Well the Kadet showed up today!! It is totally been revamped!!! No more stick fuse construction, it's all common plywood construction. Will get some pics up after work tonight

flynte

Doggone it, winter makes it difficult for me to work on my plane(s) and I already have one under construction in the limited inside space available to me. As I mentioned earlier my Kadet arrived right on time and a scan of the contents seemed ok.

A friend and I ordered a couple of the Low-wing Trainer 60's and I placed the order for both about a week after I ordered the Kadet. (We'd hoped that by combining the order we'd save on freight but don't think so.) At any rate placing the order online was easy and they arrived yesterday right on time. Both nicely packaged although one box had been considerably smushed so we opened it to see if anything appeared damaged. Something had tried to protrude thru one end and that "something" was the fuselage! It poked thru both the inner carton and outer carton right on the rear end. But to look at it I saw no damage with makes me think this thing is pretty tough.

It may be a couple of months before I even start on one of the two planes I've now acquired from Nitro Models and when I do I may discover something I failed to notice but right now I'm pleased with their service.

I didn't notice the construction of the fuselage on the Kadet but the wing looked "normal". If we have some warm weather I may go out in the garage and open the box to see it its a stick fuse or plywood at the tail. Not that I care one way or the other as long as it flies well.

Hopefully some folks will report on the construction of V2 and advise if the gluing now seems adequate.

Happy New Year everyone,

Clay

I just picked up my 90A270R-V2 today . The plywood fuselage looks heavier than the original stick .
I have noticed that the servo hatch covers are missing from my kit . The wings are slightly different
also . They have 3 lightening holes drilled in each rib and the aileron is in a slightly different spot .
The wing joiner doesn't seem to have the same dihedral as the original . i will check this tomorrow .
My fuselage does not have the side windows cut out of the Aerocote . The tail surfaces look almost
the same as the SIG . I happen to have a SIG Senior ARF in a box . Tomorrow I will try to weigh
the two fuselages and wings and do a comparison . I will also do a complete parts check to see if
any more parts are missing .

Well got some pics. Every thing on this bird seems to be ply, even the wing ribs, very solid plane. The manual that came with it is for the earlier version so only some thing will apply to this one. I like the fact that they left gluing the hinges to the end user, eliminates any doubts about them. No horns are attached which I like cause I use upgraded hardware anyways. The windshields are tinted, very happy with that. Didn't measure, but looks like about 2" of dihedral, VERY VERY happy with that !!

outlander: if you look at the manual it shows servos attaching to the hatch covers where as in this version the servos attach to the wing it self with no covers.


Might have to rethink about putting on my new Saito 62 and mabey jump it up to a 82. we'll see how the weight comes in.


flynte

had to edit and remove the pics....have to reload with the old way, the beta bites

So much for uploading pics...just get internal server error. Not sure whats up with the site nowadays, most of the time search doesn't work now the pic thing [:@]


flynte

Back to the beta, sorry people.

flynte

Great shots! No question much stronger. Finally got thru to Nitro by phone, the guy screwed up the info but finally got it right (I think)? Nitro sure could use some help in business practices....answering the phone during business hours, letting customers know if they are closed during the Holidays and forget the "take it or leave it" attitude.[:@]

I already miss the aileron blocks and covers . The V2 is definitely heavier .

V1 Fus. 22.50 Wing 14.80 H. Stab 5.35 V. Stab 2.35

V2 Fus. 28.75 Wing 16.35 H. Stab 6.60 V. Stab 3.05

All weights are on a postal scale in ounces . Fuselage includes windows and ailerons for both .
The original SIG Kadet Senior is almost 10 ounces lighter just in these 4 pieces .

The original flies well with a wide variety of engines and weights . I hope the V2 flies as well .

Thanks for the weights outlander! Lent my scale out 8 months ago and still haven't got it back [:@] Got the wing servos and linkages done and got the wing halves epoxied together last night. Tonight I'll get the tail feathers on, and then will be at a bit of a stand still till the fiberglass push rods show up.

flynte

Has anyone assembled and flown one of these V2 models yet? ...How did it perform? ...What engine did you use?, etc.

