Kadet Senior
 

I would like to hear from RCU members who presently own or have owned/trained on a Kadet Senior. Want to hear the advantages, disadvantages, build ease, wood quality, flying qualities, anything you want to contribute on your likes/dislikes of this trainer.

I am getting my brother a trainer for christmas so that we can join the club and learn to fly next spring, I am getting him interested in RC now and I would love to have him as flying partner to share the hobby with. At first he wanted the Kadet Mark II but is now aiming towards the Senior.

Also, would love to hear comments from those who configured it to taildragger, is it better/worse than tricycle gear? Would it be better with ailerons or without? A good motor choice. Again, whatever you want to share on this particular trainer as I want to make sure this is what he really wants. He will be reading all the comments here that are posted so please share your thoughts.

Would be great to see photos of your Kadet Senior, that would help him make up his mind as well. And if you have clear photos of a tailwheel conversion great. And finally, sorry for the long post, any links to any building threads or downloadable manual a plus.

Thank you in advance.
Steve and brother Ken

RE: Kadet Senior
 

Hi- Nice choice of plane
You will get a boat load of info on it some very good and some full of horse manure ( gotta keep it clean)
I have one with a 70 4 stroke on it for dropping Skydivers
They will fly nicley with a 46 or a 60 on them
personely I use the stock try gear and 2 piece wing -lot easer to store and transport wings
also use the alerons as you will like them on this big bird
Get it, follow the directions and and have a ball
any radio will work a ol 4 ch or anthing else laying around

Only mods I would do on it is not a thing- later you can mod the crap out ot it

Have fun and sit back and watch all the HELP stuff rolll in

RE: Kadet Senior
 

G'day

I have four Kadet Seniors and am currently building a fifth. I guess you could say I like them.

One is an ARF and has ailerons. All the rest are kit versions and do not have ailerons. All are build according to the plan with only minor mods.

All have four stroke engines ranging from a Saito 56 (probably the most sensible) to a Laser 70 (insane overkill but a wonderful engine and a good match too).

The kit is not impossible to build but you do need some space and time. Space to lay out all the bits and time to let the glue dry. You need a nice flat table that you can drive pins into. I use a piece of MDF fibre board with a sheet of half inch soft fibre material on top and lots of pins. I pin the plan over the board and then put "Glad Bake" cooking paper over this to protect the plan.

You need sharp knives and razor saws as there is lots of cutting when building the fuse and tail feathers.

My first one (which I have since sold) is now about 20 years old and still going. It has been repaired many times but still comes back for more. It has been flown with an OS FS40, Enya 46 4c, Saito 45 (probably the best match), ASP 52 and most recently ASP 61. All four strokes. It was converted to a tail dragger at some stage and this worked fine but the tail dragger is a little harder to take off. It is, however, tougher. My recent builds have had modified firewalls. The supplied 3/16 ply is just too light and is often broken by the front wheel mount in bad landings. These days, I replace it with 1/4 ply or at least I reinforce the wheel mount area. My current project will be getting a false firewall arrangement so I can change engines easily.

The non aileron version is very easy to fly as it really flies its self. I use it to teach older learners as it is very good at recovering its self from strange attitudes. The ARF files more like other trainers and can also do proper (if untidy) rolls. The quality of the ARF is not all that good. The build is OK but the covering has lifted all over the place and I am constantly repairing it.

I like to use Solatex iron on cloth on my Kadets. It is a little heavier and costs more but it is very easy to use and it lasts and lasts. The little extra weight also helps in windy conditions. I will happily fly my Kadets in quite windy conditions BUT you do have to take off directly into the wind. All that dihedral (which it needs) can tip the plane over in a side wind. To land in side winds is no great problem so long as you turn into the wind once you slow down.

A friend has recently built one from a plan I gave him. He put a 46 two stroke in it. It is nowhere as good to fly as my four stroke powered models. The four stroke's ability to run for long periods at reduced power is a great advantage in a Kadet.

I also have a Sig Kadet LT-25 and an LT-40. Both are great trainers too. The 25 was from a kit and the 40 an ARF. I prefer the kit versions. Both were easy to build and both fly really well too. The 25 has had a 30 four stroke, and some two strokes of various sizes and the 30 four stroke was the best. The 40 started with a 56 Saito (excellent) and has also had a 72 Saito (way too big but fun) and now has a very old Saito 45 which has been given a new lease of life with the hotter cam from a 56 and flies the model really well. It even had an Enya 40SS two stroke at one stage and this was also very good and not underpowered as everyone told me it would be. So if you don't want the complexity of the Senior build, the LT series are great also. I have also had a Seniorita which was wonderful with a 30 four stroke but flew equally well with a 2.5cc (15) PAW diesel.

