What size fuel tank is required?
What size wheels?
How many servos do i need?
21st Century fabric or Monocoat?
any other suggestions for items i need.

already i am getting a TT Pro46 and an Eclipse radio

O.K. I'm going from memory. I've had two 4* 40's over the years and mine had 8 oz. tanks, 4 standard servos, 2.75 in.wheels because I fly off grass (2.5 would work also off pavement)and two rolls of Monocote. It's an easy build. No problems that I recall.

She fly's great, and with a 46 for power should be a rocket ship. The plane is naturally light weight. I've had a Super Tiger GS 40 on mine for years and strangers always ask what I have for power because it's so hot.

I fly mine year round. In the snow, I put skis on mine. It's a sight to see. Good luck with this kit. I've loved mine over the years.

Doug

thanks cant wait to get my finances completely figured out, so i can order it

Should i do the fabric instead of monocoat though? i am thinking it will look prettier and will be stronger. i also am going to sheet the fuse and cut the canopy

also can i put 2 aileron servos in?if so how do i do that?

The kit should come with most of the necessary hardware, however, there are a couple of things to consider. The kit I bought came with an 8 oz. fuel tank and I would recommend going with a 10 or 12 oz. If you put the 8 oz in with the .46, it doesn't give you alot of flying time.

Also, the kit comes with nylon pushrods. I would strongly suggest using something else. I built and flew mine for the first time in January of this year and about mid April I was doing some routine maintenance and cleaning. The pushrods were beginning to show signs of stress and in fact when I pulled them out, the rudder pushrod had one point were it looked like it had been trying to split clear through.

The plane is a fantastic plane to fly and is a good kit to build. Goes together fast and straight. Is very tame on low rates but is a hoot with the throws up high.

Hope this helps.

T.

i have a 10oz laying around, probably use that then.

steel pushrods and clevises. i don't like the nylon

I would recommend monocoat. I have seen one plane with a servo in each wing for the ailerons, but looking at it, I think it is over kill. The guy flying it wasn't really gaining anything by having one in each wing plus I'm sure it added some unnecessary weight. He says he liked to use them for "flap down" landings, but on a model such as this, it would have been something for asthetics only. You can get plenty of control with the one servo for both ailerons and it keeps the weight down.

I think the kit comes with 2 1/4? foam wheels, but I replaced them with treaded wheels right away as well. I fly from dirt and asphalt fields so the foam wheels last about one trip.

T.

thanks i will just do the single servo then.
Why monokoar?
can i make a cowl or it there one that will work? i want to side mount my engine with a pitts muffler

how does the wing attach? is it one piece or two?

There has been some discussion on another thread about a cowl and side mounting the engine on another thread somewhere, I know it has been done and with some good success it sounded like. It would take a little modification to the cheeks and such, but I would guess that it could be done without alot of modification to the structural part of the fuse.

Monocoat, or another type of iron on covering will be alot easier to repair if needed, but I guess fabric would be okay as well. I have not worked with fabric coverings so I am going on the idea that I know how easy other things are to work with.

Just out of curiosity, why are you planning on sheeting the fuse? The fuse sides do have lightening holes in them, but they are good strong ply, not balsa, and the model is very sturdy.

I have a decent pic of mine in my gallery if you want to see.

T.

i saw a site last nite, and there is a thread here that has a link to it, http://www.renderwurx.com/rc/sig4star/

not the whole fuse, just the top from the back of the canopy to the tail, to make it rounded

Okay, that makes sense and I'll bet it made it look alot cleaner.

check out the link, it looks really nice

Damn, that's a nice model...wish I'd seen that before I built mine. Not that I would have done that much modification, but a little would have been nice....

i am planning on rounding the whole top of the fuse.

is the wing one piece or two?

The wing is one piece, bolted on with two nylon bolts in the rear and a dowel in the front of the wing. Another thing I should mention that may be helpful, the kit comes with some fiberglass cloth to glass the wing, but the cloth in the kit I built was only an inch wide. I'm sure it will be okay as is and I put the cloth on as per the instructions. But, having a little more hindsight I would feel alot more comfortable if I would have put a two or more inch piece of cloth on the seam. The plane will do unbelievable snap rolls and very tight loops, (both inside and outside) and everytime one is particularly violent, I cringe because I am afraid I am going to over stress the joint.

Just something to think about during building.

T.

I've cartwheeled mine and the wing joint held up fine.

I don't think it came with wheels, I got the GP foam ones (I forget the size, its whatever tower recommended). On asphalt, they're pretty bouncy as would be expected.

I have an 8 ounce tank and fly with a 46FX. The 10 should be just fine, though there won't be room to pad it.

I've had bad luck with some of the metal fasteners that came with it...I managed to shear off one of the screw heads using only moderate hand force.

4 servos. You might be able to mod it for 2 wing servos but in agreement with everyone else, it flys fine on 1, and flaps will only make it float more.

Also, don't know how yours will turn out, but I ended up putting the battery aft of the wing saddle in a "custom" balsa mount with some velcro to balance the plane. No tail weight needed!

You will also need to buy a servo mount with this plane as it does not come in the kit. You can also make one out of lite ply.

ooops...you are right, it does not come with the wheels, or fuel tank. I took a look at the invoice when I bought mine and I did in fact have to buy the wheels and tank. (Actually, the wife bought it for me for Christmas, I just told her what to get and she took care of it. What a woman....).

Sig recommends plastic covering on the wings for the four star, either monocoat or ultracote. Fabric is not recommended.

The wing is an open structure with no sheeting on the leading edge, the plastic covering is integral to its strength. Don't worry, it's plenty strong enough once covered and shrunk and very light to boot.

On 4-Stars, go with film, Monokote, Ultracote, etc.

I think Sig states not to use fabric on the 4-Stars. Here's why.

Film is stronger for RC than fabric. I know what you're thinking, but read on. The fabric will stretch and allow the underlying framework to break. Film may tear easier, but it won't stretch like fabric and it does make your framework stronger.

Sig's planes, especially the 4-Stars, and I have a 60 bashed into a Kawasaki Tony, have unsheeted wings with multi-stringers. The wings can be fairly "twisty." This can cause stringer failure. I think they specify Monokote to stiffen and strengthen the wing.

ok thanks,
Monokoat it is.
i might by some more cloth for the joint, i'll decided when i get it.

thanks for the info everyone, i can't wait to get mine

After seeing so much about Sig 4 Star and since I am building one I thought I should put couple of pictures I took during the construction.

I will update this site soon, during winter now all the time goes to flying.

I am not finisihed with my 4 Star, and will update as soon as possible.

http://www.galip.net/Sig4Star


Oh I have a new 46 FX going into this baby.

awesome cobra, i like it a lot, and i like that paper idea for the sheeting shape