n.crompton

Hi, I have no experience in building RC planes. I have built a couple of Wot 4 Foam-e planes but want the challenge now of taking this into building a wooden plane, though not scratch build.

I would like to progress one day into building a Warbird 1/5 scale, say like a P-47Thunderbolt but in order to get there, I obviously realise I need to learn quite a lot.
If you could give me some kind of plan that will get me the experience I need, I will be hugely grateful.

My flying skill level is intermediate!

Rodney

Probably the easiest and most likely to succeed would be to buy one of the SIG kits and build it. You will see how it is done and most of the SIG kits will be fine flyers.

foodstick

Welcome to building ! It really is easier to build a basic kit or two before trying something with a more complicated compound curved fuselage..
However read up as much as you can to see if something you like has a VERY good instruction manual.. then decide if you want to give it a go.
Hopefully you will be a more established flyer by the time the kits built and be more at ease flying it.

I would see if you can find someone to ask questions from locally, and help keep you on the straight and narrow

trogladyte

A good solid, and true, building board is the first place to start. I used to use ply or MDF with softboard or cork on it in the past. However, having just moved to Phoenix, I set up a new board that's magnetic. Thin sheet of metal on the ply and a bunch of magnets. Have yet to use it, but it looks a great system.

I'm with Rodney and foodstick. Get a good kit - you can find lots on Ebay - and make sure it's reasonably flat sided. If you like warbirds there's some good WW1 offerings that aren't too difficult. Cheers.

Hydro Junkie

Since you're an experienced flyer, I'd look at the .40-.60 Sig Kougar(foam core wing) or .19-.35 Kobra(built up wing) if you want tricycle gear or a Four Star(built up wing) if you prefer a tail dragger. All are listed as available on the Sig kits webpage, http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...ftF.html?E+Sig

skylark-flier

All good planes, total agreement. You might also look at the SIG MidStar-40. She's a sport-type, trike gear, easy to build & maintain, very fast & maneuverable with a .45 mounted in front. Basically, any SIG-kit plane you get is going to be a good one.

n.crompton

Hi Rodney, thanks for replying. I took you up on this and have looked at the Sig 4 Star 40 Kit. It looks just like my Acro Wot. To be honest I don't really care to much about flying it, it is more about the learning I want to get out of it but this model does look a very good one to start with...! Many thanks...

n.crompton

Thank you for your advice. I will try and get some help locally with my first build. I think the Sig plane will actually be a good one to start with, now that I have looked at one properly.
kind regards...

n.crompton

I spoke to a few RC stores yesterday and one very helpful experienced builder suggested exactly that, get a good building board. He suggested Insulation Board you can buy from a DIY Store. I'll take a look at it and see. Also, I was advised about getting a Straight Edge. Is a steel 48" Ruler ok for the job or does it have to have better precision?
Many thanks for your help...

n.crompton

Yes, exactly what you have advised, the Sig 4 Star 40. That's sorted...I will attempt this plane as my first Winter Project. Perhaps after that....a 1:4 scale Spitfire! Just joking...!
After this build, do you think I would be up to taking on a Top Flite build...eg like the Giant Scale P-47, with an 85" wing span? This is where I want to be at some day but I'd appreciate your advice rather than jumping in head first...

Many thanks for your help.

n.crompton

I just want to say, thank you to all of you for your help....it is great to be able to have a forum to ask questions and get help..cheers.
A Sig 4 Star 40 will be my first build!

Hydro Junkie

After this build, do you think I would be up to taking on a Top Flite build...eg like the Giant Scale P-47, with an 85" wing span? This is where I want to be at some day but I'd appreciate your advice rather than jumping in head first...

Not so fast. There are other builds you should attempt first. I would look at a Spacewalker and Citabria first, then try your luck with the T-Bolt. The giant scale kits are much more involved than the Four Star you're looking at. That being the case, you will probably benefit from having more experience in building and flying more than just the Four Star. I'm sure others will have their own recommendations for an intermediate build or two as well

rgburrill

One thing about Top flight is you don't have to go straight to giant scale - they have some great 60 size planes too.
BTW, my last building board consisted of a 2x4 piece of 3/4 inch cabinet material and a 4x8 sheet of pink foam wall insulation from Home Depot. I had them cut the 2x4 (24x48) into 1ea 8x48 piece and 1ea 16x48 piece. I cut the insulation to fit on top of each piece. The insulation had a sticky back so it stuck to the boards. And get some T-pins from the hobby store or Tower. I think you can see the building board in My Gallery under the Stampe photos that are dark and orangish in color.

YellowBlueBird

Start a thread under kit building. You can get a lot of help and some good ideas that way. Sometimes you may even get cautions about things coming up in the next phase of the build by someone that has built that kit. There may also be a thread on the airplane that you chose to build. Read ahead of you build to see how others did it. Sig and great planes are both well detailed.

Jerry

n.crompton

Thanks for that...good advice.

