nothinbetr2do

hi, is there a thread for the 4* 40. i was looking, and tried the search. but i got a bunch of small threads. anyway i'm looking for a 2'nd plane and i think this is it. tower has them for $149.99 arf , i might go with it. so is there a good thread on here and can i get a link?. thanks guys

ChuckW

There are a lot of threads for the kit version in the kit building forum.

If you are confident that you've mastered your trainer then the 4*, either ARF or kit, is an excellent choice for your next plane. Not a whole lot to say about it except have fun.

What engine were you thinking about running?

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

The two most recommend second planes for a .40-sized engine are the Goldberg Tiger 2 and the Sig Four Star 40. Tower Hobbies carries both. Tower also carries the Phoenix Models Dolphin .40 ARF, which appears to be a very close knock-off of the Four Star .40 and is sold for only $99.99. The Tower Hobbies Voyager .40 ARF is also similiar in styling and capabilities to the other above mentioned ARFs, and should also be a fun second plane to fly.

The bottom line is that there are a wide array of good choices for a second aircraft out there. The Sig Four Star is certainly at the top of that list and you should have a lot of fun with yours if you choose to buy one.

nothinbetr2do

i was going to try my trainers motor, it's a .46 os

saramos

Is the 46 an LA or AX? The AX would work well. I moved a 46LA from my trainer to the 4 *, but shortly after, I bought and installed an OS 50SX.

A suggestion I make when I see someone getting a 4 * is to add an extra set of hinges one bay inward from the wing tips. The wing on the 4* is large, and the plane floats forever on landings. Sometime down the road, you may want to do a popular modification and clip the wings one bay. This will improve the roll rate and the plane will still be gentle on the landings. If you have hinges already installed one bay inward, it'll make the modification a lot easier. And if you don't ever clip the wings, an extra set of hinges won't hurt.

Scott

craigpuckett

I have the Phoenix Dolphin and I love it, the fellows at the field say it is almost a direct knockoff of the four* (different canopy, vertical stab,landing gear)
the only thing that I changed was the motor mount as it is to narrow to properly mount a 46 size motor and it flexes to much for me anyways I also changed the foam wheels for some rubber ones I had laying around.
I replaced it with a hanger 9 metal adjustable mount and all is well now

another fellow at our field has the Kyosho Calmato sport it is a tiger2 knockoff (and a fine plane)

M. Michael Meyer

The 4*40 was my second plane. Ran it with a .40 SuperTigre. You won't go wrong. The .46 AX (which I ran on my trainer) may provide too much power, however.

Insanemoondoggie

The GS 40 is a strong little engine , but the .OS .46 ax will work well in the 4* also . Mine has a Saito .56 with a 12x6 APC and preforms very will with this combination . Sips fuel and has plenty of power for the airframe.

KitBuilder

I'm building the kit and putting in an evolution .46.. I have ST .40 in my trainer but continuing to fly that while construction in progress. Very easy kit to build.. all interlocking, parts, sheet tail surfaces, good quality wood, etc.
Mike

XxOoCoBrAoOxX

Hey guys Im thinking about buying the sig 4 40 from tower.. any pros or cons about this plane.
I want to run a Os .46ax, will that fit the motor mount given with the arf?



Thanks.

flyX

the pro is it's almost complete. The con is you can't bash it .lol
or take out the deihedral..

I'm not sure about the engine mount for that arf..never own a 4* arf.
I imagine it wouldn't be a problem becuase it's in the engine range.

The problem you might run into when mounting a .46 or a heavier engine is
it'll be nose heavy. It can be easily resolved by mounting the battery
pack in the cokpit area, without adding wieght.
Just paint the canopy black.

the weak spot is always the landing gear mount area.
On a 4* it's also right behind the wing mount former.

the pro is..you can easily repair the fuselege..if you know how.
you can easily reinforce the landing gear area with tri or hard wood.

I don't like the way the vertical stabilizer is just sitting on the horizontal stab.
The rudder keeps it together a little bit but on a nose over generally the vertical
stabilizer gose. i lost a plane after a nose over becuase I didn't double check the stab.
On a kit i can build it a little different.

