I'm interested in sticking with SIG cause I was succesfull with the sig kadet. I am planning on getting another plane and not sure which one to get so Which sig should I get? I forgot to mention i would also like to stick with a .46 2 stroke engine. thanks

Sig Something Extra? or sig four-star 40?

Either one is a great plane. The four start 40 (4*) is more docile and even though it is aerobatic, the Something Extra (SSE) is more aerobatic. The SSE can slow down as slow or slower than your Kadet does and for that matter so does the 4*.

The SSE has a nice easy roll rate on the lowest throws that the book gives you but turn the throws up to the book high and the roll rate is blinding, forget about trying to count them.

Both are true point and fly planes which means the plane will not try to recover from any attitude until you tell it to. The Kadet will try to roll to upright if inverted or steeply banked.

Either one will make a nice second plane so ask yourself, do you want a nice docile long wing trainer or if you can fly the snot out of your Kadet then go after the SSE.

Thank you bubba, I think I already made my choice.

Well, cough it up, don't keep us in suspense [&:]

hahaha, Well when its all set and done I will post pictures of it. I guess we'll just have to wait. lol

Just joking,

I feel that I am pretty good with the trainer, In about a few weeks I will be really good and want to move on to better and more aerobatic planes so therefore, I will get the SSE. Although I will not underestimate the trainer and understand and seen post of people crashing cause of over confidence. I am not going to underestimate anything and stay on top of my game! lol.

ill give ya the first tip!
when your inverted.... dont pull up!
good choice

I have the SSE ARF and it is a great plane. It was my first step up from a trainer and it is an easy plane to adjust too. It will fly as slow or fast as you want. I always brag about how good the plane is, good luck, I know you'll enjoy it. My only complaint is the landing gear does not sit the plane up high enough.

I am making the same choice NJ. Fly the wings off your trainer though. I do see that you are probably going to get a kit though and want to have plenty of time to biuld it

Hello; Is it too late for you to consider the Mid-Star 40, my favorite kit. A great build and a great flyer, you can't go wrong. I like Sig kits too, they all seem to fly really well, I have a 4 star 60 now with an OS 90 four stroke, another great flyer.

Just a suggestion NJ, a good thing to remember is ALTITUDE IS YOUR FRIEND as you start flying your SSE. Give yourself lots of room as you start aerobatics with it.

NJ,

When I say low and high rates I am talking about what the book calls for and they are plenty.

I cannot agree more that the SSE on LOW rates will make a great second plane for you. I say low rates because it's important. On high rates at about half throttle on a 46 turning a 11X7, level screaming across the sky, the roll rate will be a blur [X(] after about 3 rolls (it gets faster the longer you hold it). and the elevator will be somewhat sensitive, but not to the point of anything bad happening. I tried my hardest to get the plane to snap by throwing all the elevator it had at it at 3/4 throttle and it just went into a very tight loop. I do not suggest you try this unless you hold the wings on with something other than what the book calls for. It says to use rubber bands between the eye hooks in the fuselage, I used a wire tie since the plane fit into the bed of my Ranger nicelyand I never had to take the wings off. Other people use a heavy spring. Once you get it you will see what I mean.

As far as how tall the gear is, adstott is correct, it is a little short and an 11 inch prop will be just right, any more and it will hit the ground unless you keep the tail down all the way to takeoff and land in a 3 point attitude.

Several companies make CF and aluminum gear that is wider and about 1 inch taller which is what I did (CF Gear) and once the plane was on the ground it stuck there.

If you do try the roll on high rates, be very high up so you can have time to recover. The plane will stop rotation as soon as you let go of the ailerons. There is no tendency to over-rotate.

It is truly a point and fly plane and you will love it. Do a search for it here on RCU and you will see what I mean. I normally do not suggest it as a second plane but I have been following your progress and posts and you always seem to do allot of research and are very level headed about it before you make a move so I think you will do fine with it.

Oh and by the way, I owe you one for the joke

Bubba, would it be extremly sensitive on lowrates as well? I have a superstar and it is pretty sensitive but its not horrible..

Newb,

I guess sensitive was a bad choice of words, responsive is better, the more throw the quicker the response for a given stick movement unless you have expo dialed in. In the example I gave about going to full up elevator quickly on high rates at full throttle, what would happen is it would go into a tight loop but it would stall/fly/stall/fly/stall/fly all the way through the loop so it would not be a smooth loop. Now if you feed in full elevator smoothly the loop would become nice and tight and just be nice and round

It flys great but you need to be ready for it. It loves to float and in a head wind can literally stay in place but be ready, If the winds drops off, so will the plane. It stalls just fine and all it does is drop the nose, but holding it still into a head wind at 5 foot off the ground will plant the nose unless you are very quick.

It also does not to be bounced on landing. The stock gear is somewhat soft and it will start to flatten out after a hard landing or being bunny hopped down the runway. Grass is not too bad, asphalt would flatten it out quicker. But as I mentioned before, it will land nicely if done in a 3 point stance.

