I powered my last 4*40 with a TT Pro .46 and it flew great.

I just picked up a 4*40 ARF fuse (needs lots of work) and a full kit at an Auction. I'll put an AXI 4120/14 in the fuse and build the wing in the kit for it.

Then, I'll build the fuse from the kit, but with a modified wing saddle. I'll put in a scratch-built wing with a Selig 8036 airfoil. Had one of these before (lost it due to pilot error) and had a ball with it.

Bob

Sounds cool. Is that airfoil fully symetrical?

Nope, it isn't symmetrical. Both the stock 4*40 and the S8036 are semi-symmetrical. You have to modify the wing saddle slightly to accomodate the 8036, but there is a difference in the flight characteristics. It's not exactly a quantum leap in performance, but I did notice a difference - the plane flew smoother.

I suppose that another difference could be that when I designed this wing, I allowed for a sheeted LE and partially sheeted TE with capstrips, so that smoothed out the wing.

Still and all, I like the way that it flies better with the 8036 than with the stock airfoil (which was pretty good in itself).

Bob

Tonight I got the ailerons hinged, temporarily installed the radio gear & engine then assembled the plane. It's definitely nose heavy. My stick-built tail section is about 2 oz. lighter than stock so that probably doesn't help. That's how you learn I suppose. I'll try moving the battery and adding a little weight if I have to. I'll also balance the plane lateraly before I cover it. I think I'll replace the main landing gear with something sturdier too. I bought gear for my SSE from TNT and I'm happy with it so far.

I finally got the CG set last night. I ended up moving the battery behind the wing. It also took a 1/4 ounce of weight in the left wing to get the lateral balance correct. Now that that's done, I started sanding and covering. So far, just the wing and horizontal stabilzer are covered; the fueselage still has to wait for the epoxy coating in the engine compartment to cure. I'm keeping the scheme simple. The goal was to use whatever Ultracote I had on hand but I had to break down and buy some more dark red. The stripe on the right wing half is a little off but I doubt it will be too obvious once the plane is assembled.

Tonight I got a little bit closer. The fuselage is covered and the tail pieces are glued in place. Now it's just a matter of final assembly and set up. I found an old set of fiberglass wheel pants from my SSE ARF that I'm going to paint and install on this plane. Overall, I'm happy with the plane so far. The appearance is exactly what I had in mind. The real test will be in how it flys. I doubt I will have time to finish it and fly this weekend but it should be ready by the next one.

What an awesome build! You should refer to this as the Five Star Forty!! [sm=thumbup.gif]

I was thinking about having some vyinal lettering made that says exactly that.

Here is a source for graphics that I use:

http://www.callie-graphics.com/

Tonight the engine is mounted along with the landing gear and wheel pants. All that's left is the pushrods. I'm still probably going to get some aftermarket landing gear; the stock setup is just too flimsy.

Hey Chuck, I'm Ken of 'hobbyncrafts'. I've been making custom carbon fiber landing gear for years. I have molds for both the stock size...and an extended height (for 4 strokes) for the 4 star 40. You can email me direct at [email protected] for more information .

It's finally finished! I got all of the radio gear in last night and glued the canopy. I fired the engine and got it dialed in this afternoon. There are a few things that I'm not happy with but overall I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I plan on flying it Sunday. We'll see how it goes.

She looks beautiful! Good luck with the maiden.

Well, the first flight was today. It is perfect weather here so the flying field was packed. The plane tracked nice and straight, smoothly lifted the tail and was airborned in no time. I needed a little up elevator and left aileron trim; it flew straight and stable after that. I brought it directly over the runway at about 3/4 throttle for a nice pass then turned 180 degrees and climed. Right at that point the muffler came apart. I was able to cut the throttle and bring it in for a decent dead stick landing. We never found the muffler pieces. Over all I was happy with the flight characteristics. It seemed more stable than my previous 4*'s. It settled in for a gentle landing but didn't float for a 1/2 mile either. Of course the flight was cut short. I'll order up a muffler tonight and be back in the air soon.

My new Macs muffler arrived today. It fits the plane perfectly with no need for an extension and looks a lot cleaner than the stock version. I wish that I would have just got one of these in the first place. I'll fly it again on Sunday.

Yeah, it does look good. How about a longer depth of field shot?

I'll snap a few pictures at the field on sunday.

Great job on that 4*!

I have just started a build on a Giant Scale Chipmunk, I wish my project was going as fast as yours!

I have been thinking about building a 4* 60 as a low wing taildragger trainer, also because I want to move up in plane size from my current 40 to a nice little OS 61 I have sitting around in my shop, your thread sure makes it tempting, the 4* is a pretty easy build from the look of it.

I am not sure I would make too many mods to it, maybe add flaps to get some time in with a 5 channel model would be good, but not sure how the 4* would set up with flaps.

Do you have any thoughts on adding them?

manks

I'm sure you could add faps or use the flaperon function on your radio but the 4* really doesn't need it in my opinion. The light wing loading makes it seem to float forever on landing already.

Today was the second "maiden" flight, this time with a new muffler. The plane flew excellent. It handled well on the ground and lifted off nicely after a short take-off roll. Handling was excellent, it tracked like it was on rails. The clipped wing definitely gives a better roll rate than stock. Landings were nice too, it just settles in for a gentle touch down. I had a few issues with the engine not running as well as I would like but I'll let it get broken in a little more then experiment with props and glow plugs. I am very pleased with this airplane and some of the more experienced club memebers were impressed. It's relaxing/easy to handle and capable of smooth aerobatics.