Originally Posted by
ScottsGT
New guy here. Can I chime in?
Back when I was around 13 I ordered an Sig catalog. Two planes I fell in love with was the Smith Mini Plane and the Liberty Sport. Fast forward to the late ‘80’s and I jumped into the hobby in my late 20’s and just before I got married.
Somehow I never managed to tackle either of the two kits I desired during my RC “career” that I threw in the towel on back in 1999. A young family of four kids, wife working separate shifts = no time to get behind the sticks and fly confidently.
Here I am now retired, empty nesters and lots of time at home alone with the wife still working. I’ve been staying busy building plastic scale models.
Sometime around the first of the year I decided to start a bucket list. So far only one item is on the list. Get back behind the sticks and learn to fly confidently and build those two kits and fly them.
I’m starting out with the old Ace 4-20 with a Saito .30. Going to master it before moving on. I’ve already found a SMP kit and bought it. I grabbed a Saito 82 as well. Is this over powering it? I also have a Saito 56 I could use. And yes, it will be built and painted exactly like Sig had it in their catalog. But keeping my eye open for a Liberty Sport kit now.
Jeff, a big thanks to all you’ve done for the hobby!
You're certainly welcome.....but actually the hobby has done a lot for me as well!
As EF mentioned, I would probably use the .56 in the SMP as well. I flew mine on a K&B .40, which was a great engine at the time...but not exactly a powerhouse. It was more than adequate for that airframe. It is a lightly built model, and there is no need for the weight, stress and vibration of a larger engine. Plus, I would guess the .56 runs about a 12" prop? If you go much bigger than that, you will have ground clearance issues. You can always go back later and change engines if you want. The big advantage to four strokes is the muffler situation is much easier to deal with. Good luck with your project!
Jeff