qwazzy123

Going to be transitioning from a NextStar select to A Sig 4 * 60. What kind of flight characteristics would I expect different. Since its a low wing, how much more unstable is the plane compared to a high wing NextStar. Is it more jumpier on the controles, do I need to more gentle. etc. Just want to know what to expect before I take off and crash :-) Never flown a low wing before so don't know what to expect.

Thank you

Qwazzy!!

WCB

The 4* won't self correct like the trainer. It does what you tell it to and stays there until you give another input. It flies great. After you get used to it you will like it better than the trainer. The ground handling will be different. Hold up elevator to keep the tail wheel on the ground while taxiing. On take off..ease into the throttle holding some up elev. and use a little rudder to track straight. When you reach take off speed pull a little up elev. and she's airborne. When landing chop the throttle on downwind leg and drop off some altitude. Use a little throttle management on final approach and let it settle in for a 3 point landing. I'm running a Thunder Tiger .91 four stroke on mine and I love it. It flies smooth as silk and it does some pretty maneuvers. It's docile and forgiving and stalls are nice. When it stalls the nose mushes over and it's flying again. No quirks or unexpected snaps. Flies slow real well too. I give it 2 thumbs up. Great plane!

TennCharlie

Don't be afraid of the 4*. I went to it from a trainer & never looked back. It flys so much better and lands so much easier than a trainer and is much more responsive at the same time. You will love it. I fly mine with a Saito .91. Take offs usually take about 15 feet. It floats in for landings much easier than a trainer to me.

BlenderBender

qwazzy123,

You will love the 4* 60 it is a great transition plane, just a baby to fly ... I too have a .91 FS in mine plenty of power and it will float in like a dream!
Good luck and I can bet you will love it!

John

hookedonrc

Like everyone says, it is a great plane to fly. Stable in windy conditions and it goes where you point it. As indicated, just remember it is not self correcting. I have a OS91fs in mine and I really like flying it. Don't know if you have the kit or ARF, but mine is the ARF. Make sure you have a good seal on the tank stopper. Over time, mine shrunk and I got fuel inside of the tank area. I ended up putting in a Sullivan tank as the replacement.

qwazzy123

Thanks All, definetily lowered my enxiety about the first flight

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

1. The 4* IS NOT SELF CORRECTING.

2. It goes where you point it and stays that way until you input something different.

3. Being a taildragger your takeoff will be different. Hold FULL UP ELEVATOR while taxing. For your takeoff run, after putting the elevator in neutral (or SLIGHT up elevator, 1 - 2 clicks worth), SLOWLY advance the throttle. Be ready with the rudder. When the tailwheel comes off the ground input A LITTLE right rudder to keep it running straight. When it gets up to speed it should lift off on it's own or if needed A LITTLE up elevator.

4. Landing. Fly the plane to about 3" from the ground. If you have any throttle on, reduce it to an idle. SLOWLY feed in A LITTLE UP ELEVATOR AND HOLD IT. What you want to do is bleed off speed, not climb. The plane will settle into a 3 point landing.

The first time or two will be the hardest with a taildragger, after that, no problem.

dz06

The biggest problem I had was learning that turns require elevator. Not just to hold altitude like a high wing trainer, but to actual turn. While I basically knew this fact, I didn't really have it sink in until I crashed on a low speed low altitude pass down the runway. The 4* began drifting towards the flight station and I banked the plane away from the stations. Without up elevator the 4* just banked, but did not pull away from the stations. Panicked and just added more aileron which resulted in steeper bank with no turn and a sudden loss of lift and altitude. Resulted in wing striking the ground followed by cartwheel. Should have added power and up elevator with bank to pull away from stations.
Now I understand the need for elevator when attempting banked turn! With trainer it really was just bank and turn, add a little elevator to maintain altitude.
One other mistake I made was to under estimate the speed. The 4* covered a lot of ground quickly and I found myself attempting to turn around a plane that was rapidly shrinking. The 4* is no speed demon, it just is a lot quicker that the Kadet Senior I had been flying. The Kadet flew great at a leisure pace that allowed for extended flight in any direction with lots of time to react. The 4* can cover a lot of ground in a short period of time.
The 4* is actually easy to fly. It just has different flight characteristics of which you must be aware.

Good Luck
dz06

qwazzy123

The Plane has arrived today.....sooo excited to get going. Just have to waite for the flight pack and the engine come in. Order a Super Tiger 75. Would anyone recomend a tuned pipe for the engine. What kind?? And what's a good prop size to get?


Thanks,
Qwazzy

DBCherry

My Feedback: (4)

I wouldn't bother with a tuned pipe on a 4*. The plane has too much drag to be fast, so the tuned pipe will just be wasted effort.

Definitely a great choice for a second plane.
Dennis-

Wing-Ding

I have a 4*60 for my second plane and love it. I have the ARF (red). In fact, I flew it today. Once I got used to it, I like it better than my Tower Hobbies 40 trainer. I agree with all of the previous posts in regards to it's taxiing characteristics and takeoff. On takeoff, remember to neutralize the elevator just before the tail wheel comes up. On my third flight, I forgot and the plane shot straight into the air! Fortunately, I kept the throttle wide open and pushed the stick forward a bit to keep it from stalling. Very close.

If you're flying into the wind when landing, it glides very much like a trainer. But if there's no wind, my experience has been that you need to "fly it in" and not rely on it to glide like a trainer.