hello! I have been looking for a relatively easy kit to build and I came across the SIG Cub kits. Are these kits easy to build for a beginner builder?
Thanks

Sig definitely makes some great kits but their Cub is not a good beginner's kit. The reason I say this is there are no self aligning parts which can make it tricky to build a straight fuse and wing. The Goldberg Cub, for example, has a fuse that has a lot of interlocking panels making it pretty hard to mess up, and it's a much quicker build as well.

Jlevin,

Check out the 1/5 scale SIG Cub. It's laser cut and has bunches of interlocking parts. It might not be an absolute beginner's kit, but it doesn't look like it would be too hard for somebody who's half-way clever and who can follow instructions. Nice size too. Check it out.

papermache

Jlevin: Just purchased a 1/5 scale sig cub and am about 1/2 through the construction. It is a great kit.. All parts are laser cut and the kit goes together like machine parts. I understand that this is not an easy plane to fly, so would not recommend it to a novice flyer..Fred123[&:]

I agree with fred and papermache. I also have the 1/5 scale Sig. It was the second plane kit I ever built. It's all laser cut parts except for the sticks, the fuse parts go together perfectly. If you have any building experience at all, or are just patient (or both), you shouldn't have any problems. Sig's instructions are very clear and thorough, lots of pictures, and the plan sheet is great, too. It will fly great on a .50-.60 size 4 stroke.. The parts on the older version were die-cut, and the 1/4 scale is mostly stick-built. This kit has a box structure for the lower portion of the fuse, with formers and stringers for the upper part, the wing is two-piece, for easier transport, and has a joiner tube. However, the struts are FUNCTIONAL and carry a significant portion of the wing loads in flight.

What fred says about not a first plane is true. I wouldn't say it's difficult to fly, it has characteristics not suitable to a novice pilot, but once you're flying a trainer well, you could make it a second plane. Not to say don't get it; get experience with a trainer while you're building the Cub. Here's some pics of mine; bear in mind that I modified it a bit, but the pics are still representative of how it looks:

Khodges What scale is you Cub and did you do any reinforcement in the cabin area?

I built Sig's 1/4 scale Cub in just under fifve months. I just followed their instructions and I have a fine flying machine. See my gallery. That's me just behind my Cub-a-Dub-Dub.

88

Kraus

It's 1/5 scale, a Sig kit I modified to an L-4B. The center section is very different from the 'stock' Sig plans. In the 'stock' kit, there are two airfoil-shaped formers in the middle of the center section. I eliminated them, and doubled the thickness of the rib root formers, using lite ply. The main spar in the center section is as the plans call for, with an addition of a piece of triangle stock along the upper forward edge; it is hidden by the angled former that comes up from the forward canin floor, and becomes the 'A' pillars between the windshield and side windows. This triangle piece actually attaches the spar to this angled piece, and makes a very solid crossmember from one wing spar to the other. All the window framing in the greenhouse is basswood or spruce, and the crosspieces are fitted into notches in the wing roots and pinned as well as epoxied. The aluminum wing tubes are also omitted, as they detracted from the scale appearance.

In the full scale L-4, there is a tubular framework "jungle gym", and it is duplicated with 1/4 and 3/16 wooden dowels on my model. These pieces are tightly fitted and epoxied, and the joints have a #0 screw (actually a 2mm titanium screw used in orthopedic surgery to repair finger bones) through them for added strength. The angled braces that go from the crossmember in the top of the center section to the rear deck at the back of the cabin are glued to angle blocks attached to the fuse frame behind the angled bulkhead at the back of the cabin. All this triangulates to form a pretty solid structure that does not flex. The uprights from the floor of the cabin (two on the left side and one on the right) have 1/4 inch dowels glued to them from the floor to the crossmember at the top. This crossmember extends through the root formers, and fits in a hole in the wing roots when you attach the wings; this helps establish the correct incidence. The 'stock' Cub has only one bolt to attach each wing at the root, I added a second one just behind the spar, and used fender washers to distribute the compression load of the screws when you snug them down. The angled former in front has also been reinforced with 1/8 x 1/4 carbon fiber strips along the bottom edge from the cabin floor to the spar.

I had no idea when I started this build how much reinforcement I would need, so it may be a bit over-engineered; rather too much than have the center section come apart in the air from stress. As you may know, the wing struts are functional on this kit, and take a good bit of the inflight wing loads. I have been flying this plane for over a year and a half now, it has been 'crashed' a couple of times. In one of these, I bounced a hard landing,( I had forgotten to hook up my aileron servos when I attached the wings, didn't pay attention to my preflight check, stupid me. I found out a Cub can be flown on rudder and elevator only, but not something you want to do on purpose) and it came down on the nose hard enough that it sheared the root ribs out of the wings, they folded forward, pivoting on the strut attach points on the side of the fuse. There was no damage to either the struts or the center section. In the other crash, I stalled after a deadstick, trying to stretch my glide to the runway, and the plane pitched straight down from about 75 feet into a thicket of kudzu. It was like landing in a big spider web, the vines snagged the wings, and the plane didn't have a scratch on it. I'd say the center section is as least as strong as the original plans.

Jevin: I posted my advice several days ago on the 1/5 scale cub as a first kit. After thinking about it again I would add an additional point or two. If you are good with tools and have a fairly well equipped shop, you should not have much trouble building the kit. However, understand that this is a "Scale" model and requires much more detail work. For example, the struts are functional, and require several days to build. Fitting the cowling is no easy task for a first timer as I am finding out. Just understand that this kit takes much more work that say a Something Extra. After saying all of that, I am having a blast building this one. Fred 123[&:]

I am also looking for a J3 cub kit. I like the 1/5 laser-cut kit from Sig. The other 2 kits on my list are the 76.5" ws Goldberg's and Great Planes'. Would anyone shed some light on the building of these kits?

You might want to look into the Adrian Page Super Cub. It's designed for electric, but can use glow. With an 80" span it looks impressive.