JWN

My Feedback: (42)

I finally finished setting up my new workshop last night and immediately dug into my SE kit. I built the control surfaces and tail first since I was looking for some instant gratification. Next, I started on the right wing.

My overall impressions of the kit are quite good. It's the third Sig kit I've built and is a marked improvement from the Kadet Mk II and Komander I built 15 years ago. The parts fit was about 99% compared to about 50% on the other two kits. Some of the parts in the tail in control surfaces could have fit better since there were a couple of parts where the half moon alignment dot was larger than the adjoining dimple. And, as it seems everyone else has mentioned, the holes in the plywood ribs for the wing tube socket were just a tad on the tight side But, the slots in the ribs for the spars and leading edge were perfect. If there's one thing I complain about, it's ribs that don't fit the spars but this kit didn't disappoint me. But, if there's one gripe I have, it's that the shear webs were not precut and the rib spacings are not consistent. With all of the work Sig put into this kit, they could have at least equally spaced the ribs and precut the shear webs.

More fun with the CA bottle tonight!

John

TerrellFlyer

Hi JWN,
have a pair and was very pleased with the building and flying, my only mods.were an OS 70 FS,plus Gold-n-Rods with metal control arms.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Ahhh, there's nothing like starting with a clean table and watching a kit being framed!!

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

John,
I'm going to build the structure exactly is comes out of the box. I am going to change the control rods to the tail just for my own personal preference of split elevators and pull/pull cables on the rudder. Depending on CG, I may opt for cables on the tail rigging instead of the solid wire as well. I had thought about cutting the nose off and building a Super Sportster type nose, but decided against just because. I may do that on the next one if I decide to build another. I have so many kits piled up in the closet I really don't need another Oops, don't let my wife read this!

Mike,
I'm with you man. This is one of my absolute favorite parts in this hobby. Emptying the box of sheets and sticks as they take the form of a new model. I just hope I can maintain the enthusiasm when it comes time to cover and hinge! :bananahea

John

toucano

I always hated kits until I built my SE. I'm the worst builder in the world, but Sig kits make you look good. My planes always come out heavy, but I was impressed on how light my SE ended up.

If you follow their suggestion, you can truly build it as fast as you can put pieces together. I went from a box of sticks to the first flight in 26 hours, spread over 3 days. I was impressed.

By the way, if you hinge the ailerons so you have 180* of movement, you can do some wicked manuevers.

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

180* movement?

180 huh? I'd sure love to see control surfaces fold completely back on to the fixed surface

JK, I know what you mean. I've considered double beveling the surfaces, but I'm so far from that point I haven't made up my mind.

John

toucano

That's the beauty of Hinge Points. Just make sure you cover the gap and all is good.

In all seriousness, I almost always use the low rates. The plane is way too twitchy otherwise.

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Robart hinges are the best there are IMO. But, that's still only 90 degrees

John

TerrellFlyer

toucano we know what you mean,90 degrees,the plane looks so good I almost hit the wrong key also,to do justice the SE needs double beveling,also 85% expo on high rates,will help control it in the 3D mode,minus to soften with hitec and futaba plus for the rest of brands,and if you don't have expo, then talk to Santa.

toucano

JWN,

Down 90* + up 90*.

Terrel,

I'll have to try the 85% expo on high rates. I'm a Futaba man, so that would be -85% for me. Thanks for the suggestion.

SHARK

Maybe I'm a more conservative flyer, but I put the throws at whatever Sig showed for the minimum and it flys great for me. The tailwheel arrangement they had only lasted a short while on mine and I replaced it with a Dubro unit that screws to the bottom of the fuse.

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Yup, I'm with you. Maybe it's my local, but I always refer to deflection in terms of one way.

John

Flying Scotsman

JWN,

I'm about to start on my first kit which is the SIG SE. Like you, I am going to set it up for pull / pull on the rudder. Would you mind posting a pic of the pull / pull set-up when it's ready.

Thanks
Steven

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Steven,
Sure will, I just hope you're not in a big hurry

What I can do, if you're interested, is take a picture of the cables and horn on my 300s.

