morgan175

hello please help suggest a kit that is easy and I mean easy ( cut and dry with directions) that will be my first build. I want to feel that feeling you all say about when you have built it from the ground up. Price does not matter. Would a 60 be better then a 40. please let me know your thoughts. Dont care if it is a trainer or 3d just want something I did that is EASY.

goirish

What kind of pilot are you?

AA5BY

The easiest build I've done is a Sig LT-25. It is a trainer and a very good one but it can be built as a sport plane by building without dihedral. It is very light and flies very well. If building as a trainer... use a .25 engine and if a sport plane, use a .32.

morgan175

cant really say I'm a pilot compared to most.  I like going up puttin around and doing touch and goes.  I will do a loop here and their but I still make mistakes once in a while.  The sig LT-25 just seems small, but if it is easy i will give it a shot.  

mikegordon10

Ya can't go wrong with any of the 4 Star kits from Sig. A 60 size plane is easier to fly than a forty size.

SeamusG

Touch-n-go's and an occasional loop suggest a trainer. So you want a kit that is:

Pilot skill level - beginner friendly
Builder skill level - beginner friendly

That can either be a traditional high wing trainer like a SIG LT-25 or SIG LT-40 (actually a 60 size plane that is designed for a 40-sized engine) or a low wing trainer (wing has fair amount of self-centering dihedral) like a SIG 4Star40 or SIG 4Star60. The SIG kits are very first-time friendly. Excellent instruction manual, laser cut wood and the results are very good flying planes ANDexcellent customer / technical service. You have a question during the build - call tech support. You have wood quality issues - call tech support.

Your decision - engine size: 40-size or 60-size. Typically, the bigger the plane the easier they are to fly AND the bigger the plane the more "breeze" they can handle without taxing the pilot's skills and increases the number of days that you will feel comfortable flying.

There are PLENTY of build threads on RCU for both the LT's and 4Stars - another plus.

AA5BY

Think the wing span is something like 62". It is so light that it flies on the wing so doesn't need major power. The big issue would be the engine... a .32 engine might not be one that would be suitable to as many other planes in the future.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Balsa USA Student Trainer.
Awesome instructions, big and capable.

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

Sig Somethin' Extra, hands down. Flies like a trainer when you need it to, and gets up and goes when you want it to. Laser cut kit and excellent instructions make this plane an easy, fun build.
Durable, stable flight characteristics and unlike a trainer you will not outgrow it in a single season.

I mean it- even though it has good aerobatic capabilities, it will float in for landing and is a superb touch-n-go machine.

SeamusG

The Somethin' Extra is also known as the SSE (for RCUsearching). Probably has the most build threads of any specific plane on RCU. It is truly a giggles-n-grins plane that at high rates has a roll rate well over 720 degrees a second and enough elevator authority to loop darn near in its own length. Put a big chunk of aluminum on the nose and it will give you unlimited vertical. Know also that the SIG designer & prototype builder is still flying his original prototype (or at least that's what I remember him saying).

Pilot experience: intermediate
Builder experience: beginner

Great 1st build too.

FlyingPilgrim

My Feedback: (26)

I second Mike Gordon's suggestion for a 4 star 60. You can't go wrong.

prgonzalez

You can also look at the GP Dazzler or TH Uproar. They are similar to the SIG Som'thing Xtra in size and performance. You can assemble to Dazzler and Uproar within two weeks or less.

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

I won't disagree with those who like the Sig SE and the Dazzler & Uproar. However, you ask about an easy build with directions, and that calls for something like the Sig LT-40 or the Balsa USA Student Trainer. Both have directions that are written for the novice. And, when you finish, you'll have a nice flying, big floater of a plane.

Next time, try an SE or Uproar.