Thanks,

Clay

A fellow flyer at our field had one. Emphasis on Had. The hinges on the ailerons gave way and came off the plane in flight. I believe these now come with control suraces attached. Make sure they are secure. He flew his with an electric motor but I don't know size, sorry.

I've also been told, but can not verify that there was an issue with the new fuse sides.

Be carefull.<br type="_moz" />

This spring I got probably the last one of these that Nitroplanes ever had. It was not visible on the website but I searched and it was there. A few comments: the main wing spar had no dihedral and also did not fit into the pockets. I made a sanding tool to open up the pockets, then I put the aluminum spar [ 3mm x 15+mm x 28cm] in the vise and hammered a 10mm bend in it. It then went together fine, about 2 degree per side dihedral. The wing bolts are M-4 [changing to 1/4-20], the aileron servos are mounted in the conventional manner, no side-mount & cowl etc. which was fine with me. The front gear was replaced with a Fults RF500 but Fults is, sadly, now defunct. The mains were soft wire, a real joke. I replaced with 3/16 hard wire. This plane has a Turnigy C42 60 500 motor and a 6S 5000 battery. I put a hatch in the belly for rapid battery changes. I am starting with a 14x6 prop. Because we have a well-fertilized grass field and a laid back mowing team, the plane is spaced 5 1/2" to the axles, with 3 1/2" Pro Lite wheels. Summary: this looks like a great airplane and there is nothing else comparable for teaching students to fly off a tall wet grass field. SIG says their ARFs are "coming soon" but I encourage Nitroplanes to build more of these and write their own manual, the SIG manual was not that great anyway. I will post the weight but it is looking to be LOW. The WCL is in the glider range. If SIG gets these back I will buy another one.

I have decided that I will strip the covering off any ARF I buy to reglue joints and beefup any weak spots. I have lost one too many airplanes due to poor assembly and glueing techniques.
There is nothing worse than the sick feeling when a wing folds or a surface rips off, and your airplane impacts the ground! I have 14 ARFs I have purchased new in the box over the last 10 years during many surgeries and recovery periods. All of them are pretty to look at, and I hate to have to recover them, but that is the only way I will feel safe that I have a sound airframe.

Also many of them I plan to put a gass engine in them, so I will need to beefup the fuse anyway. I think if I stick to my plan, all will turn out good.
....Brian

The all-up weight is just under 8 #. I am going to inject glue into the spar area [due to experiences of J-3 and others] and I have added CA to the tall bulkhead that holds the front of the wing. I have load tested the wing and overall the woodwork, glue and covering are excellent. It weighs exactly the same as my blue Sig Kadet SR [dry] which has a Magnum 70 w 12 oz tank. Keep a close eye on that front bulkhead that holds the wing on, sort of a marginal design by Sig IMHO.

NITROPLANES HAS A YELLOW/BLUE SUPER SENIOR IN STOCK ! http://www.nitroplanes.com/90a270b-v...nior-blue.html for $119
SIG WEBSITE IS SHOWING THE KADET SR STILL NOT IN STOCK !! FOR $224.

My choice would be the SIG*, Nitroplanes shipping to NY is high. A friend in Idaho bought one and the shipping was reasonable. SIG shows a $20 shipping premium, so shipping is probably comparable. *Unless you like Nitro's new yellow/blue color scheme.

BTW the pushrods on the Nitroplanes were a joke, I replaced them with fiberglas thin wall tubes. The nose gear that came with the Nitro was better/stronger than the SIG [4 mm vs 5/32]. I put a Fults RF500 on the new Nitro and took the new 4mm one and put it on my Kadet Sr, which had gotten hammered over the years.

I love teaching with this plane. We had a very high graduation rate this year. I think I have flown all the popular trainers and nothing is easier or more satisfying for a student to fly. We could not keep up with the mowing this year and the smaller planes were a no-go much of the time.