I am seriously considering a Sig 4 star as my first kit to build over the winter. I am now flying a Sig LT-40.

Can anyone who has flown or flies a Sig 4 * please give me a brief reply as to the flight characteristics. How does it roll, fly inverted, knife edge, land, take off etc.

I would really appreciate it. I know with my trainer requires a lot of elevator to keep it level in a roll. I am kinda looking for a plane that will roll fairly easy.

If you get some time, please leave a post.


Thanks,

Wings

Good choice. My 4-Star has an OS32 and will do all the conventional aerobatics. Loops, rolls, hammerheads, rolling circles. Snap rolls are not the best but many of the fun fly's can't do them well.

This is a perfect kit for your first. The instructions tell you exactly what glues to use and ever single step is clearly spelled out. I built my second one in 5 days.

Tom

If Wings doesn't mind, please include advice on what engine to put in it. I am building one as well. I am trying to decide between a light engine like a OS LA 40 or 46 (one post said this was ideal) and an OS FX 46/TT 46 Pro (One post said ideal another said overpowered). I am concerned that an LA 46 won't have much use after this plane.

You will not be dissapointed by going with the 4*. I built mine last January and have had a total blast with it. I am runnig a TT pro .46 with a Zinger 10X6 prop. It will perform pretty much every maneuver you want to try and recovers very well if you get in trouble. There are a couple of changes I made during and after construction, first being to replace the tailwheel assembly. I put a Sullivan assembly on mine as I didn't like the idea of having that much stress on the rudder. After about 3 months of flying I broke a hinge in the elevator so I went ahead and rehinged all surfaces. I would suggest putting better hinges throughout initially. Another thing you may want to consider doing is replacing the nylon control rods with metal ones. After a day of flying I was doing some routine cleaning and maintenance and noticed little stress cracks in the elevator rod. I pulled it all the way out and found some very severe cracks throughout. This was also the case with the rudder.

The plane performs great. Rolls, loops, knife edge, etc. are accomplished with ease. It is a far cry from something like a 300 or edge, but it is a great plane to get your feet wet as far as aerobatics are concerned.

The .46 pro is a great combination, however is does make it a bit nose heavy. This can be counteracted by moving the battery back into the fuse. I don't think it would be considered overpowered at all, but I'm sure there differeing opinions on this subject.

T.

If your gonna build the 4 *, why not go ahead and build the 60, I think you will be glad you did in the long run. I just finished a 4 * 60, and flys like a dream. Has an OS 61 on it, rolls (snap and slow) are perfect. good knife-edge, and flys as good inverted as it does right side up. I did some slight MODS to mine while building it, and it was my first kit as well. I suggest sheeting the rear turtle-deck, where the stringers are to give it better strength. You would be surprised how fragile those stringers are, and how easy they can break while transporting, or any other minor incident. You can also cut the cheeks off, and put a cowling on it, makes it look alot sharper. You can do a 4 * Mod search on here, and find pics as well as links to help you with the mods. I also added 2" to my rudder, which gives it beautiful knife-edges. but no matter which way you choose to go, 40 or 60, you cannot choose a better kit for your first build than the 4 Star.

Can I throw another hat into the ring?

If you're thinking about building a 4*60 over the winter then you should take a look at the Bruce Tharpe Venture 60 ([link=http://www.btemodels.com/venture.html]Bruce Tharpe Engineering - Venture 60[/link]) Bruce designed the 4*40 and 4*120 for Sig before leaving and forming his own company. The Venture 60 is considered by quite a few people to be what the '4*60 should have been.' (that's not to say that the 4*60 is a bad plane or kit - it's got a fantastic reputation, as has SIG - but the Venture 60 definitely has a goodly set of improvements over it. A little searching on the RC Universe boards will give you a good background on the model.)

John - if you're going the '40 size route then I'd spend a little extra and get the O.S. 46FX over the O.S. 46LA. I've got the LA on my LT-40, and I really wish that I'd spent the extra and upgraded. I think the FX will be of far more use to you after (and indeed during) the 4*40.

Cheers,
Neil.

Alwyas go for a little extra..

the main difference between the LA andf FX, is that teh LA is a bushing engine, and teh FX has bearings; meaning it'll have a bit more power, and will last a little longer.

As for the BTE Verntuer 60... the only way to get it is though mail order.

Pitty. Especially when you have to cross a border.

----------------

Venture 60 = $134.99 (kit) + 19.99 (shiping) = $155 x 1.3 (exchange) = $201 Canadian, and possible taxes & duties.

4 star 60 at ECMC.com = $123 + about $20 shipping, and 8% tax = $154 canadian... (or $118 USD)

Bruce - need a canadian distributor?!

