I want to know if the rascal 40 is good one for a first plane, i have already a OS 46 fx it is good for this plane ?


http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...FV3.html?E+Sig

An OS .46 FX is perfect for this plane and most other .40 size high wing trainers. While the Rascal really isn't listed as a trainer, it flies and lands very docile. As long as you have someone with experience helping you (as you should with any first plane) you'll be fine. That plane with the .46FX will fly very nice at about 1/3 throttle. The nice thing about the .46FX is that you can most likely move into your next plane as well.

Go for it, it will be fine. It lands better then most trainers.

Two things that you will be giving up with the Rascal compared to a trainer are the nose gear, which makes ground handling and take-offs easier and the self-righting characteristics of a trainer with lots of dihedral and a flat-bottom airfoil. I would list the Rascal as a good second plane, but not a true trainer.

Jesse

I would not buy this for a first plane. The ARF trainers that are available are much more resistant to damage from hard landings. For instance, my trainers survived many cartwheels while I was learning to land, I had one occur that was caused by a side gust on landing that caused severe damge on my Rascal .40. Among other things, the tail section was completely broken off.

Buy something like a Hobbico Trainer RTF for your first plane.

Get the Kadet Senior ARF and put your .46 in it. Same price as the Rascal ($199.99 mail order) and a lot easier to learn to fly on. Save the Rascal for your second plane.

Yak

My rascal can tend to be a little squirrly on takeoffs. Need to ditch the springs. The plane flys easy enough, has a long glide path on landing. It has a reasonably stout build but not as strong as a trainer, tough choice.
Mines going to be converted to a float plane.

Tried to get sig smooth floats for my rascal 40 but can't seem to find them anywhere. What floats are you going to use.........Think it will make a great float plane

Sig sells their smooth floats directly at their website, but they're $150. Tower still sells them, but they are on backorder. I would rather wait for Tower to get them, at their $99 price.

Jesse

Just helped a friend build a rascal for his first plane, we have not flown it yet.....he has been flying electrics so I thought he would be ok with this plane to start. Also using os46fx, not recommended for a beginer tho, I wish we had a os40 la lying around.

I did notice one thing while putting this plane together, 2 sets of blind nuts in the fuse for the main gear, the second set is set back for nose gear set up, no nose gear was included but I would have to guess that is why they are there.


BTW, this plane was great quality, but what is with the engine area, this thing need a cowl, mounting and drilling for the engine and muffler was a pain in the a**!!! very limited space.

The rear set of landing gear mounts are for the float mounts. This would not hold up with a nose wheel.


[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBTX6&P=K]Sig Floats[/link]

well your telling him "this is not the plane to get for your first plane"... well i built and learnt on a WOT 4 classic with an irvine .53 in it. It was very docile if the rates where at low settings but i can use it as a very airobatic plane now (3 years down the line i still have it!)

Adam

I'm not sure what floats i'll use. At home i have a link to a co that makes a nice set of fiberglass floats for 69$.
I want to re-cover the plane, install an onboard glow driver, and reinstall the .61 fs.
I also want to re-create the cowl. when I installed the 2 stroke I had to cut away a lot of the front of the plane. Perhaps a cowl that will enclose the motor sort of like a stuka cowl.
I know this plane can stand the extra weight of the floats. As it was it flew on 1/3-1/2 throttle with a 61 four stroke. It should get out of the water easily.

Sounds like a big project. I use an on board glow on mine and it helped the 52 fs idle a lot. If you get a chance pass on the link on the floats, sounds like a good price if their decent.

See Post #11 above for the link to the Sig Floats!

Have had sig floats on back order from tower for at least 6 months. Read somewhere they were changing suppliers but I'm not getting any younger so its time to form a new plan. Falcon Trading floats look good in the picture, maybe they would work on the rascal without to many mods. JD

Here's a Pic of my Falcon Trading (aka Modelfly) Cessnal 177 on Floats. This is a 69" wing plane that weighs about 8.5 lbs. These floats work fine on this so they should be OK on the Rascal.

