Posts: 837
Joined: 7/21/2003 From: atlanta,
GA, USA Status: offline
I want to start a new thread on the Sig Mayhem 3D ARF to gather everyone who has bought one to one forum so that we may share ideas about building, flying and trimming tips. My first impressions are that this is a well-built , well equipped and very light airplane. The covering is tight with virtually no wrinkles. The wood is glued well. The glass cowling has holes drilled for mounting screws. The canopy is already attached with screws. The blind nuts are installed for the landing gear. The control surfaces are very large and rudder and elevator are counter-balanced. The sprung tailwheel is strong and the tailwheel is already attached. The glass wheel pants are lightweight. The pushrods appear are 4-40 with metal links and retaining springs. The main wheels are large foam type. The main gear is lightweight, rigid aluminum. Steel axles are included. There are metal control horns with nylon inserts. Pull-pull linkages for the rudder are included. A 2-3/4" plastic spinner is included, but that will be replaced with an aluminum one.
This is the 25th year I have been building and flying both control-line and radio control, and I must say, I could not have done a better building job myself. Furthermore, I have never had an ARF that was so complete with useable, quality hardware. I have always replaced the questionable hardware in the ARFs I have previously owned, that is, when hardware was even included. I wonder if this is an anomoly, or are all Sig ARFs this nice. I know their kits are terrific, but this is my first experience with their (sub-contracted) ARFs.
I will be mounting a new Saito 1.00, Futaba r127df receiver, Futaba s3305 servos on all surfaces, Futaba s148 with retro-fit BB on throttle, and a Futaba 9chf transmitter. I will decide on the battery after I determine what weight I need to balance the plane, however, Futaba warns against using NiMh cells with these servos, so I will use Nicads (5-cells if possible for more torque & speed).
The weights of the components are:
Fuse & Belly Pan: 18 oz. Wings: 29 oz. Horizontal Stab & Elevator: 3.75 oz. Vertical Stab & Rudder: 1.75 oz. Landing Gear, Wheels, Axles & Pants: 8.5 oz. Plywood Wing Joiner: 2 oz. Fuel Tank: 3 oz. Pushrods, Linkages and Pull-Pull Cable: 3 oz. Servos, Switch & Control Horns: 8 oz. Engine: 20 oz. Prop: 1.1 oz (15X6 APC) Battery: 6.5 oz. (5-cell KR-1700 Sanyo) Spinner: 2.6 oz (Tru-Turn 2-34" aluminum) All-up Weight: 107.2 oz (Dry)
According to Sig, the wing area is 1167 sq. in. This should give an approximate wing loading of 13.2 oz/sq. ft. This should make for a great 3-d flying machine!
I bought mine from Tower Hobbies, however, I just noticed they are sold out. They should be in soon, though. This plane is well worth $209.99.
I have pics, and as soon as I figure out how to post them, I will. If anyone else has received one of these, I am eager to read your impressions. I am a slow builder, but I will answer any questions I can as I'm building (assembling). I hope this information proves valuable to someone interested in this fine airplane. I only hope it flies as well as it looks!
P.S. If you are wondering, I am not being paid by Sig. All opinions are my own, and I will be as objective as possible when evaluating this airplane.
Well, this is my first attempt at posting pics. I hope they post correctly. If I am posting incorrectly, please let me know. Thanks!
< Message edited by AIRPLANENUTS -- 1/29/2004 4:42:24 AM >
Posts: 4
Joined: 11/11/2002 From: Aurora, DC, USA Status: offline
AIRPLANENUTS I just picked up one today. Was at my LHS and it caught my eye. We opened it up and my first impression was wow, you are right, the hardware included is definitely better with this plane than the other ARFS, 4-40 control rods,beefy rear wheel assembly, all joints you could actually see glue, pull/pull rudder set up. (by the way-good job on posting the pics, they turned out great). Guess the only thing I was disappointed in was the one piece wing. Span being 72", it will be a little difficult transporting. Also I noted that the recommended 4S engine range was .91-1.20 on the box, and other posts I am reading indicate 4S recommended size is .70 to .91. Not that that is a bad thing, the Saito 120 I have will fit the bill, but for such a light plane-7 to 8 lbs, it ought to have unlimited vertical even at the altitude I fly at. I will be using Hitec 645 on rudder, HS 77BB in the Ailerons, and 625 in the elevator, R127df receiver, 6V 1400Mah NiMh. It will be interesting to see how other members will set up and power the plane, but I think it will be awhile for the majority of us in locations where winter flying is a hit and miss proposition and we will have to rely on the fair weather flyer's to get us the first reports to see if any bad habits are present. Hopefully RCU will do a in-depth review of this bird soon. At the moment, I can't see any modifications I could make to the plane. Looks great right out of the box, very unusual for an ARF.
