Jack Devine

My Feedback: (6)

Crash: The Sig 1/4 scale Cub or the Balsa USA 1/4 scale Cub would both make excellent L4 conversions. There is more glass in the top of an L4 than in the standard cub. It is all glass on the top of the fuselage back beyond the trailing edge of the wing. These things wer slow and normally flew pretty low and the added glass gave the advantage of much improved rear vision to the pilot and observer. Many of the L-4s also saw air ambulance service and were capable of carrying a stretcher behind the pilot inside the fuselage. The pilot flew from the front seat with the aircraft in that configuration. Sounds like a great way to get into a big warbird.
I'd like to also let you know that if you have any RC items you would like to sell or are looking to by anything for your hobby the new RCAirport swap site would be a great place to look. It will contain lots of new features and it should quickly become the premier site on the internet for buying and selling RC items. It's a free service too. Check it out!!
Jack Devine
Moderator

Bruiser

My Feedback: (1)

You might want to keep your eyes open int he swap shops. Balsa USA use to kit the L-4--now thtey only have they only have the J-3. Maybe they still have their plans availible? They may be able to help you out.

Although I don't like the man, Bob Banka's Scale Model Research has more photo's than anyone else.

Oh, and you would be surprised what you can find when you go to a search engine like Profusion and enter "L-4B". You might just find what you are looking for.

Hope that helps.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

Saw your post and thought I would add my two bobs worth. Aussie expression...think about it for a bit hehe.

I have built and flown the SIG 1/4 scale J3 Cub and it builds very nicely, flies like a real Cub though I do have a couple of reservations.

1. It isn't true scale in the tail feathers.
2. Fuz is a bit narrow in cockpit area.
3. Wing attachements need beefing up, particuarly in the way the wings join together.

The kit is full of quality timber and the hardware pack is very good.
The instructions are excellent and have a few photos to ease the process. I was fairly in experienced in building when I did the framework and found no problems at all.

I used Sig Koverall, dope then primer and 2 Pak paint to finish the job.

Engine is a OS FT-160 twin
Onboard glow by uWhizz.
Dual batteries, 1700mAh & 1100mAh
Scale undercarriage by Swensone Specialties.
JR X3810 for control

Pictures can be viewed below.

http://communities.msn.com/RCAirplan...derhanger.msnw

cheers
Peter

jetmex

A friend sent me an article from an older RC magazine on converting the Sig Cub to an L4. It will require a little fabrication, but nothing major. Shoot me your email address and I'll be happy to send it to you. It's a zipped file, so you'll need the technology to open it.

[email protected]

BigFred

http://www.modelairplanenews.com/reviews/piper_cub.asp

Here's the link to the Model Airplane News, APR 2001 article. It's a modification of the Balsa USA kit to the L-4 configuration. Some good stuff.

wgnelson

Balsa USA still offers their L4 plans. They are an older vintage than their current J3 kit and plans but cover the conversion quite well. Using their plans and the article about the conversion in Model Airplane News works pretty well. The Balsa USA kit is fairly scale with a few exceptions - the tail feathers, and strut attachments. Their 1/3 scale Cub is more scale but their 1/4 has more of a sport scale hinge line. I am in the process of building it now and have just about decided to accept the sport scale as there just isn't quite enough room for internal elevator linkage. If anyone has successfully modified the Balsa USA cub for internal linkage, I would be interested.