I have 2 4*60's and love both of them. I have an ARF with a GMS 76 on it and it flies great it has lots of power and will do anything that I am capable of. The other one was built from a kit and has a Magnum 91 four stroke on it. This is my favorite plane to fly. The four stroke engine is the best one for this plane. It has unlimited verticle an will flat out haul.

Rick

Recently, I've been thinking about the 4*40 kit, as there's one sitting at my LHS. I kinda skipped over that step and went straight to a H9 Funtana after the LT-40. I've since assembled and flown my Brightstar, but due to its flat bottom wing and dihedral, it doesn't behave any better than the LT-40 on aerobatics...

In regard to the engine... I first flew the LT on an Irvine .39 which worked very well. I then swapped it for an OS 46FX (to break it in) which gave no real improvement in flying characteristics but does make the nose drop more when power is removed even though I moved the battery back. I have the 46LA on the Brightstar. It suits the Brightstar well, but I don't anticipate using it for anything else as it rattles and makes considerably less power than the Irvine .39. The Irvine makes almost as much power as the 46FX.

In short, if I build a 4*40 I'll put my Irvine .39 in it. Its light for a BB engine as its actually a 30 size with 40 size power.....

As for the 4*60, that's a whole new ball game. I'd consider the ARF maybe against the Tiger 60, but if I were to go to the trouble of building the kit I'd probably get the Venture instead....

I wouldnt use an O.S. LA for anything besides a paper weight. Go with the TT pro .46 or a saito .72 if you can afford it.

P.S. I have flown all of the 4*'s with various engines.

Thanks guys for the advice.

I would get a 4* 60, but I can only fit one plane in my car at a time. I probably won't fly the LT -40 much after I get the other plane ready any. So it makes since to me to just use the engine from my LT-40.

Evo .46 NT

Do you think this engine will do well with it? It moves the LT-40 along pretty good.


Thanks,


Wings

is an 8 oz fuel tank about right?

8oz tank gives about 10+ minutes of flight to me with 46FX.

as previously mentioned you may want to consider venture 60 designed and kited by bruce tharpe.
I own the 3 four star (40, 60 and 120), but I also own a venture 60

the venture is an improved four star, more elegant, flying better (yes yes I swear a plane can fly better than a 4 star)

bruce made all improvement on the venture he always wanted to do on the four star before leaving SIG

the venture kit is EXCELENT QUALITY

Ya, but I want to use my engine. I can't really afford another engine right now. I have a 40 size engine.



Wings,

in that case the four star 40 is the ticket you will love build and fly it

I have an LT-4o and two 4*40's. I cracked one of the 4*'s up due to a bad aileron cable (honest!).

I can't say more than what the other folks have said here about how much fun the plane is, and I fly mine on a TT Pro 40, just for the record.

My suggestion would be to hang on to the LT-40. If you can't fly during the winter, or for extended spells, it's nice to haul out that LT-40 and run it around the pasture a few times, just to get over dumb thumbs.

I agree with everyone that says that the 4*40 is a great 2nd plane, and a lot of fun to fly, but it IS quicker than an LT-40. I'd keep that LT-40 in the stable too for those time when you want to just bore holes in the sky, or when you need to refresh your thumb's memory!

Just my $.02

Thanks guys,


I just now submited my order. I should have the kit next week! For the better or for the worse, the long debated decision is over! I haven't heard very many negative things at all here or other threads. So I am confident I made a good choice.

I can't wait to start on it.

By the way, what exactly does boring holes in the sky mean? Does in mean just flying around like crazy because you know you can correct it?

Just wondering.

Thanks again,


Wings

I means flying around having fun, not trying to do anything in particular.

Eric

Just remember, when boring holes in the sky use at least a 1/4" drill bit on your spinner and don't forget to add some weight to the tail to counter-balance it. Boring true perpendicular sky holes is tricky when you're nose heavy.

I had a friend in college fro Aurora.

His name was Akira, I forgot his last name.

It looks like the there is only a small sheet of balse that actually holds the wings together other than the expoxy between the wings. My LT 40 had a pretty bulky size piece that held them together.

Would it be smarter to add something larger like the LT 40 had, or will this wimpy piece of blasa suffice?


Thanks,

Wings

delete

I went in my library and exhumated the booklets of the 40


on the 40 there is a 3/32 birch ply diedral brace located on the diecut sheet also containing 2*F1 (your firewall)

procedure to install it is describe page 7 of the manual
as you can see it's glued on the back of the main spars, glue it with epoxy

Ya, I know. But that seems really really thin compared to the brace on the LT 40. Oh well, guess it must work or it wouldn't be that way.


Thanks for helping,


Wings