Hey,

I havn't been on RCU a lot lately because I have been working on my first kit. It is finally done. Here is a picture. You can see more pictures here [link=http://home.insightbb.com/~brownmattt/fourstar.htm]My four star[/link]

I appreciate all the advice and answered questions from you guys that made this possible!

Congratulations !!! Plane looks pretty good. Four-Star is a great flying airplane ( and All SIG`s are ). I see you even got a sponsor already, " Boiler Makers ". Good luck and remember to ask when in doubt.

Great job Wings. Your plane looks really good. I remember you said the wing broke off your trainer. Looks like your ready to go again. Are you going to maiden it.

Great job! Looks really nice!
I'm not familiar with the kit, are the wing saddles cut that nicely or was it a sand to fit. If it was a sand to fit my hats off to ya. Thats a toughy to get nice sometimes.
I take it you were afraid of the vert fin coming off.

Go Purdue! Thay played their heart out in the Bowl game. My bro went to Purdue!!!

Congrats. very nice looking plane.

Well done!

PS, your landing gear are on backwards.

Wings,

What did you think of the four star as a first kit? Would you recommend it to others as a kit to build??

Thanks for the complements guys...




I think I am going to have an instructor maiden it. I was getting pretty decent at the Lt-40, but this is a low wing and I havn't flown in about 2 months now. Plus, the most important reason, I worked hard on it and don't want to crash it right off!

No sanding was required on the saddles.

I went to Purdue also, that bowl game was a heart breaker. Come back from that far and loose. Bummer.....



Minnflyer,

You're a punk . I stared at the front landing gear for an hour. Looked like it was the same both ways. It bugged me so much I switched it around. Guess I'm gullable huh?


mnrcaerobat

This is the only kit I've built and I have to say it was much easier than I imagined. Don't get me wrong, it was VERY time consuming, but it really wasn't hard. If you decide on the 4 star I can pass on a couple tips I got from other RCU users that helped.

The tip that saved me the most time was make sure you install the gas tank BEFORE you install the top part of the plane. The instructions say to do it the other way. It would have been next to impossible to get the tank in later.

Some one told me to drill small holes in the wing ribs to allow air to escape when covering. I did it and had no problem covering. Not sure what would have happend if i didn't.

The hardest part I had with the kit was installing the dowel in the front of the wing. It says to just drill it. Its really hard to do that because you are trying to drill between two thin pieces of balsa. If I had to do over I would have used a knife and cut a slot for it instead of drilling. I ended up screwing up the entire front of the wing. I ended up using scrap balsa to try and recontruct the part I gouged out. It wasn't pretty at all, but it is inside the wing so looks didn't really matter. I filled it, I mean completely filled it with epoxy glue. Then used wood filler on the front. I am a litte worried about it breaking off in flight. But with a half a tube of epoxy hopefully I will be alright.

And, I used this site for inspiration that Cobra posted in an earlier thread.[link=http://www.renderwurx.com/rc/sig4star/#why]Four star costumization[/link]
Basically all I did from that site was the part about making the deck smoother. I was going to try to make a cowl, but I figured I should leave well enough alone.

Thanks guys,

Wings

Very Nice! Not a Purdue fan but love college football (Husker fan waiting for a coach)

I have ordered a 4* 1.20 for my second plane. Patiently waiting for it to arrive... .. ....... ...........................

I'm going to do the same rounded deck mod and have also been thinking about the cowl. I wonder if there is a aftermarket fiberglass cowl that will mount on it easily??

Let us know how it flies.

-Jinks

Nice looking car in the background there, also!! [8D]

Sorry, didn't mean to be a jerk (It just comes naturally sometimes).

But seriously, I did think they were on backwards because I only looked at the large version of the first pic, and LG are usually raked forward. I couldn't see the TE of the gear in the pic, so it look like it was raked back, and when comparing it with the pic on the box, I just assumed you made a boo boo.

I guess It was my bad.

Mike,
Why is it the only picture that I can see in this post is the one that you posted? I have been getting alot of this happening lately.

Ya, that is wierd.

It was fine yesterday.

Something is wrong....

Ya, Minnflyer that is kinda weird how the box is different. I didn't notice that before. I thought you were just pulling my chain. I switched it around and it looks the same both ways. I guess as long as it rolls is the important thing right?

Wings

We've been "upgraded" to a new server. Expect problems for a while.

Kerry

I still havn't flow my plane yet. But I've noticed something I don't like....

When I give the elevator up and let off, it goes back to neutral. When I give it down and let off it doesn't come back all the way to neutral. I looked it over and I can't see where it is in a bind or anything. It lacks maybe 1/8" or so, maybe less.

I guess its not a huge deal I just have to remember to hit up to bring it back to neutral.

Any one else ever have this happen? If so, is it a big problem when flying? Any suggestions on fixing it?


Wings

standard servos don't always return to the exact neutral band,in flight it will take care of itself with the wind moving across the controls

Did you cover the underside the same.
I think the color scheme is cool but I think she'll be a hard to see in the air.

Nice job wings!

I may have asked this question before but I can't remember your answer.
Did you cut down your stock canopy?

And is that anodised landing gear I see?
Very nice wings keep the work up!

I colored the entired bottom black so it would be easy to tell whether it was upside down or not.


Yes, I did cut down the canopy, but it looks like crap up close. Thats the part of the plane I am completely unhappy with. I actually cut it down too small and had to used black electrical tape to hide the edges. Its all distorted out of shape to fit.

Just be careful during the part. I think I got in a hurry and screwed it up.

Wings

I'm glad to see you left some gold on the LE. A solid color (like black) can completely disappear if you go in front of a dark background (Like distant trees)

It's a great looking plane for your first kit. I am working on my SE and hope to have it finished soon. I hope my covering comes out as smooth as yours.

However, I do have a question for anyone. Can you double up your antenae back on itself without hurting range? On some of my planes I would like to do that, but thought it needs to be extended. Wings: not trying to critique your construction, I really do not know the answer.

No - it kills the range. Always extend the anttenna.

Thanks for the compliment dude,

I am not sure if you are refering to my plane or not. But, mine is not doubled up. I ran it through a nylon pushrod tube on the inside. There is about 4 or 5 inches or so that kinda hangs free from the top of the rudder. I hope that is not a problem. I gues it could possible get tangled up and be doubled. I don't think that is likely though.


Wings

first, great job on the plane. i think it looks like a real flyer.

regarding the LG, it is on there right. just wondering if that is part of the kit or not because the gear is different than in the picture.

minnflyer, if you look into his "other pictures" the second picture from the end, you can see that the gear is symmetrical.