In August 2022 I got a second fuselage for my Chocofly JS3 and built this as a “light” version, without retractable gear and towhook, but with a light outrunner FES (6S). As I lost the winglets for my JS3 just before that and I only got a new set of Winglets in the beginning of December, I did not yet get a chance to maiden the new fuselage before winter. Today’s great weather was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

There are a number of reasons for me to get a second fuselage and set it up with a light FES. The first is that I really like Chocofly JS3 with the Jetec70, but the club airfield where I fly most doesn’t allow us to fly with impeller (it’s in a sensitive area). The second is that I wanted to have the possibility to fly a very light JS3 for conditions with very light thermals. The version with the JETEC70 weighs about 6.7kg. My scratch-built JS3 is about 6.6kg. The Chocofly version with the FES fuselage however only weighs 5.9kg. This weight difference makes quite a difference. It almost turns on its wingtips and is even harder to stall than the other version. But speed retention is of course much worse.

The maiden flight and subsequent flights to fine-tune the glider went well. It’s a dream to fly and a breeze to land. I like this version and look forward to flying it often.