ekir

My Feedback: (1)

I am thinking about getting a Sig 4 star 60. I usually build, but with the ARF so inexpensive, it temps me to think ARF? What will I gain to build?

Ed

samsdad

Enjoyment. That and the fact that's its easier to do any mods you may want with a kit.

fearlessJOE

Your right, you cant complete the kit for the price of the ARF.
but if you build the kit, you can allways modify it to make the plane unique and perform differentl. just imagne if you enlarged the ailerons, added flaps, double beveled and counterbalanced the tail feathers, and then set the whole thing on retactible tricycle gear[>:]. To me, that would make the kit more fun than the ARF.

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

Well - I had a 4*40 arf that I won at a raffle - until I got one I never liked the plane. Thought it was ugly, thought it was too low on the scale of difficulty for me to fly...

The ARF took me about 4 hours to put together - it was the easiest ARF I have ever put together and it was also the highest quality I have ever seen. About half of my airplanes have been arfs...I've seen a few...

I was completely impressed by it, I put a Magnum .61 4 Stroke in it and took it to the field. I must say - It was one of the finest flying planes I have ever had and the only reason I don't have it now is because I traded it to a fellow who could really benefit from having a plane that fantastic and easy to fly for a Venus 40. Last night at the club meeting we had another 4*40 ARF up on the block and I Was hoping against hope to win again so I could pick up another but alas...I didn't win.

Oh well...I'd rather have the 60 I think anyway but I will be getting another I'm sure.

kerrydel

My Feedback: (2)

To me, the biggest reason for building is covering. I like having a plane that's not the same as everyone else can have. I won't say I like to cover, cause it probably takes the longest to do, but it is the only thing that shows. If more ARC's were available, I'd probably build them as opposed to a complete kit. That way you can see the complete structure and do any reinforcement needed easily, and then you can personalize the color scheme to your liking.

I am just finishing up a 40*60 kit. I removed one bay from each wing half for better roll performance, and to reduce it's "floating" tendency. I also added a rounded wing tip, because I'm not fond of seeing thick slab-sided wings (looks too toy-like to me). I also sheeted the turtle deck to add some strength. I cut down the size of the bubble canopy and added some wheel pants as well.

Kerry

Bill DCat

It's a pretty simple decision... If you enjoy the building process - get the kit. If you don't enjoy the building process - get the ARF.

Bill

leftnut

My Feedback: (1)

the kit
it dosen't take that long to frame her up.
it's all laser cut and the share weds are 1 long piece
It'sactually easier to build than the .40 4*
I frame mine one of mind in less than a weekend

Then there's the bash factor.
I clipped the wing 2" on each tips
lower the diehedral
extended the rudder
made a tank hatch
lower the canopy and painted it black
added taller gears and pants
Then the covering scheme thing

It didn't cost me $200 to build one.
under $150 using monokote , building supplies, tanks ,spiner and props.

Plus I crash the crap out of it taking chances
but was able to rebuild it over and over,
making it look like new with the left over flim I had.
The plane still flew great.

I went nose in, the wing poped off. No damage to the wing.
the firewall broke loose at the glue joint, split the top front deck.
broke the #2 former, rip the gear block off of course.
Broke the carb of the engine.
Weird...the nose didn't break or the side fuselage pieces didn't break.

mr70ss

My Feedback: (1)

My vote is for the kit, Almost done with mine.. can't wait to see her go.

Mr70ss

TimC

I have the ARF and it assembled very tail heavy. It's my understanding that the kit builds 1 pound lighter than the ARF, and is not tail heavy.

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

ekir

The ARF will get you in the air quicker. The kit will get you in the air "better". You do have a win-win decision to make. My recommendation is for the kit. In my experience this is the best, quickest, most fool proof kit I have ever built. I recall someone describing it as "shake the box a couple of times so everything falls together and apply glue". That's probably an exageration. Maybe. A couple of really easy mods I made was to put tri stock on the leading edges of the tail control surfaces and to extend the rudder size by about 3/4" or so. Very simple to do and put to good usage. Whichever you choose, I know you will enjoy the plane.

