flyingjmerritt

My Feedback: (3)

i just bought a sig kadet LT40 (arf version) to learn to fly can somebody give me some tips on how to put it togather right. also i herd someone tell me something like putting balsa on the rudder and elevater? does anybody know what this is for?

thanks
jon

Test005

I have one of these, it's a great plane.
The "balsa on the tail" you've been hearing about is simply a reinforcement to the tail group to make it sturdier.

What you do is;
-Remove a narrow strip of covering on the base of the tailgroup, In the "corner" where the fin and horizontal stab meet. (Not the rudder and elevator)
-Glue in triangle stock on both sides of the fin. (Balsa triangle stock/material can be bought at your hobbyshop)
-Recover with white Ultracote or Monocote.
-Now you got a "filling" at the base of the fin, keeping it more rigid and supported to take more abuse.


I'm at work, but I'll snap a picture of my LT40 when I get home to show you exactly how the reinforcement looks like.

Hud-n-OTOW

I fly a LT40 and I had an accident. I reinforced the tail feathers in just the manner described in the previous post. Strong and does not affect the flying of the plane. ENJOY!!!!

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

I only instruct guys that buy the LT-40. My feeling is if they won't buy the best trainer, let them find another instructor, it's that much better than all the other trainers.

I try to get them all to make it a tail-dragger also. 90% of your airplane problems will be because of the nose wheel. You want to mount the main gear for the tail-dragger just in front of the bulkhead at the leading edge of the wing. The nose is also MUCH stronger if you put your tank in, make sure everything is good, i.e. no crimped fuel lines, then glue the hatch on. My hatch has been glued on for 3 years now, no problems.

I'm a engine nut so I've had lots of motors on it just for fun, they are:
TT.40
Tower .40
MDS.38
Testers .35
OS.40fp
OS40LA
ASP. 46
TT. 46
Saito .40
Saito .45
Saito .50
VT.49
RCV.58
OS.60

Maybe a few others, I thought I was up to 14 engines. My favorite engine for it was the Saito .50 and Tower .40. Most guys over power the plane and fly it too fast. With modest power at slow speed it's a Great plane, over powered going fast it's a good plane. If you're new get a cheap .40 and fly it at half throttle, you'll learn quickly, with no crashes.

Rich

Rich

Test005

Well here's some pictures as promised. I hope you have some use for them.
In the pictures you can see my LT40 configuration, I will make a few comments on the diffrent things:


Taildragger
I have converted it to taildragger and it's really nice this way. Take off's are easy and with the wheels positioned as pictured, nose overs are not a problem.
The wheels are 4" tall and really good for rough airfields and/or winter flying.
The landing gear is bolted on so the center of the wheels are level with the leading edge of the wing and the place where the blind nuts go in the fuselage is reinforced with some extra balsa.
Bolts are 6mm nylon, which will break before anything else breakes in case of a hard landing.
The tailskid is rather simple, but 100% hassle free and low maintenance... Naturally the plane doesn't do figure eights on the ground without a tailwheel, but I like this setup, it's rigid and the plane tracks good at take off and landing.

Engine
Magnum .52 fourstroke.
Perfekt engine for this plane in my opinion. It's reliable, runs half an hour on a tank and have enough power to pull this plane through some basic manouvers. Yet not too fast for beginners to get them into trouble.
Prop is Master airscrew 12X6. Now, Master Airscrew is not as effective in terms of power output as the sharper and stiffer APC, but on the other hand, it never breaks!
This prop can take lots of abuse, hit the ground and throw ice around it in winter conditions, once again, good for rough airfields and/or beginner mistakes.

Tail group
As I wrote before, the tail is reinforced with triangle stock at the base of the fin.
Remove the corresponding cover material, apply some epoxy glue and smack on a piece of wood on each side...Really stiffens the fin up.




...Enjoy your LT40 and keep us posted!

Stinger3

Jon You are going to love the Kadet. Just take your time, read and reread the instructions and follow the earlier posts, good luck and have a great time.

flyingjmerritt

My Feedback: (3)

test005- thanks for the pictures they helped me out a lot as to where to put the balsa angle.
i bought this kit a year ago. and it has sat on my work bench for a year till now. i'm just now getting some time to get to it. got most of it done other than the balsa angle. all i have left is to buy a radio and engine,prop and thats it.

thanks for your guys help
Jon

Test005

Glad I could help.
I recommend a Magnum.52 or OS.52 fourstroke and a 12x6 prop... It's a great combo for this plane.

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

I have a steerable tail wheel on mine, it's an easy mod if you don't have the vertical fin and rudder already glued in place. Let me know if you want to see pictures.

andcash

How hard is it to mod the ARF version to taildragger, as it comes with wire landing gear, or do i get out the piano wire, copper wire and the solder and make my self the wire legs.

A pre-made alloy one would be alot simpler, but weres the fun in that

stevestr

I am in the process of converting my LT 40 to a tail dragger. I would love to see your detail on the steerable tail wheel.

Thanks in advance

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

Here's some pictures.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I converted my ARF to steerable tail wheel and bolt on wing. The plane is from when the ARF first came out

The tailwheel wire is hooked into the rudder

phatbob02

My Feedback: (126)

I made mine a tail dragger just for the heck of it.
I used a servo for the tail wheel and programed it using a fifth channel.
I added a cowl from Fiberglass Specialties and gear from Dubro.

I also added aluminum wing struts for the look.
The wheel pants are from an old GP Super Sportster.

It's powered with an old OS 45 FSR and swings an 11x6 wood prop.

My dad is flying a Kadet Senior 3 channel. I built this as his aileron trainer.

ska716

was wondering where you got your stand that your sig sits on?

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

You can get it at Tower:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXAR02&P=SM

Bruce

phatbob02

My Feedback: (126)

Make one!! $10 with the wire shelf. Electrical conduit, $1.90 for 10 feet!

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I bought that Midwest stand more than 10 yrs ago. It costs too much back then but not near as much as it does now.

It has always worked as intended.

In fact I used it all day today at the flying field.