Just my 2¢ worth,
Dave Olson

CanDo

Hmmm, a kit that will teach you how to build and a plane for putting around and doing touch and goes, I think I would pick the Balsa USA Student Trainer. It has a 6 foot span wing but is designed to fly on a .40 to .46 engine and the building instructions are for a first build project; it seems like a good match for you. I also like the Sig kits, especially the Kadet Senior and Seniorita, for slow flying and touch and goes, but they do take a little while to build because they have stick fuselages. If you don't plan to do 3D aerobatics, I would stick with the high wing trainer planes for your first build. Here is the link for the BUSA trainer:
http://shop.balsausa.com/product_p/426.htm

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I also teach kit building once in a while, these days no one seems to want to bother learning so I only teach one person every year or two these days. Even a decade ago I would have a couple of students at a time and teach every month.
A lot depends on the piloting skills but I used to use the GP Super Sportster 60 then someone put me onto the Four Star by SIG so I started using there 60 size plane for older students and sometimes the 40 for younger people.
Older people can get there fingers into a bigger plane so that's one reason for the 60 4*. Older pilots can see a bigger plane easier, reason #2. The 60 doesn't do anything as fast as the 40 size so older students can handle it easier.
If the student is a better pilot then we remove a couple of wing bays in the 60 so it has a faster roll rate.
The 4* planes are very easy to build and very easy to fly. Landing and take off of the 4* 60 is great.
The one thing in the build I have forgotten once or twice is to install the shear web between the spars. I have built the plane so many times my brain sort of goes into neutral and I think I have forgotten that shear web twice. Not a big deal, I still install them.
Other then that I can't recall any building problem with the plane at all. Love the way SIG has you install the aileron servos.
Anyway, that has been my number one teaching kit over the years but as mentioned by prgonzalez the Up-Roar is the easiest kit for building. As a fun fly plane it was designed to be built over night and flown the next day. I love the plane but it may be a hand full for a lot of pilots. It is one of my all time favorites though and the Dazzler is close but a bit harder to build and fly.
There you have it, my two cents!!!

bipeflr

My Feedback: (8)

Sig Kadet Senior..Large and slow with a .45 a little faster with a .60 . Very forgiving. Easy to land and will get itself out of trouble once trimmed and balanced and you have some altitude. My opinion.... Jim

johnsh123

I agree with the guys suggesting the Sig 4 star, though no doubt the other recommended planes are probably also good.

I returned to flying after a long layoff, after crashing a couple of over ambitious models, I built myself a 4* 60 with a Saito 4 stroke. the build was straight forward and it flies beutifully.

I've got about 30 flights on it now and if/when it goes in I will get another.

Hope this helps

John

PS, Standard landing gear is crap

cfijeff22

My Feedback: (4)

cant go wrong with a sweet stick easy build and super fun to fly 

GaryHarris

I wouldn't suggest a 4* 60 as a first build. The instructions I think are written for more experienced builders. Take the wing for example. If you go by the written words only, you would only end up with the main spars. No where in the instructions does it say to install the spars.

adamle

I agree with all of the posts about a Sig kit.  LT 40 for beginner flying, Four Star for intermediate, and the SSE next.  With all of the build threads out there I wouldn't worry about a mistake in the instruction manual.  I built a Ultra Sport 60 and used Minnflyer's thread as my instruction book. 

I have a 4star 40 and I think the 60 would be a bit better as it would handle wind better and be more visible.  I've also heard good things about the Venture 60, which was designed by the guy who did the 4 star series.  It may be difficult to find a kit, but they are supposed to be great flyers.

The best part about building your own is the fact that you can finish it as you want.   Nobody will show up at the field with the same plane.

verald_stevens

My Feedback: (11)

I would agree with everyone about the SSE. Almost every spring, I consider selling mine; then fly it and change my mine. It was the first kit I built and almost fool proof. I've considered scaling it up to a 60 size a couple times, but there are always too many projects...

Another suggestion would be CG Super Chipmunk. I didn't build mine, so I can't talk about that, but I did enjoy flying it! Right until the afternoon I belly flopped it in the corn field. I would buy another if it came along and the price was right...

rv9-a

Goldberg Eagle II. Easy to build and a good Flyer

jcvt

My Feedback: (2)

I have built dozens of kits from .049 to Giant scale and I can not recommend you a better airplane than 4* 60 .
It is big enough to see it in the air yet small enough for easy tramportation . You could have a relaxing flying with a small engine but really tear off the sky with a .90 , mine have a magnum 1.20 !!!!
It is a kind of airplane that you could take to the field every week for years.

Be careful building is addictive..........

GaryHarris

Remember guys, the question was about a first kit to build, not about flying. I'd vote for the LT 40. And the best first plane to fly.

adreliable661

My Feedback: (12)

A Great Planes Stik was my first kit. Simple box fuse. very streightforward. I have since bashed it and turned it into a taildragger. Awesome flyer!