Kadet Lt-40
 

Which one should I get?

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Get the ARF and learn to fly.
Get a kit to work on while learning to fly when the weather is bad.

EXCAP232

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Get the Kit because if you crash it (AND YOU WILL) you wont just sit there trying to figure out what to do. But if you get hte kit you will no what to do and how to do it! Good Luck!!

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Well at my club everyone tells you how to fix it if you crash and they say what you should do!

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Thanks for your response!

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Kit All the way!! You will no how to build it when it crashes. Its fun for a LONG winter.. easy to build.. im building it right now! great planes just get the kit :D

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I bought the ARF I was flying in 2 days and its been great.With the ARFyou get a great looking plane first time.For a beginner I think building a plane and covering it might be hard and it might not turn out as good as you might like it to.you can always practice your building/repairing skills after your ARF gets a little banged up and try a kit later after you've had some fly time so you don't get discouraged and never get to fly.[8D]

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Get the ARF. This plane is so light and flies so well (unlike some ARF's) you won't crash it.... [8D]

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I went for the kit, but then I like building things :D A lot of people at my club said to me "But with all that time and effort invested in it, aren't you afraid that you'll crash it?" Personally I found that building from the kit had exactly the opposite effect on my confidence; I'm not overly worried about crashing the plane 'cos I've seen it naked and know how it all goes together ;) If and when I crash it, I'll just buy a bit more balsa and re-build whatever needs to be replaced!

Of course, in my mind there's nothing quite like flying a plane that you've hand-built from a box of sticks :)

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

The only way to go IMHO is a kit. Why would I pay my hard earned cash for an ARF that some underpaid person who doesn't know the difference between a wing and a stab put together?

Build the plane yourself. Then you know how it's put together, and will have a plane that you can be proud of because you built it yourself.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Depends on what you want to do...

I like flying, I don't like building....so its an easy choice for me. ARF's are developed for people like myself.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

This is purely from opinions I have compiled on the site, get a kit. You could probably get away with flying sometimes during the winter in NC, but with el nino and all it most likely will snow at some point, and you'll be grounded. The way I see it (with help from people on these forums) is that if you crash a plane you put together with your own hands you know how to put it back together real easy. I'm sure any club would be willing to help you put it back together, but since I kind of doubt the ARF will come with a manual on rebuilding it it might still be a challenge. If you get the kit you get the instructions to put it together the first time, so if you snap off a section of the wing you can flip to that page in the manual and start rebuilding just as you did the first time. You get an educational experience on how the plane flies, you get the pride of knowing you, and only you, put something up in the air, and you will have a much easier time repairing after crashes.


Remember, I have no experience flying aircraft, but I soon am planning to buy the LT-40 kit, and the opinion expressed above was based in its entirety upon proper research and the opinions of more experienced fliers in this forum.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I got the ARF because it was early october and I wanted to get some stick time in before winter. I also know even If I would have got a kit in July I would have rushed my butt off trying to get it done so I could fly and it would probably look like crap.

Now I really really want to build a kit. I can't wait. Now that I already have a plane to fly I feel I can take as much time as I need and still be able to fly. I think I will do a much better job because I won't be rushed.

I have to agree with Skitchen8 though. I am not that familiar with NC weather, but if it is any thing like Kentucky (I am sure it is similiar) the warm nice flying days are pretty much over till spring. I am sure I will still be out there freezin my butt off flying now and then, but not nearly as much as I have been the past few months.

At this time of year with the entire winter in front of you, why not build a kit? If you buy an ARF you probably won't get to fly it much for the next few months anyway. At least with a kit you can be obsessing about building instead of flying. It may help to pass the winter faster and keep your mind off the fact that the weather is to crapy to fly.

But this is just my opinion. What ever you decide the best of luck to you.[sm=cool.gif]


Wings,

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

see sig...

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I haven't flown yet, but intend to next summer and have been practicing building on some Guillows kits. Some say that after all the work you've put into building your model, you'll be a bit apprehensive about crashing it, but from my experience, the first one you build will not be the most beautifully done anyway. You'll have a good reason to build another plane after the abuse your first has taken and when you build your next ones, you'll be more proud of them because you'll have done a better job.

