Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

Hi guys

I have been flying helis and decided to build a SIG Four Star 40 and mate that with a Saito FA56.

I have built and flown a SIG LT-40 before. Just curious before I start to build the kit if any of you have had any issues or made any changes. I want to keep it as stock as possible though.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

If you are building the Kit, not ARF vesion go look at the kit building pages... lots of info there.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

The only real change I made on mine was shortening the wings by one bay each side. It still lands nice and slow.

There are some who suggest sheeting the turtle deck, enlarging the rudder, cutting down the funny-looking canopy, etc. There have been others who have installed cowls, retracts, etc.

The suggestion to look at the build threads is a good one. This is one of the most popular builds, and there are tons of threads ranging from "by-the-book" to "I-can't-believe-that's-a-Four-Star".

Good luck, and great choice!!

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

Thanks. Will have a look at the Kit Building section.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

You got that right... Here is a pic of mine--

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

I can't believe that's a Four Star....


That actually reminded me of one of the most important mod's. Per the plans, they tell you to hang the tail wheel right off the rudder. It is a lot better to install a tailwheel bracket, mounted to a plywood plate at the rear of the fuselage. It's a very easy and cheap thing to do, and it can save you from ripping off your rudder.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

Yes the tailwheel is one that most people do, but forget to mention because it doesn't stand out. If you use the stock set up a few bumpy landings will have the rudder damaged, even if it is not visible damage. All of the bounce and stress that the tailwheel is subjected to goes straight to the hinges and will eventually cause them to fail. Another one I recommend is adding a doubler from the aft-wing former to the next one behind it (F-3 to F-4 I believe). This is a stressed area and I have heard of the fuse failing when doublers are not used.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

Makesure you build the right side and left side of the wing.lol
Mark the fuelage pieces...Left and right.lol

Just a suggestion...mmm i mess up on both of that...more then once:)


There's weak pionts on the 4 star that needs to be re inforced.
Yeap..as ACs say.

The same for the ladning gear mount piece.

You have and option...you can repair the holes on the bottom of the wing. (when the landing rips away using nylon bolts)
Or you can just make it as beefy as posisable and use metal bolts.
It might rip and it might not .... on a super hard landing.

yes..i build them to fly...but if it flames out or do a dead stick...it depend on the model's posistioning when the engines cuts out.
I don't get into a great debebt at those moments. I bring it down in one piece anyway I can.lol

You also might consider making a hatch for the fuel tank.
it's really easy...just cut that piece on the bottom or add little pieces of hard wood
so you can just use screws to secure it , instead of gluing it.
This way you'll have easy access to the fuel tank and the bottom of the engine.


Also consider doing the vertical stab different.
Becuase the way that it is, one nose over will weaken it...then its really a challege to fly without a vetical stab.lol.

You can just add tooth picks or dowls to the bottom and in front.
The front locks into the former...the bottoms extrude through the horizontal stab.

I went further and just add a rear post.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

In the 4 Star a hatch really is not needed since the tank is easily accesible from inside the wing saddle opening. Hatches do 2 bad things for the airplane:
1) they weaken the box structure
2) they have seams where oil and fuel will get inside the fuse

As long as the tank can slide out the back, you never need a hatch. And as for accessing the bottom of the engine, Why would you need to? 2 and 4 stroke engines are managed from the top unless there is something more major to work on, and in that case you would remove it from the plane.

RE: Four Star 40 about to be conceived.
 

FlyX mentioned strengthening the vertical stab. That's another one I forgot about. After I had mine built, but hadn't flown it, I dropped a sleeping bag on it and broke off the stab. It was an easy fix, and I added tri-stock braces to both sides and then covered over them. I would definitely do that before covering if I were starting over.