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

My ARF was not heavy at all - I don't know how much the kit weighs but the ARF I had was pretty darned light and with a Magnum .61 RFS 4 stroke it would go straight up out of sight. I did have to add an ounce of lead in the nose but had I had a 2 stroke with a big muffler I think it would have been nose heavy. Also - since Sig makes these things very bland and all one color they are easy to add customization too in the form of sticker trim or just plane more monokote. That's what I did...

Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

If you are going to build, you should consider the Venture from Bruce Tharpe Engineering. Bruce designed the 4-Star 40 & 120 when he worked for Sig. After he left the company, someone else filled in the 60 size. The Venture is an updated version of the 60. Check back through the threads here for comments. I have attached the [link=http://www.btemodels.com/venture.html]Venture URL[/link]

Sorry, I just checked and the Venture is out of stock for a while. Too bad.

rjbranchii

I had an ARF 4 Star 60 last year. The ARF was fine. I modified the rudder by going an inch taller and wider as has been mentioned in other threads and the roll coupling was gone. I powered it at various times with Super Tigre .60, .75, and .90. I liked the .90 best, just more verticle with each engine but it is such a draggy airframe it was never unlimited like my VectorFlight 58 inch Extra with a ST .90 is. That is truely unlimited verticle.

The quality was very good. I badly pancaked one landing early on and sheared the gear off. Some would complain about it, I praise it. It was a hard bash and would have caused more damage without the gear shearing off. It was slightly tailheavy, I added a one ounce heavy hub to balance it, but did not more the battery up under the fuel tank. That would have solved it. Before the summer was over I had removed the heavy hub and added tail weight to get into hovering with it. It wan't great but was a start. You will not loose anything in the ARF. As to modifying it you can modify it amost as easily as with a kit. Just depends on how much time you want to spend building. The plane is excellent both ways, but do gap seal the ailerons. That makes it a real treat to fly.

btw, it is a much differnt plane to fly IMHO than the 4 star 40. Much more solid, stable, and goes where you point it.

bob

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Ventures are out of stock now with no real schedule as to when another run will be made.

My Four Star 60 ARF is a very nice old man's plane (me). I have a OS 91 Surpass on it.

Enjoy,

Jim

rjbranchii

That's not quite true about the Venture 60. On another thread they are back in production and shipping.

bob

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Venture 60 Availability Notice from Bruce Tharpe

Venture 60 kit are currently out-of-stock and will remain so for an indefinite length of time. I have always strived to keep my kits in stock and available at all times. However, with the increasing popularity of BTE kits, the surprising demand for the new Super Flyin' King, and development of my new turbine design, something had to give.

I consider the Venture 60 to be on hiatus, and will not try to predict when it will be back. I've learned the hard way that everything takes longer than I think, so no more predictions. The kits will simply be ready when they're ready. For those of you who really want a Venture 60 kit, all I can do is ask for your patience and offer you the following options:

1) You may place an order with a credit card, and you will be assured of receiving a kit when they become available. As always, I will NOT charge your card until your kit is ready to go out the door. Of course, you are free to change your mind and cancel at any time.

2) You can get on the no-obligation "Contact When Available" list. I can let you know by email or by phone when the kits are ready, then you can decide if you still want to order.


This is pasted from his site. However, after reading the previous comment, and looking around on the BTE site, the above info may be old? There is another comment about how the Flying King, etc are out of stock and as soon as the Venture run is finished, they will run the Flying Kings again. Maybe all this info from the BTE site is obsolete?

Enjoy,

Jim

EVOL

My Feedback: (2)

the kit is great. easy to build and very fun. i spent the cold winter in my workshop building away. i made my crop duster conversion and it drops talcum powder. gets LOTS of attention.

i must aslo add that the Venture looks like a great plane. i am currently building the Flyin King from BTE and i can say their kits are in a league of their own. unbelievable quality.

here is my 4 star 60 with a O.S. 91 FS


http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/1...cropduster.jpg

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The Four Star 60 ARF is not the best arf in the world. The instructions leave out some important points. I would venture to say that whoever wrote them wasn't a modeler?

After I completed the first one, it balanced perfect with a OS 91 Surpass and the radio/battery in the normal place.

The plane flew like it had a very light wing loading. On take off, it would jump into the air the minute it started rolling.

The reason I got the ARF was that there were not any kits of any kind in the big hobby shop I went to.

I wanted a Four Star 60.

Enjoy,

Jim