Hello all,

Well here goes for my second kit build, the Kavalier from SIG. I was looking for a more aerobatic model as my second plane following my Kadet LT-40 trainer and one I could utilise the engine (OS .46AX) from my trainer in. While there may be "better" planes out there i was tempted by the "craftsman" style of the Kavalier kit (it's gotta last me all winter!), the semi-symmetrical wing design and the fact it offers something different to all those 4*'s and Tiger II's . On receiving the kit it is obvious that this really is a "builders" kit, lots of balsa stock in the box, with the exception of the wing ribs (die-cut) and a few other parts nothing else is pre-cut. Also included in the kit is the standard nose gear, aluminium main gear, motor mounts, CA hinges, all the screws, nuts and bolts needed, clear plastic canopy and ABS cowl. This does leave some hardware to buy i.e. wheels, fuel tank, control rods, spinner. For these I have opted for the sullivan skylite wheels, a sullivan RST 12oz tank, sullivan gold-n-rods for the elevator and rudder and tru-turn aluminium spinner.

Flipping through the build manual i'm again pleased with the quality of the instructions in these SIG kits, lots of good photographs to show each stage and clear descriptions for each step. Some of the pics give away the age of this kit design, for example the control rods are balsa sticks with wire bound to each end and there's a good section on covering with silk and dope. The build sequence is pretty standard, first is the wing followed by fuselage and finally the elevator and rudder.

So here are a few pics, i'll follow up soon with detail of the wing build.