I noticed Sig has brought back the Smith Mini Plane. I have heard that it is a good flier and plan to purchase one. Anyone know if Tower will be adding it to its inventory?

DaveB

Dave,
Don't know that SIG ever stopped making the Smith. I was in the market for one and was about to order direct from SIG when I found mine brand new in box on Ebay. Most of the SIG kits are made by them, but aren't usually stocked because they tend to be real builders kits. The Miniplane looks like it's gonna be fun, but you can tell it's an old design. I built the Sig Citabria with no problem, but they're definately old school compared to the newer GP and TopFlite kits.

If you're looking for the Miniplane, check to see if you LHS can order it or go direct to SIG's website.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the reply. I just assumed Sig had stopped producing the plane because I saw several on EBay the were being bid quite highly, at least I thought the bids were high and never saw it in the Tower catalog. I have quite a few builds under my belt, the last one being the BUSA Citabria Pro, which is also a builder's kit. The Smith mini shouldn't be too tough, but probably a bit time consuming. It's on my "Get and Build List (along with a few others).

DaveB

It's $93.99 at Quantum Models
http://www2.mailordercentral.com/quantummodels/
Our club president built one this year.
It's a really cool plane and he loves flying it.
The only negative I see is that it is really small.

DaveB,
I call what you found the "first law of Ebay"....know what something goes for retail! It's hard to imaginge,but I find it all the time, but folks are selling stuff at retail there. I think the Mini is about $112 retail from SIG, plus shipping. I got mine new in box off of ebay for $91, including the shipping. The price Carrell has from Quantum is good, sure wish I'd found that site before!

The kit is nice, just reminds me of the Citabria. There a few steps where you can tell they didn't have access to new technology, so I figure I can "improve" things a little. Mine's going on the board soon and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions to throw out to everyone here. I haven't decided how to power it yet, but I'm leaning towards a 2 stroke with a pitts muffler because I have a think about minimizing cowl cutting. I've evern considered using an RCV 58CD or maybe even the 60SP if I goe really nuts!

Pick up the kit and get building and we can compare notes!

Steve

$93.99 from Quantum- or newly listed SMP on Ebay $125.00. Am I missing something?

The Smith takes a lot of sanding and building and you should have an incedence meter if you want it to fly well. They are A hand full on the ground but A nice little plane in the air. A four stroke engine is A great choice for power because they tend to be very tail heavy due to the short nose. All in all A very fun plane to build and fly.

Gray Beard,
Will a 4-stroke fit in the cowl? I was thinking of going with a 46FX mounted sideways with a Pitts muffler to keep it neat. I have an OS-52FS that I might take a look at. I love my Four strokes but the two-strokers are easier to fit sometimes.

Steve

sseward, I have an OS 52 in my SMP and it is perfect for this plane. Not a lot of cutting to the cowl. I set mine up for a good amount of aileron deflection and with an APC 11x6 it's a great flier. Actually flew it on Sunday out here on the sun drenched west coast.