Willy Nillies Cub 250

This thread will feature my Willy Nillies Cub 250 project.  I recently built a couple of other Willy Nillies kits(GLH 250 and Hummer 250) and really enjoyed them but they were electric powered so I didn't share them here.  For those who aren't familiar with them, Willy Nillies is owned by Doug and Becky Hart.  They recently started a laser-cut kit company as a side business and are doing quite a job of it!  The premise of the company is to offer small and lightweight model kits that can be completed quickly and easily without elaborate methods.  New designs are being added to the mix at a rapid pace.  Some of them are based on the old Ace Simple Series 1/2A offerings but reduced in size with all-balsa construction instead of foam wings.  Others are just reduced sized versions of popular old classics such as the Eaglet and Skylark.  They are framed up like a 3D jigsaw puzzle in your hand instead of pinning everything to a board.  In addition to the wood kits, they offer complete finishing packages that include most of the stuff needed to complete the models with electric power.  The company has a presence on the RCGroups site, including the 1/2A forums but most of the ones featured there are electric powered.  They also have an active Facebook group where they are active with their customers and showcase their projects.   BTW, all of their kits are designed to weigh under 250g when completed.

With all that said, I'm building their Cub 250 kit, a 30" span J3 Cub.  It will be powered by a Pee Wee .020 mounted to one of the new tankless backplates that are available at Cox Int.  To keep this plane simple and light, I have chosen to make it only 2-channel RC with rudder and elevator control.  This eliminates the aileron servos in the wings but will require some dihedral be added, probably about 7-8 degrees.  I made a new ply firewall and moved it back about 3/8" from stock to get the Pee Wee's prop a little closer to the cowl cheeks while still allowing easy use of the starter spring.  Currently, I'm planning to install a Brodak 1/2oz fuel tank behind the firewall and above the receiver battery.  This compartment will be fuel-proofed with epoxy finishing resin and accessible by a removeable hatch on the bottom.  I tend to work a lot of overtime so progress may be sketchy but I will share pics and info here as I move along.  This is not a true build thread, so I will skip all the little details and just feature some highlights, updates, and changes I make to the kit to suit my needs.