I'm looking to build a kit during the winter. I am looking at the GP UltraSport 60, GP Extra, Super Chipmonk, and any others you can recommend. This is my first build. I have some flying with my 4*star 60 under my belt, but I do not want to progress to quickly. I plan on flying the 4* a while before getting this plane ready to fly. Any thoughts on a good first build project would be appreciated. Have a great Thanksgiving! Go easy on the pumpkin pie!

I am about finished with the Astro Hog. It has taken me about 4 months to complete. It has lots of wood but it builds easy. I hear it is a slow flier and a good second plane.

Although it is an ARF, one that I would highly recommend is the Goldberg Skylark 70. I have one and it's one great flying aircraft. It flys like an advanced trainer, yet has the aerobatic capabilities of a entry level pattern plane. Mine is powered by an OS .75 AX. This combination is excellent. This plane makes novices look like pro's when landing.

Best of luck.

CGr.

I have a tiger 60 with a ASP-75 and I get the same results as CGRetired. Like it a lot

Hi Irish.

You have a Tiger 60? Great plane. I had one for several years, started with an OS 61 SF that developed a bearing issue, so I swapped it out with a Super Tigre 75 that ended up having the insides of the muffler falling apart on me, so I put a Macs Tuned Pipe on the thing. Jeech.. that thing was a great performer. Great vertical, and handled just great. I sold the Tiger 60 to one of our club members, and as far as I know, it still flys.

shleprock, there's another great recommendation for you. And, it comes in kit form. What I've seen done with this plane is build it with the short wing.. that is, leave off the last two ribs in the build process. Just watch the build process because they tend to come in tail heavy.

CGr.

I'm really looking to build a kit this winter. Since I already have a 4*, I am looking to build the next logical step up from that. I have read good things about the GP ultra sport. I'm not looking to fly the new plane until I have a lot of time on the 4*. Is the GP Extra a good third plane? Thanks for the opinions.

I have built the GP Extra 300 and it is an exellent flier. But, I don't think I would recommend it or the Ultrasport as "first build". I'm not saying that it isn't possible, but might be a bit discouraging. However, there are many build threads on both to follow that would answer a lot of questions and make the building much easier.

With that said, a great first build and a nice step up from your 4* would be the Sig Somethin' Extra. It builds very easily and will give you the expereince necassary to build the other 2 mentioned before. There are also extensive threads on the Somethin' Extra as well. I have built the Somethin' Extra and qualifies as a must-have plane in my opinion.

I have the US 60 kit waiting to be built. From reading the instructions, I can tell you it is a little on the more "old school" side of kit construction than something like a Sig Somthin Extra but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Could you build it as a first kit? Heck, I don't know. If you have a knack for building things already, followed the instructions and got advice from others who have built the plane, I imagine you could do just fine.

I've never flown an Ultra Sport yet either but plenty of people on here swear by it. Go over to the kit building forum, you'll find a couple active threads on the plane.

Absolutely! If the US60 was my first kit without asking anyones opinion, I would get it built one way or another. Regardless, I might have wished someone would have suggested something else first, then build the US.

Shleprock
I don't want to discourage you from building anything, but a challenging first build might deter you from ever building a kit again....who wants that?

shleprock,

For first kit I would recommend SIG laser cut kits, don’t get me wrong, US60 is not a complicated kit and in my opinion who wants to build it will succeed.

I’m building the US60 kit right now, it’s more sanding then laser cut kits and I want it be aligned better to perfect compare to other kits building mistake I’ve built.

The US60 is getting built very fast, im on hold now so I have enough for the rest of the winter.

My only conceren of recommending the US 60 is that it will deter you from building more kits.

There is Sig mid star 40, I built two of them its still flying very well after two nose in concrete crashes, its very suitable for first time builders, the instructions are written for novice builders.

Sig mid star flight characteristics are very similar to the Four Star 40, but easier to fly and more aerobatics.

after building kits im avoiding the ARF’s, with the mistakes my kit built planes flying much better and durable.

Check the kit building forum threads, it’s a wonderful tool for kit builders, you will need it.

Alex

If you have A good idea of what the parts are then there really isn't A lot to building A kit. Any of the Great Planes kits are A good choice. Even if you don't know what the part is that the instructions are calling for there is A photo of it or it's shown on the plans. The instructions are shown step by step and there kits are very easy because of this. Take your pick and start gluing.
Make sure you start hanging out in the kit building forum though. Before you buy A kit you may want to go there and pull up some threads of the planes you are thinking about and see what other builders have to say about them. There must be A hundred threads alone on the Sig SE. I know A couple of first time builders that went to the GP Extra as A first build and got away with it but the Sig Somthin Extra may be the better choice for you. There is A learning curve in building just like flying. Go take A look and make A choice.

I just got my winter build today a sig hog bipe, probably not the best first build, but I have built a few kits a long time ago, and have built a couple of boats from plans many years ago. I am also going to try to build a smoothie from plans, with a little help from a builder friend, I also have a a couple of planes that I need to modify and finish and fix hanger rash .

I would say a sig kit, from what I have read, most of them are great first kits.

Jon

In my opinion, the best kit to start building on is the Sig Something Extra. This kit is almost so easy to build that they joke about is you open the box, toss in a bottle of glue, shake the box, and then dump out the finished airplane. While it's a bit more involved than that, this is by far one of the easiest kits to build when you have no building experience. The instructions are very detailed and will help the beginning builder learn some of the basic techniques that need to be learned when moving on to other kits. The kit is entirely laser cut and it goes together very easy. Also, this plane will fit right in with where you are at with the planes you are flying. This would be your third plane, and after the time on the 4-star you would have no problem flying the SSE. This is one plane that is assured to put a smile on your face. It's an absolute blast to fly. I've had 3 of them!!!

I'm not saying that you won't be able to build the other kits involved. However, they may be a bit much for first build. As was said above, you don't want you first build to give you a bad taste towards building. The SSE will help give you the confidence to successfully complete the other kits that you mentioned above.


Ken

Jon, I have built most of the SIG kits and not all of them are good starter kits for first time builders, your about to learn that. I wanted to bring up the SIG Mid Star 40 but the two planes mentioned are more advanced planes/kits so I avoided it. One of my flight students built the MS 40 and it's an easy build and an outstanding plane too. My problem with it is it's about like flying the 4* series of planes. Most the time when I have taught building it was with the Super Sportster but I have started using the 4*60 now days. Maybe take A look at the Goldberg Tigers, both the 40 and 60 size. The Super Sportster 60 is still A good choice. With the Ultra you can get A bunch of help building it, I think Mike or Ken have A build thread on it that will about walk you through the build. What one do you like?? It's your time and money.

My suggestion, go with newer kits with laser cutting. You will be doing yourself a favor. The newer kits with the newer technology make for an easier build. But if you don't mind some work, the older kits will render some super fliers. The Sig Astro Hog was a winning design years ago. Built correctly should yield a nice plane. Just depends where your head is at and what you want. I like the suggestion of the Sig Something Extra. That's a really nice plane and a pretty good price. You get a good airplane out of that kit. Any Sig kit built well yields a good aircraft.