I think I had better stop at this point but am happy to go on in later posts if you wish.

One last thing. The Kadet is so good a trainer that I have been able to teach a local radio crew how to fly it on air. They were not bad either.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

Photo is of my 2009 built Kadet with its Solatex covering and Laser 70 engine.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

Some more info:

We will be using no bigger than a .46 2-stroke as we want it flying realllll slowwww.
We are going to cover it with Coverite fabric as that is my absolute favorite, a bit pricey but so easy to apply and stays tight.
Decided to keep it stock tricycle gear with no ailerons.

Any details and photos on building it 2-piece wing? I have no idea how that would be done on a wing designed as 1-piece.

This is not my first build (will be my brother's) so the stick build is not a worry. And it is a winter project so we have all the time we need to do it right.

Mike109, please feel free to go on in later posts, we want to read all this is to know about this plane. And lots of photos.

I own a Kadet Mark II presently, thats why he changed his mind about getting one, and we can switch back and forth on the two.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

I have had a Senior and flown it off and on for 25 + years.

Basically it flies great for training. Can go very slow and is self correcting. Also lands slowly with a very smooth glide. You will not find a better flying trainer with the possible exception of a Senior Telemaster.

Building it is a booger. The problem is the birdcage rear fuselage. Very strong and light weight but it involves a lot of careful cutting, sanding and fitting of balsa sticks, especially for the angled cross braces. IMHO definitely a task reserved for an advanced builder. I had built multiple complicated stick and former Guillow's kits and found the Senior build a challenge. I hardly ever say this but would consider the ARF if you do not have advanced building skills.

I added ailerons. I trimmed off a bit of the trailing edge. reinforced and added strip ailerons. There are also plans out there for adding barn door type ailerons. The rudder only turns were just a bit slow and rough to me and you are going to fly with ailerons anyway so may as well start with them.

You do not need a big engine. I fly with an old well worn Saito 52 4 cycle and used a kind of burned out KB 40 before that. If you are taking off from anything but pavement or putting green height grass, I would consider a bit more engine like maybe a strong 46 to 60 2 stroke or a 70ish 4 stroke. My son is about to learn take offs on grass so I am about to drop a 4 stroke 72 in.

I did the tail wheel. Basically just bent some wire and epoxied to bottom of the rudder. Plane lands so lightly I have never felt the need for a springy unit myself. I like the ground handling better this way and those slow 3 point landings are great fun.

Finally consider the size. Unless you have a big SUV, that wing is going to be a bear. Even if you do a 2 part wing, that fuse is long and the tail feathers are huge. The Seniorita is 2/3 the size. It has the same great looks and I think the same great flying characteristics. It is much more manageable and will fly great with a weak 2 cycle 40 or my old Saito 52 4 banger. I even flew it with a 26 4 cycle for a while. Takeoffs were a bit long but very even realistic on the wing type flight.

I have just about decided to rebuild the broken fuse on mine and switch Mark over to the smaller plane. Again, the ARF would be a lot less and I have seen several Seniorita ARFs that fly great.

I will try to post pics soon.

(Later.) Checked and the Sr and Srita ARF both have ailerons. Both ARFs are out of stock so guess folks are stuck with kits for now.

Hobby Lobby has D/Cd the most excellent Telemaster 40 size and the ARF Srs are on back order until at least October.

And now a bit of heresy. The tough part of kit assembly is the birdcage. Usually folks can get the uprights OK with a little sanding but those diagonals are very tough. Have a friend who gave up. He assembled the frame with the uprights which was not too bad. Instead of the cross pieces, he glued light weight 1/6 balsa to the sides and tops of the tail frame. Added minimal weight and made a very strong structure, probably stronger than the original. Just a thought.

I skinned my Sr. tail in a repair after a crack up and have had no problems in over 20 years. Going to do the same for my Seniorita rebuild.

Tom

RE: Kadet Senior
 

Since you are comfortable with the sticks, I would say go for it. Nice winter project.

Personally, I think it flies much better with the strip aileron mod. You can try the rudder only and modify though.

