STARTING TO BUILD 1/5 J3 PIPER CUB ANY TIPS OR SUGESTIONS

Take it slow. Read each step several times before you pick up a knife, saw, or glue bottle. The SIG Cub kit is a builder's kit, with lots of wood and parts. However, it builds to beautiful scale model. Flies great, too!

Dr.1

An absolutely great kit. One of my all time favorites. Previous post says it all. There are lots of tips on previous builds, threads and posts so just enjoy! Clipped or full standard wing will be your biggest decision combined with power choice. A lot of previous builder went with the Saito .65 GK. Me too. I built the full wing version. Were I to do it again, I'd probably build the clipped wing with even more power.

fred, what are your ideas on what you want to do as far as detailing it? This kit is an awesome build, makes a gorgeous plane when finished. Whatever you do, take your time and you'll have a well built, great flying plane that will get lots of attention and comments at the field.

Regardless of what you decide as far as final appearance (scale yellow, military, etc) these are my recommendations:

If you can afford the cost, get a scale landing gear. Ground handling will be improved, and it will forgive a lot on hard landings, not to mention the improved scale appearance. www.j3gear.com (William Wallace) or www.robart.com both have very nice scale gear.

Use a good fabric covering. My first choice, and the most work, is Koverall. My close second choice is Solartex, with a clearcoat after covering to fill the fabric a bit and make maintenance (cleaning) easier.

Four-stroke engine. As bluebiker said, the .65 Saito is a perfect match, and whether sideways or inverted, you'll love the sound as it putts by at 1/4 throttle. You might have to lower the tank floor a little to locate the tank to the best level, but there's plenty of room.

Reinforce the cabin formers (the angled pieces that rise from under the tank to the front edge of the wing, the "A" pillars, and the vertical ones that go from cabin floor to wing center section). A little bit of carbon fiber strip the same width of the wood will add substantial strength without much weight, and will save the center section in an inevitable ground loop. (most all Cub models are susceptible to damage here; not much area for support with all the windows) and is not particular to the Sig kit.

The manual says that the opening window will stay shut without help while in flight. Mine didn't, flapped like a sheet in the wind, even at idle. I fashioned a latch that works with the included door latch, and allows the door and window to be opened independently, and does not modify the kit design. I've included a picture.

Beyond that, knock yourself out and have fun. Start a build thread, post lots of pics.

I AM ALREADY PAST THE TANK FLOOR ON THE PART WHERE YOU SAID TO LOWER IT I ALSO HAVE A SAITO 56 SITTIN AROUND DO YOU THIK IT WOULD BE ENOUGH I NO THEY ONLY CALL FOR A 46 BUT SOUNDS KIND OF SMALL FOR A PLANE OF ITS SIZE GOING TO BUILD FULL WING NOT CLIPPED THIS IS ONLY MY SECOND BUILD PLANE INSTRUCTIONS LITTLE TOUGHER THAN FIRIST A CAP 232 GP.

That Saito would be a fine match for this plane!

THANKS FOR THE INFO MY DIGITAL CAMERA OUT OF SERVICE FOR NOW SO I CANT POST NO PICTURES WORKING ON WINDOW DOUBLERS REAL SENSITIVE PARTS WILL KEEP IN TOUCH ON PROGRES WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT COVERITE FABRIC COVERING LITTLE MORE THAN BASIC MONOKOTE BUT WOULD IT LOOK BETTER I HAVE ABOUT 10 DIFFERENT ARFS AND THE MONOKOTE IS OK BUT NEVER SEEN THE CUB ARF WITH THE MONOKOTE I AM GOING TO TRY AND BUILD THIS AS SCALE LOOK AS POSSIBLE

The .56 will be fine, doesn't give as much vertical performance but will allow scale flight, and won't turn a scale diameter prop (14 inch) if that matters. Just don't get too heavy with the building. I'd go with a sideways mount with the .56. Inverted will make the glow plug difficult to access unless you also install a remote socket. Sideways will also keep the spraybar a tad higher than an inverted mount, more in line with the stock tank height, since you already have the floor in place.

I'm in favor of anything fabric to cover a Cub. I haven't used Super Coverite, but I have used 21st Century fabric and also Solartex. 21st looks great, but I couldn't get compound curves without wrinkles, and the fabric seemed to relax after a while. Solartex, though, is great, stays tight, easy to work around curves. I just recommend a clearcoat to fill the weave and make cleaning it easier.

kit coming along okay u were on the money when you said to read over couple times before doing any thing and i was on the left wing panel and was finishing up the aerloin and built it upside down dont ask me how i looked at the plans and realized what i did new aerloin parts on the way thinking about 91 supertiger have a 61 on a matt chapman never had any problems with it

Here's a shot of an OS .52 in mine.

After much consideration and a re-study of all the Sig 1/5th J-3 Piper Cub build posts, I have changed my opinion as to how I would proceed if starting over on a new build of the same plane again.............

The first thing I would do is move next door to khodges. Best of Luck

khodges,

What type of clearcoat do you use?

Thanks........I think. I've got a rental next door, it's available.

wilinfla, I use different stuff for different projects. On the L-4, I used oil-based polyurethane. I wanted the yellowing that it gives, so the color would come out a little darker and aged looking. I've been using Top Flite LustreKote lately, over latex paint on Solartex. It is compatible with both, and is the best fuelproofing I have used, but it is not compatible over some enamels and will make them wrinkle and lift. I have found that if you mist a very light coat over well-cured enamel, let it dry and then recoat, it will usually work, but experiment on a scrap first to see.

Sorry I didn't answer sooner, been out of town, went to Miami Beach for a meeting. Rough life, but somebody had to do it. Stayed at the Eden Roc on South Beach.

A good clearcoat is the Nelson's Hobby Specialties Clear Coat, it is fuel proof and will apply over Latex or enamel. The best part is that you thin it with water and there is no bad smell. I used just over 1 pint to clear my Sig 1/4 scale C/W Cub. You need to thin it 50/50 when spraying in a HVLP gun @25psi. It is a little on the expensive side but it works great. I covered my Cub with Sik Koverall and latex paint. All my future rag wing planes will be covered the same way.
Good Luck!!
Anthony

Khodges/CubNut,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. Fred1 good luck with your project.

Anyone thought of putting the Saito 60 Twin on their Sig 1/5 scale? It is big bucks, but sure would look nice!