Pylon Plane

I got the idea for my pylon plane after seeing these 8 foot long  fluorescent tube protectors at Home Depot.  The diameter of the tube struck me as perfect for a medium sized speed 400 pylon plane.  Vital Statistics:
WingSpan: 40"
Motor: Speed 400
Prop: MAS 5.5x4.5
Receiver: Hitec 555
Servo's: Hitec HS-55
Speed Control: Pixie 14
Battery: 7 KR600AE's


 
I figured I'd start with a picture of the completed plane.  Well almost completed, I need to do a bit more painting.  I like this shot because it makes the plane look sleek and majestic, at least by the standards of the planes I usually build.
Another shot of the plane.  I went with rubber band hold downs for the wing because I planned on crashing quite a bit while I worked the kinks out of the plane.  I might switch to bolts at some point, because it's a pain getting the rubber bands under the aerolon rods.  On my next wing I might try an inverted servo and torque rods.  We'll see.
One of the reasons the fluorescent tube cover was appealing was because of the end caps that came with it.  They have an oblong hole in the end that is intended to allow the two prongs of the bulb to stick out.  I drilled a couple of holes on the narrow sides of the oblong holes to mount the speed 400.  Two small balsa bits back the cap to help reinforce the plastic.
A rather clever approach (at least I think so) to getting a tapered back was to cut a 'u' shaped section out of the rear of the tube, then squeeze the remaining part together, allowing it to overlap, sort of like I was trying to roll the plastic up.  A bit of tape and CA holds it stable
Here is a bottom view of what I did.  The open gap might be filled at some point, or I might leave it open for cooling. 
A side view of the tail.  The transition to the tail is sort of abrupt, so I'll probably fill it in, at least a little bit.
This is a shot of the wing mount and hold down rods.  The mounts are made out of a bit of hardwood molding I had laying about.  They are cut to match the curve of the tube and CA'd down.  The holes for the hold down rods were drilled immediately under the mounts, so that the force of the rubber bands would actually help 'trap' the tube between the mounts and the hold down rods.  This would also help prevent tear-out of the hold down rods since they rest directly against the hardwood mounts.  Oh, and the rods are bits of carbon fiber arrow shaft.
The rudder and elevator servo's were CA'd together as shown, and bits of hardwood were CA'd to the sides.  The hardwood bits extend below the bottom of the servo's, and are of such a length as to allow the whole unit to rest upright inside the curved body of the plane. 
Here's a view of the servos installed.  Note how they are anchored inside the tube by two screws up through the wood bits.  This positions the servo arms in the high-center of the tube. 
This picture shows how the control rods exit the tube through two small holes in the top of the fuse.