So on low rate it's not bad at all

Thanks Bubba and everyone else for the advice I will definitly keep everything givin here in mind. Oh yes, I do ALOT of research before I do anything and thanks to websitse like this one makes my discision making a little less complicated :0)

P.S
Hey Bubba I was going to be bad and not even tell you what plane i had in mind haha. Just playin

OK that's 2 now, J/K

I've been flying for just shy of a year now. I went from a Tiger 60 (which I still have and fly) to a SSE. When I first flew the plane after the build, it was quite a handfull. The wingspan is small so it's not very visible the higher/farther you get it (orientation becomes an issue). Don't get me wrong, I love my SSE, but I always warm up before flying her. Bubba is right, on high rates, you cannot count the rolls. Want a cardiovascular workout? Put your SSE way up high, give her full throttle and push both sticks up and in and try to catch her before she hits! I would not recommend this plane as a second plane, I would more recommend the 4* over the SSE as a second plane. The landing gear is a problem for prop clearance, bigger wheels or gear will be helpful there for sure. Other than that, it is a fun plane, but dial LOTS of expo into the sticks!!

I LOVE my SSE!! I have all the throws maxed out but I have 80% of exponential on the ailerons and elevator. That makes it very docile with small stick movements, and totally wild with full stick throw. One bit of advise though, beef up the landing gear mounting plate as it will depart the plane easily. I was making touch and goes and touched once a little to fast and the landing gear and mounting block popped right off.

I'm just modifying my 4 years old SSE.... Changing to an OS Surpass 70 to replace my 46FX...


A few things I would suggest to make the plane better:


Enlarge the rudder a bit... With the scrap balsa in the box, you can add about 1 inch to the trailing edge of the fin, will make the knife-edge somewhat better, once you master the plane.


The wing anti-rotation dowels are made of wood. If you use a 46 2 cycle engine and a standard muffler, this area can get soaked with oil and these dowels could break. I replaced the wooden dowels with a piece of music wire of the same diameter than the dowels.


I suggest using carbon fiber rods for the elevator and rudder pushrods. If you eventually do hard aerobatics with this bird, you'll love the stiffer, more direct response thant the stock pushrods.



I would aslo suggest, as other have mentionned, than you dial in a lot of expo, especially on the elevator, if your radio support this feature. It will make the elevator MUCH smoother.


Once you get confortable wth the plane, you can play with the CG a bit... I moved mine backward a bit at a time until the plane responded to my liking (but don't forget expo on elevator!!!)


I found the best prop to use on a 46 2 cycle engine is an APC 12.25x3.75 fun fly prop. You'll get a lot of vertical, manageable top speed, and good torque for 3d manoeuvers.



Good luck!

Don't want to cloud your choice, but I just ordered a Sig Mayhem46. It is a 3D plane and brand new. They are do to start shipping in April. I have the Mayhem3D (bigger brother) and it flies so easy that I'm sure other than self correcting features you couldn't tell it from your trainer. I've flown the Sig 4Star 40 and the Mayhem is easier, honest. And as you progress you can do unlimited stuff with it. I'm looking forward to mine. Just another suggestion because you said you liked to do a lot of research before you buy. Whatever you get, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Sig makes good stuff.
Thanks,
Barry

Hey Barry, I will definitly look into that as well, I'm open to all suggestions and I dont make my choice untill i'm 110% sure. I still gotta do compare and contrast with different types of models and see the benifits of each model and which one outweighs the other. I do some probability and statistics in this and make sure my odds are in favor for the plane I descide to choose before I purchase HAHA j/p (kinda )

hey when you say add expo you mean lesson the expo? if so how much percent cause I dont want the controls to be sensative

I think it's a negative expo, but I'm not quite sure. But what you are trying to accomplish is less sensitive around the center of the sticks. Almost everybody uses it, especially when you get planes with large control surfaces. I usually use about 30% to start. I use it on all control surfaces. Generally what this does is when you move the stick 1/2 way the control surface doesn't move the same, it moves less, maybe only 25%. But when you move the stick 100% you move the control surface 100%. So you are less sensitive on the 1st part of the stroke and more on the latter part. You should also use dual rates for the same effect and use expo on both sides of that as well. Makes a real difference. Especially in windy conditions.
Thanks,
Barry

okay I know what ur talking about Thank you

Depending on the radio you use expo settings can be different. I know that for a Futaba rado, you must use NEGATIVE expo to soften things around neutral. On JR radios, I was told that you must use POSITIVE expo to achieve the same result. Check your manual carefully, as you might be in for a wild ride if you use the wrong setting.


In my case, I use 80% expo on the elevator, but I have set ultra-high rate and my CG is quite a bit behind what's suggested in the manual. Ailerons are at 25% expo and I can fly the plane without expo on ailerons no problem. I agree to use about 25-30% as a starting point if you use the throws and CG settings recommended in the manual. From there, adjust to your liking, a bit a a time...

SSE is a great build i love that plane... things sturdy like a rock!