You will never have trouble finding guys to fly it for you at the field. May have to fight 'em to get the box for yourself though. ;-)

Tom

RE: Kadet Senior
 

LT 40

RE: Kadet Senior
 

Any photos of the plane in a field with the pilot next to it so we can judge the size?
We would consider a Senioretta but we already have the motor (Magnum XT .46) that is currently in my Kadet Mark II and was told by RCKen that is way too big for it. So what we were going to do was buy a .32 or .35 for the Mark II and put the .46 in the Senior.

Photos would be a huge help for my brother so please post your finished planes so we can judge the size and just see your beautiful birds. As well as 2-piece wing details and photos, tailwheel mods with details and photos.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

That was also a consideration but we are looking for something under $100 because we also need the motor and radio equipment.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

Might as well forget the kadet Sr as it will cost more than 100
with covering and building materails

RE: Kadet Senior
 

I am aware of that. I was referring to the cost of the kit by itself we want for under $100. The Senior is $50 less than the LT-40 and the wing is only 8" bigger on the senior, and I like the reviews on the senior how it is so easy to learn on.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

You'll love it. I flew mine rudder only for a few years, then built another wing with ailerons; it just flies even nicer that way. I'd recommend a Fults dual-strut nose gear, especially for a plane people are going to learn to fly on. Beginners have a hard time resisting the urge to give it "just a little down elevator" at the last minute, and that's rough on nose gears.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

My Kadet Jr is a riot. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ey/msn/lol.gif

RE: Kadet Senior
 

I've got a kit still in the box I'm planning for a winter project. Should be interesting...I plan to put a PAW .29 diesel in it. The PAW folks claim that .29 can swing a 12x6 at ~9,000rpm and it would sip fuel compared to any 40-60 glow.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

G'day

If you read the earlier posts you will have seen that I had a PAW 15 in a Seniorita. It flew well but it was no powerhouse. I suspect your PAW 29 will be similar. I had an OS FS40 (the early one) in my first Kadet at one stage. The takeoff was like a Lancaster bomber with a full bomb and fuel load - long and slow but she always got there in the end. Once she was up to about 50 feet, I could throttle back to about half power.

Cheers.

Mike in Oz

RE: Kadet Senior
 

It's pretty big. [http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1005...6433aONEueAeMa

RE: Kadet Senior
 

My Jr has an Irvine 25, power is not an issue. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

But Iam ready to try something different.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

In that case and since you are considering a kit then you need to adhere to stock and dont start throwing on the mods. Cover with film not fabric, do not modify with a two piece wing, do not add ailerons and use the stock gear I seen many that surprisingly when compared actually added weight by going to conventional gear with all manner of stuff and reinforcements. Built that way they are amazing airplanes and my favorite power is a two stroke 61 but a .46 does a fine job too if you do not fly at high elevations.

Here is one of my Kaydets (seniorita) in this case it has the perfect engine:

John

RE: Kadet Senior
 

I started on one about 9 years ago. First build, first plane. I wanted something slow and easy and it delivered. Built it with rudder only, on the right stick. Built another wing with ailerons for it's second year. The instructions are great! I had no problem building it. Converted to a tail dragger with steerable tail wheel. It has flown with a TT46pro- good match but doesn't need that much power. Has used a Saito 45, a bit underpowered. Also had the 65 Saito on the aileron/tail dragger version, super combo. The only "bad" thing about the Senior is it is susceptible to hanger rash moving it through the house due to its size.
The ARF version was popular here for a few years. The OS 70 four stroke seems the perfect match for it.
Can't go wrong with this one!

RE: Kadet Senior
 

The size looks fine to me, not at all too big
http://thumb13.webshots.net/s/thumb2...aSuvLZz_th.jpg

RE: Kadet Senior
 

What size do you suggest for a reasonable price engine that will handle it steady but slow with the fabric covering?

And not to get off the subject is the .46 mentioned too much for a Kadet Mark II? I trust RCKen's advice so I guess I would put aside the .46 and still get a .32 or .35 for the Mark II, and save the .46 for another time.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

Mine has a Thunder Tiger GP42 on it, but would suggest the Thunder Tiger Pro 46. Or maybe a .60, I had to add nose weight.

RE: Kadet Senior
 

But you covered with film right? What size for fabric covered?

RE: Kadet Senior
 

I used transparent red MonoKote and yellow MonoKote

RE: Kadet Senior
 

If you are going to build the bird cage, transparent mono is the way to go.

Tom