 pm

I bought one of these kits shortly after they were announced, but just recently got a "round-tuit".
It's done now, so I thought I would share some impressions of the kit and pics. Don't have any in-progress pics, as I didn't plan far enough ahead to take any.

The most unusual feature of the kit is the CNC carved fuselage, which comes in a top & bottom half that just need a final sanding and glued together. Mine was cut from some very nice, light wood. The ribs, and all other shaped parts are also machine cut. The ribs each have two 1/4" square holes that the spars slide into, and function as a wing jig. This was the only area that gave me trouble. The spars were a tight fit in the holes, and fumble-fingered me managed to split 4 of the ribs trying to slide them on. After that, it went together smoothly.

I made the gear removable, since I fly over grass. I also cut the cowl into a front and rear part. The front comes off for engine access. The rear part is glued on over the tank. The tank can still be removed by sliding it out to the front. This strengthens the front of the fuse, which IMO, has a weak point at the rear of the tank bay.

I installed the Tee Dee that Fredvon4 sent me, and a homemade 3/4 oz.tank. Covered it with monokote, in a scheme similar to the Cox one, but with better colors.It actually came out lighter than expected, at 8.7 oz. ready to fly.

duaneh on Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:00 pm

Here you can see two needle valve cutouts. That way I can use a Medallion or a Tee Dee.

And a look at the bottom.

Oldenginerod on Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:24 pm

Looks really nice. I hope it flies just as well.

**Cribbs74** on Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:17 pm

Looks the business, how well did it balance out? The proportions are that of the original so I was wondering. The TD being light might make up the difference.

What does the homemade tank look like?

Ron