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

There is a kit building forum here that you should look at http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/kit-building-121/

But the guys here will also keep you right.

A model that I have built in the past is Phil Kraft's Ugly Stik. It is hard to go wrong building a Stik and they are fun to fly. http://store.laser-design-services.c...roducts_id=105 NB this is a short kit so you will need to buy sticks and sheets from your local shop. Choosing these would be part of the learning process.

n.crompton

Thanks for replying to my thread and I think my mind is now set on this Sig. When I do begin building it I will join the Sig Brotherhood so that if I get into some problems hopefully they will help me out. The one thing I am pleased about is the generosity of the members. You have all been outstanding.

skyraider71

The Fourstar is a great kit to start with, it will teach you the basics of building. It's a sweet flying
model to boot. I've built two of them. If you can swing the coin for a four-cycle engine, it's even better.
My current one has a Saito .56 and it's just about perfect. A two stroke is just fine, and the throttle is
easier to set up.
I build on a piece of one inch blue foam on a hollow core door, a straight and true surface.

HampdenTech

I'm building a FourStar 40 right now and hope to have it complete by the end of the year. It's a great kit and easy to fly, but definitely a good kit to learn some building skills on.

As for the building board, I took a hollow-core door as the base of the table and then I topped that with a 2 X 4 ceiling tile (back-side up). Works great and is nice and even to build straight.

Another building tip...look up some online tutorials before you start the covering. This can be a tricky area and this is where the kit comes together so it's important to know what you're doing.

Good Luck!

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

When I was still teaching kit building I started out using the Super sportster kit until someone pointed me to the SIG 4* and then I started using that except I used the 60 instead of the 40. No real reason except a lot of my students were older and our eyes aren't as good as they used to be. Not only is the 4* a good learning tool they are a very nice flying plane. You can't go wrong with any of the SIG kits, there is a photo as well as the written instructions.
When you start thinking about the bigger war birds you also have to start thinking about a lot more money.
I made a really nice building board from soft pine about 20 years ago and it's still in use. I did a few things to keep it level when I built it and have added onto it over the years, made it wider as needed for bigger wings.
In the kit building forum you will find we all have our own ideas of what makes a good building board but most of them work fine.

domer1234

You're cool. but i think you may problem about weight because wooden plane have weight than plastic. Controlling plane may difficult. Hope you work done at soon. Great job.

buzzard bait

A common mistake of new builders is to fear that the structure will be weak. One new builder wrote about the epoxy fillets he used on bulkheads. Wrong idea. They add weight, not strength. I use epoxy to glue in the firewall sometimes, but hardly anything else. Glue fillets are a waste. If there is a known structural weakness, like right behind the wing, then a good piece of balsa, being mindful of grain direction, can help, but don't get carried away with beefing it up. Try to keep it light. Wooden planes can be light and strong. Wood, even balsa, is an excellent material, and fun to work with. Best of luck.

Jim

Charlie P.

I disagree - if they are done properly. Epoxy fillets can be structural and also dissipate the stresses at angles - allowing the airframe to absorb vibrations and impacts better. You can add fillers (i.e. microballoons, colloidal silica, wood flour, fiberglass flocking, etc.) and make epoxy lighter and/or stronger, thixotropic - right on up to tappable for bolt fasteners. It's handy stuff.

BUT, it does add weight and should be used judiciously. A few 45° angle balsa braces epoxied to a firewall add tremendous strength - as does drilling and epoxying toothpicks or bamboo skewers to mechanically supplement the epoxy.

Don't forget that with a wood model the covering skin adds a great deal of strength. Much of the skeletal material is just to hold the skin in proper shape. Lighter always flies better. Just make sure the engine and wings are secured to the airframe well. ;-)

Hydro Junkie

I have to agree with Jim on this one. More often than not, I see people building R/C boats(my hobby of choice, aircraft being a close second) with "tons" of glue, usually epoxy. Recently, I've seen a huge increase in the use of FG or CF as well. Not sure why but, for some reason, people seem to be recommending the use of epoxy, FG and CF to reenforce a joint or a wood panel rather than use something that is actually used for building the structure. It's easy to make a gusset or add a glue block and sand it down to just whats needed as well as to lighten it, why use just epoxy or add materials that do no good. I know boats are a different animal and epoxy is used to seal the wood as well as hold it together but, still, without adding silica or some other "strengthener", it's nothing but wasted time and added weight. To use FG or CF, you have to add even more weight in epoxy. The epoxy has to fill the weave to bond the fabric to the structure which can more than double the weight of the panel. There's nothing worse than an overweight plane (or boat for that matter) when it comes to having fun and relaxing day at the field or pond

Stick 40

one small thing I learned the hard way is, READ AHEAD, BEFORE PUTTING THE GLUE TO IT.

If I read a few steps ahead of what I was putting together, it prevented a lot of mistakes.

As you have already been told, pick a kit that is a good build with good inst.

sticks