Dhammer
< Message edited by Dhammer820 -- 1/30/2004 1:57:44 AM >
Posts: 837
Joined: 7/21/2003 From: atlanta,
GA, USA Status: offline
Thanks, Dhammer. It is a nice plane. Today I noticed the wheel pants are unpainted at the seams, about 1/16" down the center. That is ugly, but it will require filling, sanding and repainting to make them look right. Did yours come this way?
BTW I asked a guy at Sig about the engine requirements, and he told me their prototype hovered easily with an O.S. .91 4-banger, but he did not give me the all-up weight. Your 1.20 should yank it, no problem.
Posts: 4
Joined: 11/11/2002 From: Aurora, DC, USA Status: offline
AIRPLANENUTS Checked my wheel pants, and yup, mine are unfinished. Will take a little work to get them right. Mine also came with a product update sheet, on the first run planes they marked the wrong thrust angle for the motor mount. No biggie, they gave the proper measurements. I am glad that the maunufacturer rates the plane up to a 1.20, I think in their testing of the .91 4S must have been done a sea level, just don't see it being able to hover with it and be able to pull out in Colorado's altitude with the .91. I think your 1.00 is going to be perfect at your altitude in GA. Dhammer
Posts: 4
Joined: 11/11/2002 From: Aurora, DC, USA Status: offline
I have to admit that I don't know whether I want to put the work into getting them to look right. I will probably go ahead and fly the plane without them and if I decide at a later time to finish them off I'll put them on. I definately like the looks of wheelpants on a plane, but they can be a big pain to, loosining, chipping, etc.
Posts: 1735
Joined: 12/2/2001 From: Ashton,
ID, USA Status: offline
Are you going to use the CA hinges or will you change them out? I just got my cowl cut for the motor and the motor mounted on the fuse. Now I am going to focus on the wing. I think I may go with Sig pin hinges or Robarts on the hinges. These are very large controle surfaces.
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Posts: 837
Joined: 7/21/2003 From: atlanta,
GA, USA Status: offline
I am going to use ca hinges, but I may go with heavier duty ones. I just finished a Giles using Robart pinned hinges. Pain in the neck to install, but very strong.
Posts: 32
Joined: 5/20/2003 From: MEAD, CO, USA Status: offline
Dhammer do you have yours flying yet? I just got mine assembled and am now trying to decide on an engine. The Saito 120 looks to be a good choice but I've had several suggestions for a 150 or even a 180. After looking at the airframe it seems a bit too light for anything heavier than a 120 but I am in Colorado too and want an easy hover. This is a beautiful ARF with great build quality, and for the first time in an ARF I will not be buying new hardware. My wheelpants have a seam as well and the tailwheel was not pre-attached as mentioned in an earlier post. I'm not really wild about the wheel pants style either as they look more suitable to a rascal or a vintage type craft. With this plane's somewhat sexy lines a more tear-drop style would have been appropriate in my opinion. In all fairness to Sig however it was nice to have the wheelpants ready to bolt on, usually one has to bond halves or at least install the wood backer and blind nuts. I would have preferred an alignment pin at the rear of the wing though the fit of the hardwood joiner was dead on. With this size of wing it would have been thoughtful to have plug in wings. I wonder how fun this will be to assemble at the field in a breeze?
Posts: 837
Joined: 7/21/2003 From: atlanta,
GA, USA Status: offline
I think the wings could be made to bolt together, howver, it would would require some fairly extensive modifications. Also, there is the belly pan to contend with. It won't be fun handling that big wing, for sure, especially in the wind.
I can't wait to hear your flight report. Good luck on your engine selection. I agree about the hardware. I plan on using all of it. It's weird your tailwheel wasn't attached.
Posts: 32
Joined: 5/20/2003 From: MEAD, CO, USA Status: offline
What motor are you planning upon installing? Also I think I'm going with 4 HS-5625mg servos in the wings and elevator/stab. I thought about wing mods but it would be very extensive surgery beyond what I buy an ARF for. I know the Manufacturers read these forums as I've had several refer me to them in such regards as recommended engines etc.... so it is good to provide feedback that would be appropriate to the manufacturer as well as people considering a purchase. I do have to say at this point I am quite pleased with what I received vs. the price I paid. I feel I received good value and then some. However, a wing mod is something that I feel Sig /World should strongly consider. Something like the bottom fairing attached to one wing, two bolts through front into joiner, rear alignment pin etc... though a standard fuse with plug in wings would have been best, I think, on a plane this size. Most likely the design is an all out effort to keep it as light as possible. The wheel pants were probably off the shelf and are still ugly, I'm not going to bother trying to dress them up. When/if they break I'll get some cool ones or fab some up. Most Sig kits/ARF's are very stout and hence heavy designs but in looking at this one closely they have really gone the mile and lightened this one up. even the shear webs in the wings have holes. That is why I'm hesitant to go the 180 route, even with the obvious advantages of a bigger diameter prop. Anybody have one of these in the air yet? Anybody from Sig reading this?
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