John

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

There isn't much left in the kit box. Two sheets of laser cut parts, a few sticks, and the hardware.

Overall, I'm very impressed. Sig has come a long way since I built the Kadet Mk II and Kommander 18 years ago.

The tail surfaces are only sitting on the fuse right now. Pretty much all that is left is to build everything that goes on top of the fuse and install stuff such as the landing gear, pants and tail bracing. It will be ready for covering before the end of the week.

John

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Looking good!

TerrellFlyer

Good morning John,nice looking job you're doing on my xmas present,do have my address ,don't you ????

CHassan

My Feedback: (13)

I'm hoping that Jolly fat man will be bringing me one of these in a few weeks. Ahh shouldn't call my mailman a fat man but ..............
I set up a wish list for my wife to choose from. Sig SE, Tiger 60, or a Fiberclassics G202. The last one is just a dream, but I thought I'd put it in there just incase.

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Thanks guys. I'm pretty happy with it at this point.

John, yes, I have your address to ship it to as soon as I'm finished. There's just the little detail of shipping. I figure with a sturdy box and insurance, it will be right at $250.00

At this point, I'm beginning to wish I would have bought a NIB kit a friend had a year or two ago. He wanted to sell it to me for $50.00. I shouldn't have passed on it.

John

Flying Scotsman

This is my first kit and I actually found myself having fun! After 3 hours of building, I am 90% complete with one of the wings. My building area is small so I cannot build both wings at the same time.

I look forward to JWN's pictures of the pull - pull system for the rudder as that is what I would like to do with mine.

An OS 50SX or OS 61FX is waiting on this plane.

Steven

maverick

My Feedback: (12)

I would definitely go with the 50SX. The 61FX is about 10oz heavier and with the 50SX running a 12.25 x 3.75 prop you should be able to hover.

IMHO the 61FX is too heavy for this airframe.

TerrellFlyer

Have a OS 70 FS in the nose of mine,sooner or later will change to 100 Saito

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Nothing like over powering the beast eh? :-)

JK, I installed the engine mounts on mine to accommodate either an Irvine .53 or a YS .63. There is only 1mm difference in the case width of the two engines so I installed the beams for the Irvine.

I just installed the tubes for the elevator and rudder controls last night. I have to admit right up front, it's not as pretty as I would have liked, and I'm sure I added more weight than I needed to. The elevator push rod system I'm using will be Dubro Ny-Steel rods with a separate rod going to each elevator then joined into a single common rod at the servo under the canopy. This is a method I've used many times in the past and it works well for me. The only downside is that it's difficult to get extreme throws out of the elevator due to the rigidity of the rods. I bored a hole through the center of each of the bulkheads to run the tubes through. I also ran full length tubes for the pull-pull cables through this hole. Now that I've been away from the bench for a few hours, I've decided I'm going to open up the top half of the bulkheads much the same as the lower portion of these pieces. It will save just a little bit of weight, but will allow me to get away with just a short section of guide tubing for the pull-pull cables where they exit the fuse. I'll make the mods and take pictures of the setup tonight.

BTW, I'm now 15 1/2 hours into the project and have another 1 1/2 - 2 hours before it's ready to cover.

John

Flying Scotsman

JWN,

What are you using for hinges? The kit comes with CA type hinges however I was thinking of using Robart pin-style hinges. To accommodate them, I was going to glue an extra piece of balsa to inside of the the 1/4" square balsa that is located at the trailing edge of the wings subsequently resulting in enough balsa for the barbs of the hinge to grip.

Steven

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Steven,
That's what I'm doing too. I can't remember exactly how many hinges I'm using on the ailerons, but I used the aileron itself to determine the position and number. I'm installing one at each end plus one everywhere the aileron has a web from leading to trailing edge. I added a small block of scrap 1/4" balsa to the inside of the wing trailing edge at each of these locations, then marked both the wing and aileron with this location. We don't want to have to cut open the covering on the bottom of the wing just to find our blocks now do we?

I'm going to do the same with the tail surfaces except the webs in the fixed surfaces already line up with the webs in the movable surfaces so I won't add any reinforcement.

John