Warby

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Has anyone built and/or flown one yet?

David Smith

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I'd really like to know the answer to this one as well. Looks good and Sig are available even in Finland!

MikelJay

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Got one on the building board now. Just built the tail section.

Good manual and plans. I like the way the pontoons attach to the wing. Love those laser cut parts!

I'll upload pictures as I go along and keep you posted.

Best regards,
Mike

MikelJay

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Gotta love that SIG laser cut wood! Everything goes together very well, little or no fitting required....... just knock off the "bumps", put it together, glue it up and go on to the next step. Quick. Easy. FAST!

Been working on the fuselage. Got everything framed up and starting to put the sheeting on.

After that, it's time to put the nose piece on. No plastic cap on the nose.......

More pictures to come.......

Best regards,
Mike

David Smith

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Looks good, I wonder when they'll find their way over to this corner of Europe? I know what you mean about ease & speed of construction, I started my 4 star 40 on Thursday and completed the fuselage that evening, both wing panels were built yesterday, and I consider a very slow builder!

MikelJay

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Been working on the fuselage and have sheeted the keel. Have been using Pro Bond aliphatic glue for the sheeting, so it takes a day to set up. But it is easier to sand. A little sanding and filling needs to be done yet. Glued the balsa block on for the nose. Going to start to carve it next.

No plastic parts in the kit, except for the nylon pushrod tubes and throttle cable tube.

More pictures as I progress......

Best regards,
Mike

AR196

Hi, Mike.

Question about your glue on the Sealane.

Many moons ago, my brother assembled a boat hull with alaphatic glue.

As we were running it, we watched pieces pop off and the hull virtually go to mush, as the glue softened with exposure to water.

When we let it dry out for a day, the glue hardened again.

It was that white stuff called alaphatic resin, carpenters' glue and that sort of thing.

Has the stuff you are using changed since those bad old days?
The advantage of easier sanding would certainly be a plus over CA which cures harder than the balsa.

MikelJay

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I don't think that the formula for the glue has changed over the years.....

But I'm not concerned that the sheeting itself is going to get wet, because the hull (fuselage) is covered in whatever type of covering that you'll use (Monocte, Ultracote). That is, unless you puncture the covering when you "beach" the plane.

I double checked the manual for the plane and they didn't say anything about fiberglassing the keel....... something I've thought about.............. but I don't think I'll do.

Best regards,
Mike

staggerwing

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I use Tite-bond II when I want to use a water proof alphatic glue. I've used it on floats and on RC sailboats for quite a while with no problems.

JimCasey

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Try Pro-Bond polyurethane glue. Totally anything-proof, expands as it cures and fills any gaps in the joint. Gorilla-Glue is another brand-name of Polyurethane. I have bought it at K-Mart and Lowe's.

I glued a Sig Wonder together with it. When it hit the ground at terminal velocity (sigh) all the fractures were not at glue joints.

PeterC

Amen to what Jim Casey says about ProBond. It is absolutely the best STRENGTH glue on the market. It will glue almost any thing to any thing with a unbreakable bond. Apparently even metal to metal and is far better than any epoxy glue out there. I have been working on a fiblreglass fuselage Pitts Special and have been gluing in the bulkheads with it: unbreakable!!! The only drawback I can see is the cure time and it can be a bit messy.
Peter

hebertjj

It looks like Elmers is changing their label/names. ProBond was a line of glues; contact, aliphatic, PU and others. ProBond PU was just one of this line. Now however, the latest bottle of Elmer's PU I got at Home Depot, just says "Ultimate Glue" and Polyurethane under that, and it's in a translucent bottle with a sticker label, not a white bottle with printing. Whether it's ProBond, Ultimate, Gorilla, or whatever; it is great glue!

bobnreg

I have built one and have about 5 flights on it so far. Problems I encountered while building: check prop clearence to top of fuse before installing engine pylon,Iam using a OS 46 2cycle with a 11 " dia prop and had about 1/8 " clearance to fuse. not enought. After 1st flight prop was nicking top of fuse. Went to a 3 bladed 10 " prop and is ok. I had a small hole in fuel tank found this out at field And back to the barn for repairs. After tearing pylon half apart for repair [ tank was built in a BAD idea] a new tank installed but pylon made so that tank can be removed with ease. As to flying very stable a ***** cat in the air . At low taxi speeds quite a bit of water spray comes around fuse and into prop however as speed increases and on step spray is neel . I think i'll install spray rails along nose of fuse to try to correct this. Plane climbs under full power needing down trim . Had to add 7oz to nose for balance. Plane is 6lbs 8oz no fuel in tank. Hope this info is helpful to all interested . Regards

JimCasey

My Feedback: (1)

If you have already put it together with aliphatic glue, suggest you paint it inside and out with polyurethane varnish. May add an ounce, but all the pieces will remain in the same relationship with each other even if it gets wet.

MikelJay

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Good Idea Jim! I may just do that.......

hebertjj

Mike,

I didn't recognize who you were till now. Neat avatar! Hope you make it to the FloatFly Saturday even if you don't have the SeaLane ready by then. We'll let you drive one of the retrieval boats, how's that? Hope we miss the rain this Saturday.

That SeaLane is looking pretty, even bare bones. If you decide to fiberglass anything, that polyU varnish mentioned above also does well on FG cloth, instead of epoxy. I reccomend the water based kind like MinWax Polycrylic. It's quick dry and easy clean up.

Joel

MikelJay

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Thanks Joel. I appreciate the information.

I talked to SIG today and asked them if the recommended fiberglassing the keel. They recommended that a coat of thinned epoxy be put on it before covering. They said fiberglassing would be okay, but would add weight.

It's coming along well. Still have a way to go before its completed.......

I'm glad to see that someone else has built and flown one. Gives me the incentive to get mine finished up and in the air.

Best regards,
Mike

JimCasey

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Mike, Herbert

Hope to meet you guys at the KCRC float-fly this weekend.

Jim