What would be the best engine for the Sig Kadet Senior.
I was thinking a Saito FA-72 4 stroke would be nice.
Could I have some of your guys input on this.
Greatly Appreciated
Jon

I have The World Models copy of the Kadet Senior, the Super Frontier Senior. I have a Saito .65 in mine and it is way more than enough power. The airplane tends to be tail-heavy and the big four-cycle engine helps balance it out with something more useful than lead. It's humorous trying to hover the thing.

Don't forget... this airplane will fly with a .40 two-cycle.

I think the Saito .72 would be overkill, but not ridiculous....

Good flying,
Bob Scott

Sounds like you already described the perfect setup. A student has the Kadet W/Saito 72 4 stroke and it is sweet. I think that I grab it more than I should just to fly it. Joe

My Kadet Sr has gone through one son and two grandsons.
You just can't beat it for a trainer.I've got a 46 magnum on it and it flies it very well.
It is a floater that just does not want to stop flying.
It has been crashed,knocked the tail feathers off going through a door.and it still flies as well as the day I built it.

I agree with the previous post, the Magnum 46 is a great choice. 'Have two Seniors with that combination and love 'em.

I had a cheap Os LA 40 in mine. The kid I sold it to is still flying it with that to my knowledge!!

I wouldn't put more than a Magnum .60 four stroke. Even that is an over kill. Flew mine with a TT .46, seemed a waste when I rarly went to full throttle, even on takeoff. Switched to a plain old K&B .40 and put the .46 on a WM T-34. If I were to do it over again I would put a .52 four stroke. The .40 does fine but would like more pull on hot days. Typically it doesn't climb well on a hot summer day till it gets over the ground, too much hot air over the asphalt I suppose.

My father is flying his with a Saito .56 powering it. Plenty of power. Anything more would be a waste of engine. I stuck an ST .51 on mine and if I was assembling another one, I would put my old LA .46 on it instead.

I taught a student last summer on one, and got to fly his Kadet Sr. many times. It was powered by an OS 52 four stroke I gave him, and it was perfect! Can easily do loops from a gentle dive (allmost from level flight) and can climb at full power very well. Most flying can be done at 1/4 throttle. I generally like overpowered planes, but to put anything larger on this airframe IMO is'nt necessary - it is a great sport plane/trainer/sunday flyer.

AJC

A friend has one with a Saito .56 on it. It does a great job.

I had a K&B .65 Sportser on mine and it was a great combo.

SG

I put a K&B .61 twister head with a tuned pipe. We're doing pylon racing with them and some follow-the-leader. It does hit the wall against a 4 cycle .61 wide open.

Will it hover? Barely.

Sounds like I am the oddball here. I put an OS .91 4-stroke on mine. I balances perfect but mine is a bit of an oddball. I converted it to a taildragger straight out of the box and use it for all kinds of fun flying. It has floats and skis as well as wheels. Great airplane for lazy day flying, sitting in a lawn chair and flying it up outta sight (almost) then riding thermals untill you get tired of it is a blast. I thik a Saito .72 would be perfect but you might have to add some nose weight.

Majsteve and cstevec...sounds like much better setups than somthing that requires a dive just to be able to loop!

What size floats did you use?

I have a 72(inverted) on mine(arf) and it fly’s great. I had to put 6oz lead up front to balance, it fell out and I flew for weeks before I noticed(IT FLEW BETTER TAIL HEAVY)so I left the weight off. This plane with a 72 it would do just about any acrobats you care to including a hover, but use throttle control, the large surfaces will flutter at full throttle in a slight dive.

I had a 72 that’s why I used it, a 56 would be a great selection, a friend of mine had a 56 running 30% and we chased each other all over the sky and he could keep up with my 72 running 10%.

GREAT FUN!!!!!!!!!!

I used the Tower hobbies .60 size kit floats, but forget the length. I think you could get by with the .40 size but at the time I wasn't sure. The thing looks "Majestic" rising off the water in the morning. As to power, I originally had a worn out K&B .61 on it and it flew well but sounded kinda funny for the way it looked. I put the OS on it just to break in the engine and liked it so well it never came off. It will hover at about 3/4 throttle (I have a 3 bladed prop on it) and actually has a little 'zip' when it flies. Much more fun then the one my flying buddy has with a .46fx on it.

It's primary purpose is really teaching newbies how to fly and the engine has saved the plane countless times. 20-25 minute flight times are the norm with the stock tank as we are flying at half throttle most times.

Thanks, thats the answer I was hoping for! I just happen to have a set of GP 60 size floats. I recently got a decent deal on one of the ARF versions of the plane, and I am thinking about setting it up for floats when I assemble it. I am trying to decide if I want to put a glow engine in it, or make this my first electric aircraft.

Right now, I am leaning towards putting an AXI outrunner electric on it. Of course, one of the red powder coated Irvine .72 would look really nice with the red covering.

I converted mine to taildragger, and the .75 2stroke balances right on the money. It still flies light as a feather and is one of my favorite planes to bring to the field for relaxed Sunday flying.

Yes, the .75 is way overkill, but it provided the needed noseweight so I didn't have to jam all the radio gear all the way to the front. And if you are going to put floats on it, a bit more power isn't a bad idea.

An Irvine .72 would be superb on the Kadet Sr. I had an Irvine .53 a couple of years back and it was bar none the most well-mannered glow engine in that size I have run. The beauty of an airplane like the Kadet Sr is the wide range of powerplant it will take. A .40 will do just fine as well.

My 15yr old kit built Senior has a Saito 45 and flies very well, loops, 3channel rolls and extremely slow on the wing flight but my Senior ARF with ailerons and much more weight really needs its Saito 65, both are fun

I had a Fox 46 on A Sr ARF and it was O K when I got it in the air, but that took some runway. It was lost due to an engine failure (I think) and my new one flys with an OS 61 and the combo is just right. Have a friend that flys his with a Saito 80 and he likes that combo. LOts of choices for you.

Super Tigre .51 with a 10X6 MA prop on mine and it doesnt need to dive to loop. Will loop at half throttle during level flight, do rolls, slow or fast, snap roll, and fly inverted with minimal down elevator while carrying, in addition to the normal full sized flight gear, a 10 cell AA nicad pack, a 6 cell AA nicad pack, 900mhz video tx and CCD camera, an experimental telemetry unit measureing 2X3X5", a pair of small switches, all the wiring for the previous equipment, AND the grip of lead I had to add to the inside of the cowl to balance it.
Not bad for an ARF TRAINER.
Maybe I am just missing the point of overpowering this particular plane...

Borriss - I am just in the throws of building my Senior Kadet [15 - 20 year old kitset, 3 channels] and my son will make me a carbon fibre undercarriage [tail dragger]. So it will be in its original form apart from the undercarriage. I have an OS 52S four stroke [old and unused], an OS Max 46AX [unused] and an ABC Supersport SC 61A MK11. I am tempted to use the OS 52 for quietness and larger prop etc. Non of these engines have been used. I would welcome some advise please. I seem to be a little late in joining this thread. thanks in anticipation

Any of those engines will work. My preference would be the four stroke as I like the sound better than a two stroke. Any .40 two stroke will fly it and as you increase in size you really don't gain much. It is a trainer, not a 3D monster. It flies slow and gentle.

Thank you Indiomike for your reply, that's most encouraging. I will stick with the 52 and get cracking. It's a bit cold in the garage at present [down here in Wellington NZ] but hopefully spring/summer is just around the corner. I was thinking "Electric", but that seemed silly when I had 3 perfectly good unused motors sitting in a box. Thanks again. Borriss

Saito .91 in my Senior. Can never have enough power.