Thanks for pic. Gooood looking cardinal!! I have almost clicked the purchase button on that one many times. Your opinions would be appreciated. How much build time, flying etc. I think the floats would be fine for the lighter rascal.
JD

JD,

The plane is all ABS and is a cinch to build(assemble). The control surfaces have molded in hinges. The cowl is part of the fuselage (as in non-removable) and was cut out perfectly for my OS .61FX. I had to add a hole to acces the rear mounting bolt for the muffler (the insrtructions tell you to do this). The wing is foam core ABS and is very rigid. It comes in 2 pieces and must be assembled. Very easy, they even give you a wooden block to put under the center of the wing while it is drying so it will have the correct dihedral. Horizontal stab is in two pieces and has a wooden spar that has to be epoxied in, simple again. Vertical stab with rudder already attached gets glued onto the fuse with thin CA, attach horizontal stab with thin CA. Two bulkheads get glued into the fusellage with thin CA. Landing gear gets bolted in. Servo tray glued in with thin CA. The instruction sheet is in Italian but a separate book in English is provided with references to the picture #'s on the Italian instructions. They were very adequate. I deviated from the instructions with regard to the water rudder control mechanism. They had a pull/pull cable system that required routing the cables through the fuze via aluminum tubes epoxied in the side of the fuze. I figured once the cables were installed there wasn't any way of removing them, short of cutting them, if you wanted to go back to wheels. I opted to run a pushrod in a tube from the planes rudder to the water rudder. There are extra holes on the rudder that you can fit a clevis to. You can see the red tube for the pushrod in the picture. I attached it to the float with a couple of nylon cable clamps and I secure the other end the same way to the fuse when I install the floats. Using this control method it takes about 20 minutes to convert back and forth.

I've only been flying since June so I asked the resident expert at our club to maiden it for me. Take off was perfect with very slight up elevator, once airborne 2 clicks up elevator and 2 clicks right aileron and it was flying hands off. He immediately started doing rolls, cuban 8's and some inverted flying. All maneuvers were executed cleanly. He remarked that the plane "flies like it is on rails". It is quite fast at full throttle. My flights are conducted at 1/2 throttle or less. I find this plane is easier to fly than any of the 3 trainers I own (Hobbico Superstar, Hangar 9 Xtra Easy and 2Easy) It lands faster than a trainer but with a perfect glide ratio "greased" landings are a given even for this rookie.

In think if you bought one wuou will be very pleased.

Thanks for all the great info!! I also started around the end of June with a superstar that is still flyable but looks like it's been through the ringer, because it has. I soon found trees and aircraft don't mix well. Anyway my favorite flying is on floats as we are surrounded by lakes. I mounted a set Great Planes floats on a Tower trainer and I was hooked. Since then I added a Ace Seamaster and now would like something a little bigger........maybe the Cessna, it sure looks good. Have you tried it of the water and did you buy it direct from Falcon. I think Quantum or Omni-models have them now. The price is probably the same. I like your idea with the water rudder and making the quick change and would do that even if I planed to leave it on floats permanently.
JD

JD,

I haven't flown it off water yet but I plan to use the floats on snow this winter.

I bought mine from Falcon Trading. I don't see how you can beat their prices. $254.95 with floats and wheels is pretty good.

I saw their Ready On Floats fly during the summer. It's a .46 sized plane that uses the same floats. I liked it a lot but wanted something a little bigger

When you get one let me know and I'll send some close up pics of the rudder linkage.

Bob

Bob

Thanks, I will definitely want to see the picks if I get one. The CEO........(my wife) says no more planes until after Christmas as I have a new Vectorflight Edge 540 due here this week. I just couldn't pass up their sale prices. Let me know how the snow flight goes. That sounds scary!

JD

Anyone got pictures of sig rascal 40