So if you're going to be a builder of planes, I'd jump in now and start having fun.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

We do see the signature and your opinion is noted. Now to reality. The ARF has been around for more than 3 decades and is stronger today than in the beginning. Many pilots would not be able to fly if not for ARF's from an available time standpoint or building skills. At one time if you wanted to fly you had to build as it was the only way to get a plane. I truly love to build and have encouraged many to build that didn't think they could. The ARF's fit the bill for inexpensive sport and 3D planes since the cost is less than me buying the parts. I build the ones that are for IMAC competetion and scale in the available time.

I hope the ARF only flyers do take the plunge into building. It will give a new thrilling experience to the sport and hobby. Take the time to put on a building session for your club to introduce members to this fun and exciting part of the hobby. You may be amazed at the results.

EXCAP232

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Hello Mr. B.

I as most of the posters agree. Build the darn kit. You will not believe the feeling when you or the club pro takes it up for the first time and see it fly. The other thing is if you build it yourself the choice of covering is yours. Mild or wild, monocote or ultracote, Red and blue or pink with purple polkadots (yea I actually did that) it is your choice. If there are 3 LT40's up at the same time you know whose is whose. I would also reccomend saving the left over wood that you punch the parts out of. They make perfect templates to make repair pieces from. Or god forbid a total new plane. I say get the kit and your favorite beverage (Coke for me) and have at it. Best wishes and good luck to you however you go. And don't forget if during your build there is this wonderfull forum where questions can be answered.

Mark Shuman

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

The LT-40 is a good quality ARF, not like a lot of the cheap plywood boxes you see out there. It has an all up weight over just over 6lb's whcih is very light for the size of plane. It should fly as well, if not better than the kit version.

As for the covering, SIG supplies this plane in plain white. All the windows, black and red trim etc, is supplied as decals which you apply with the aid of Windex and your maxed out credit card :D

You can therefore apply any trim you like to this plane to personalise it to your taste. Most people don't seem to bother as they just want to get into the air fast.

I'm a bit North of you and I flew through last winter, it doesn't really get that cold and this plane would be ideal for skiis... meanwhile,you could get on with building something more worthwhile..

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I live darn close to chardon Ohio the snow belt for those who don't know and all the guys at the field where I fly just strap on skis and pontoons and fly every sunday all winter! Buy the ARF Get one in the sky and look for a kit for your second plane,For the days when it's to bad or to dark(I hate this time change buisiness) to fly[8D]

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

Get a kit, that way you always have something to do:D. Besides, it is SO much fun seeing a box full of balsa sticks, turn into a plane that flies around with your guidance. There, I am done with the poetry[8D]

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I agree, this time change is horrible. Its bad enough that the daylight hours are actually getting much shorter, we are robbed of another extra hour on top of that. I never understood the reasoning behind this.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

I might be wrong, but I think OraCover = Ultracote. Ultracote is really awesome, but then again, I have never tried MonoKote.

Get the ARF. It's easier and takes less time.
It also makes a smaller dent on your credit card.

Hey! JuniorPilot has a Homestar icon thingy!

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

From my research I have found the kit's to make a lot less of a dent in the credit card, the lt-40 kit is more than $40 less than the ARF (on tower it is at least) and from what I've been told the ARF requires glue and everything too because it is not completely assembled. It only makes sense that it would cost less for sig not having to build the plane for you, that extra $40 is basically a charge for labor.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

The LT-40 kit requires three rolls of covering material. Relative to cost of the kit, it is a major additional expense that will eat up the savings.

RE: Kadet Lt-40
 

As soon as you crash the plane your going to be buying extra covering for it anyways, and im sure that the plane doesn't use exactly 3 rolls of covering so you would have some left over for minor tears. Plust the instructions that come with the kit make it real easy to rebuild everything, as a matter of fact I believe there was a post in this forum not too long ago that had somebody asking how to fix wing spars on their LT-40, and since they didn't have the plans it made it a lot more challenging.

It is a matter of opinion basically, some people would rather build and some people would rather be straight up in the air flying. I guess that money isn't so much of an argument (technically you can buy cheap covering that would still save you like $20 overall) its a matter of personal preference. I live in NY and it will snow almost all winter so I figure I can spend my time inside building since I wouldn't get a chance to fly in the winter and I don't want to learn on ski's, maybe that can come later.