I was wondering if any one would like to follow my progress on my first build ever, the Sig Somethin' Extra. If you have interest I can do short post after each step with pic's. If there is already a thread like this please tell me. If you are tired of seeing build threads like this please tell me. All comments on this project are welcomed, the kit will be in on Friday and should start the build Saturday.
Thanks,
Zachary McCooL

Zach,
There have been lots of SSE build threads, but each one is different and interesting. I'm sure there are many like myself that have an interest in that plane and would happily follow along with your progress if you would like to document it here. Besides, there is always enough collective experience here that is always waiting to be shared for the benefit of all. As the old saying goes, "Come on in, the water's fine!"

everyone has something to add to each build.also it will help you in your build with ideas and comments.this is a tough crowd to please but an honest one i must add.

Cool, i guess this will be a tool for both me and the people wondering how hard this kit is to build. I think once the kit gets in I'm going to move this thread to the kit section.

No, leave it here in the beginner's forum. The administration of RCU made a decision to let build threads stay here in this forum because of the unique nature of the beginner's forum. A lot of people getting started in this hobby might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the different forums and might not want to go looking in other forums for builds, so they stay here in this forum. For that reason we get to keep build threads here. Well, as long as they appy to the forum of course. We wouldn't do something like a jet build, but since you are getting started and this is your first build it can stay here with no issues at all.

Ken

thank you RCKen,
this wast he first forum i came to and it is why I'm now building this kit. I agree that the people who will have the questions i did will not go looking in the other forums.

Cant wait till Friday!

To night I'm going to clean my room and go to the local Walmart to get some building supply's that i did not order (wax paper, t-pins, small clamps, ext.). Tomorrow I get out of class at 10 and should get my kit shortly after that, then it will be time to sit down and read the Instructions from the fount cover to the back. I'm working on the covering scheme right now (using a 3 view i copied from the web) and I think i got a good ideal of what i wont to do.
How dose the Red Transparent UltraCote look?

zachmccool,
A piece of advice from my experience. Since you have to buy wax paper do yourself a favor and buy clear plastic sheeting instead. CA can and will stick to wax paper, but won't to the plastic sheeting. You can find it in the painting section at Wal-mart, and a roll of it will last you for many many kits. IMHO it's a huge improvement over wax paper.

Ken

Thanks again RCKen,
If you remember my questions in the kit section I stated this build will go down in my dorm room and i will only use CA when it is a must (i.e. sheeting).

Has any one used the transparent red ultracote?

Yup...Whatcha wanna know about it?

The transparent coverings look great. Just keep your seams nice and neat. The overlapped areas tend to darken a little and stand out. If they're ragged, you might notice them more than with an opaque color. Aslo, make sure the top and bottom of the plane contrast well to help with orientation. I like to add stripes or checkers, etc. on the bottom of the wing.

My profile Hots was done with transparent red and blue Monokote but I think Ultracoat might be a little more user friendly.

The pic's say it all, just wonted to know if it worked and looked as good as regular ultracote. Ill post the scheme ounce I'm done with it.

Ok, here is what i'm going to cover it like. The wight is, well, wight ultracote, the red is ither transparent or solid red ultracote and the gray is carbon kevlar Ultracote. I will put "Somethin' Extra" acrose the wings in the corbon kevlar ultracote. The font and size will be Magneto at 200pt.

that should look pretty good. I would recommend putting something on the top of the wing at some sort of an angle. Maybe angle the intersection of the red and white.

Also, consider putting a white star on the bottom of the wing on each side. That will help you when the plane is on it's side and your looking at it directly.

Should look pretty good.

One suggestion if you decide to use clear transparent coating like that. Don't make it totally see-through. You need to make sure that you can see the difference between the bottom of the aircraft and the top. Otherwise, you will never really know when it's inverted. Put a clear coat on the top, but a solid color that offers some clear distinction on the bottom of the wing and stab..

My friend Ron put together a Reactor ARF. It has yellow clear on the top but a red solid color on the bottom of the wing and stab. It should be clearly visible with that color scheme.

I had a flying wing, a Ripmax Rapier, a while ago. It was clear yellow, you could see through it. The first flight was almost a disaster because it was not easy to tell when it was inverted or not. It has a V-tail but it is a small V tail so, when in the distance, it was not visible at all.. looked like a yellow streak. I removed the covering from one side of one of the wings and put a solid color (in this case, blue) and it really improved the visibility 100% !!!

Just a suggestion. I am build the SSE myself now, a kit form, but won't use clear, mainly because I don't like that potential for invisibility. And, I don't want every tom-dick-and-harry telling me that one of my ribs is not straight... I am going to power mine with an OS 50 with a Macs Muffler and soft mount system, pull-pul rudder, and other slight mods.

Best of luck! I will be reading your thread daily.

DS.

CG, hey ah......

One of your ribs is not straight.......

You used too much glue on that one joint......

The LE is not glued enough........

G/K

G/K... You got that right... ha..

Even with a new ARF, if I bring it to the field, someone will pick up the wing and check it closely to see if it's symetrical.. ha..

DS

I noticed on you 3-view for the covering scheme that the rudder and elevator have some modification. Will you be doing any mods on this plane? I sheeted the turtle deck and enlarged the elevator and rudder by and inch or two. My SSE went together easily and it was fun to build. I hate it when people comment on my gluing job or the parallelness of the ribs. Really annoying.
Chuck

The SSE was my 2nd build. The hardest part for me was the hatch. For whatever reason I had a hell of a time with it and mine looks kinda ugly. Don't be afraid to soak the balsa sheeting in warm water if you sheet the turtle deck and even for the top of the fuse. I had problems with cracking. I learned a lot with this build and it is a sweet flying airplane. The rudder could use some additional surface area if you think you will be disappointed by not having perfect knife-edge performance. It will do them pretty well stock as long as you have good speed, but will gradually lose altitude. It does not need any additional elevator, IMO. As long as you are attentive to the stall speed, it will almost land itself. The stall is very predictable and just involves the nose pitching down slightly and a high sink rate which can't be arrested with the elevator without causing a wing to drop. Just lower the nose a little. I'm a big fan of this plane, but I am a little biased.

I bought this new gizmo that goes on top of my building board. It is a metal grid thingie with magnetic building posts that are used as vertical support during the set up phase before gluing. It keeps everything up straight and parallel. I got it from Tower. I will use it to setup the wing on the SSE. Hopefully, all my ribs will be parallel... or I will surely go under the wrath of the perfectionists...

DS.

this it?
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXK328&P=ML

Yeah, Bruce. That's the gizmo.. When all else fails the memory, resort to babble and idiot speak..

Airfield Models has a How-To on building your own version of this system. I know RCKen has built his own and uses it.
http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...oard/index.htm

I saw that article, or one like it, about a week after I placed my order for the tower unit. Unfortunately, it had been shipped and it was to much of a pain in the butt to send it back.

Dick.