There's a thread from a while back saying that the horizontal stab sits
a little bit to high, around 1/4 ". i guess if you want it perfect.lol

The con on the wing is you must be careful when handling it
becuase the front part of the wing is not sheeted. it has sub spars.
so if you pick it up sometimes from the front, you'll crack or break the balsa sticks.

The pro is..it's easily repairable becuase it's not sheeted. if you crash, sometimes
only a portion of the wing gets damage. it's alot easier to glue back ribs or those
sub spars.

the 4* is relatively a floater. i personally think the wing is too long, which also
limits it's roll ability but as a second model it's okay.
the other thing you'll notice is the ground buffing effect when making a transition from
a high wing to a low wing. You don't get that in a sim.lol
anyway, a cushion of air between the wing and the ground during landings.
The model just wants to keep on flying or gose back up a little bit.

You might look into the something extra if you want to roll.
it's actaully pretty gental during landings (use the dual rates) and can roll to the moon.
Plus it dosn't get toss around in the wind as much because of the airfoil design.

shortfellow

I need help gang. My 4* does everything beautifully exept takeoff. It's like I don't have enough rudder. I just can't keep it straight and this is not my first tail dragger. The rudder is set for high rate. How do I make it go straight down the runway? All suggestions will be appreciated.

frenchie79

I never had that problem. Make sure your main wheels turn free and tail whell is true. Roll it on your driveway at a good clip and make sure it runs straight. Move your clasp on the control horn in a couple holes for more Rudder. Other than that you may have to check your engine offset, but this plane should track like an arrow.

frenchie79

I forgot one thing-if it shoots back and forth you may be over handling it-Add 40 to 50% expo. You may already know this stuff.

nickj

Make sure the rudder and tailwheel aren't fighting each other.

jship

My Feedback: (4)

I have had the fourStar 40 and now have the fourStar 60. The four star 60 is a much better flying plane. I have built the kit version of both. With a kit You can easley do things like add 1/2 " to the rudder or move the canopy. The landing problems with the 60 are gone.

If there is any possibility that You will need another engine, go with the 60.

Make sure the tail weel is lined up stright or a very little to the left of the rudder.

shortfellow

Hi again guys, thanks for the response. Everything checks out ok. So the problem is probably due to the nut behind the control box. I am not overcontrolling. Just the opposite. The plane doesn't respond fast enough to the rudder commands. I don't have this problem on my Tribute 36. How about some 4* takeoff advice? Should I start out with the elevator stick fully back to pin the tail wheel to the ground? Throttle advance, etc.

saramos

My 4 * was squirrly on takeoffs too. Make sure the landing gear is mounted with the wheels as far back as possible. Also, if you can add a little toe-in it will help. Finally, I found that if I added a little resistance to the wheels, it also helped. I added a washer made from the fuzzy side of velcro for just a little resistance to the main wheels.

Scott

Fastsky

We are talking 3 different animals here: 4*, Tiger 2, Voyager .40. The 4* is fairly fun because it will fly pretty fast with a good 46 or hover in the wind. The part I don't like is that it also likes to start to hover just above the ground when you are trying to land! then if a gust hits it, bam! It gets slammed backward into the ground! The Tiger 2 won't hover like a 4* but it also flys fast with a good 46 and the landing approach is positive and predictable. It won't suddenly stop and go into a hover. This makes it easier to land in gusty conditions. The Voyager is a high speed mover. It will fly faster than the others with the same engine. Fun to fly if you can handle it! If you can get another pilot to help you buddy box it fro a flight or 2 then go with either the Tiger or the Voyager. If you are on your own then the 4* is a better bet because if things start to go badly, you can slow it down until you catch your breath and then throttle up again. Hope this helps!

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

If you set the CG correctly, the four star will land just fine in any reasonable wind.

shortfellow

Thank you Saramos. I will try the toe-in first.

werner_molder

MY lovely little SIG*40 !! running a MVVS 48, late I changed it by a Magnun 56 four stroke, very nice low wing trainer.