I ordered an SE last night. It will be my first kit. I konw the general idea thru reading these posts, but would like some suggestions/tips. I was planning on putting on a dif. tailwheel assembly, off a dazzler, i ordered solid pushrods, the plastic ones didn't look too good, i was planning on making a removable hatch for the gas tank, and i would like to know what size teh landing gear bolts are. I was going to go out and get what i need before it gets here, and i wanted to get nylon bolts.
Thanks for any help.
Joe

Just finished building mine a few weeks ago. So far, here are some changes I would have made:

1) The gas tank is a bugger to get in and out and it's not on the C/G. I can always tell when I'm starting to run out of gas because I get tail heavy! You might want to move the tank back a little closer to the C/G. That way you don't need a tank hatch. You might also consider a round tank instead of the flat one they call for.
2) Consider making the Rudder and Elevator larger. Some of the folks in my club suggested incorporating the top of the vertical and the outside edges of the horizontal stabilizers into the rudder and elevator surfaces.
3) I used the stock pushrods and they turned out ok.
4) I added the on/off and charging combo switch to the plane where the plans specified. It's a pain to get to so relocate it somewhere else.
5) The screws for the landing gear are fine. I have landed hard a couple of times and had no issues.
6) Be sure to use the red thread lock where they recommend it. It does help!
7) The supplied tail wheel assembly is strong enough, but where it’s placed makes it hard to control the plane on the ground. You either have too much rudder or not enough steering. You might consider moving it back on the rudder, but I don’t know what that will do to the integrity (strength).
8) I’m not sure I trust the “easy hinges� yet. You might consider a different type of hinge.

It took me 180+ hours to build, but was taking my time and this was my first build in 18+ years.

Good luck and have fun.

Don't glue in the wing tube, I installed a 12 oz tank and can easily slide it out and in so don't need hatch. I added 1/2" to elivator & 1" to rudder just for giggles.

Sounds good thanks guys. As this is my first kit, im gonna keep it mostly per plans, i will probably make the rudder a bit bigger. i like the idea w/ the wing tube, i have had many problems with gas tanks before, so i want to be able to get it out easy. The deal with adding the ends of rudder and elevator to the control surfaces sounds like a good idea too, but im not sure about htat quite yet, will have to see what the plane looks like when it comes.
Thanks again too any help/advice.
Joe

I just test flew mine today. I set my low rates as the high rates and put lows as 60% of what the low rates were in the manual. It flies great. What engine are you putting in it? I'll probably take some pics of mine and post them on here. I did "beef" up the landing plate with some triangle stock, put a different (sullivan) tailwheel on it and traded out the stock pushrods for some Great Planes flexible metal pushrods. I didn't like the cable pushrod they had for throttle so i just ganked a throttle pushrod out of my tiger 2 and put it in there.

I'm building one to, slowly. Been working on my car. One person suggested using triangle stock on the LE of the ailerons so you don't have to bevel them. Sounds like a plan to me. I also used Poly glue and ziplock bags of lead hunting shot to sheet the wings. Worked super good. Have to wipe the poly off as it dries and foams though. Also they suggest building flush with the rib just inside the wing root. I just trimmed the overhang, easier. Also Sig suggested trimming the sheeting stock with a straight edge to straighten it. Mine was straighter before trimming.. Another thing is the sheer webs. To trim them in place between the ribs is a PIA in my oppinion. I just glued them to the face of the ribs. Seems pretty strong and super easy to do.

That's how I did my sheer webs on mine. I've done that on other planes and they've been fine plus you get more surface area for the glue.

I'll be putting an os .46 AX in it. prolly a 10*4or5 prop on it.
Any ideas for a covering scheme?
I was thinking something like this... Only with transparent blue where the white is, and silver where the blue is. Or was it the other way around?
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=somethin+Extra&FVPROFIL=++]

One more question..
Whats poly Glue? i've never heard of it.

you might over rev with a 10x4/5. i'm running an APC 12x4 on mine.

Here is the information on mine. I just finished it a couple of weeks ago and now have 8 flights on it. Mine is a pretty straight forward build except for adding the taller landing gear and the sullivan tailwheel assembly. Hope this gives you some ideas.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Fina...1914644/tm.htm

Here's some pictures of mine.

And some more.

And a few more.

Ok big problem I was on step 48 when i put bot wings on my left side leading edge doesnt sit flush be 1/4 an inch and both dont hug the fuse either!! please help!

Quarter inch is a lot!! I had to glue some sheeting to both wings and sand to get them to lay flat on the fuse.

I'm almost done on mine, but I have a few questions about the rods on the tail...

I have the rods, but not the connectors, I bought the kit form a friend.

How do the connectors connect to each other? I imagine that there is a screw that goes in the hollowed out dowel.

Can someone list part numbers to the connectors and screws?

Thanks

Built mine a few years ago and as I remember it was an easy build, if i were to build another i would not use the SIG control rods as they expand alot were you screw in the threaded rod and bind on the outer sleeve.
( the little gold stars were put on by my 6 year old lad, anything to keep them quiet. )

Mines going great no problems that i didn't cause, put 2 fuse formers in upside down, oops.
if you're talking about the rods on the tail, yes they are held on by a screw and then a metal clevis with half of it cut off.
As far as i know they aren't any different from normal metal clevises, they are just black.

Do I break half of the clevis off?

First of all, is the clevis the black thing that looks like it connects to the control horn?

Sorry I'm new at this...

Not quite sure, thats what it looks like, but i haven't gotten to that part yet, i will let you konw when i do though.

You are correct. For the wires on the vertical and horiz. stab you use 1/2 of a metal clevis. You break off the side with the pin in in it leaving the hole side for putting the bolt through. You will have to drill out the clevis hole because the bolts are larger than the hole. This will be done for for all of the clevis's so set yourself up and drill them all at once. This is a real PITA as the metal is hardened and it takes quite a while to drill through them. Be careful not to push too hard or you will heat the metal up to red hot and it will break. Once you get the clevis's drilled out, you should be able to assemble the flying wires and attach them to the hard mounts on the stabs. (Hope this helps your progress.)

I have a little problem...
I am trying to sheet over the tank opening, and i'll bevel the edges and get it cut right, then it would break in half when i try to glue it down. How did you guys do this? i was thinking of just cutting small strips of balsa and putting them in 1 by 1 and sanding it smooth, but that would take forever.

I just glued the piece on and then beveled the edges, didn't break

Mine went on without breaking so I didn't have the problem you are having. However, when I want to bend balsa, I use Windex with ammonia in it. Spray it on the outside of the part and let it sit a little while. It should bend easily without breaking. Remember that the liquid will raise the grain of the balsa, so you need to sand it smooth after doing this. Should not be a real problem since you will be sanding anyway once you are ready to cover. BTW: You might have the same problem when trying to bend the balsa on the front turtle deck on the canopy hatch. Sometimes it is better to go to the LHS and find similar thickness balsa that is more plyable. If you look back at my thread earlier in this post, I have some pics of the mess I had trying to bend the turtle deck. It came out fine, but was not as simple as the instructions made it out to be.

it worked thanks for the help, it still has a crack but i'll fill it and sand it, no biggie, just getting to the turtle deck, waiting for the glue to dry.
Thanks guys your alot of help.