Bob, right you are about Tower. I recently purchased both a Mid-Star and a Kavalier kit directly from Sig.

http://www.sigmfg.com/

- Jan

Jan, do you have a link or something to the Sig Kavalier, i never saw this plane?

N1EDM, the Midstar wing is fully symetrical. That's why I chose it over the 4 star, when trying to decide between the two. I honestly liked the looks of the 4 star better. But I figured that the Midstar might be a touch more fun to fly.

Sorry Alex, hope I'm not hijacking either. The Midstar gets me going. Can't wait to see how your's comes out.

Just glued the wing joint fiberglass strip, 2” fiberglass medium weave to the center and 1” fine weave for the outer boundary, this way when the wing will be sitting on the fuse there wont be any pressure points against the balsa.

Then run the heat gun on it to spread it evenly and to thin it.

Thanks, Alex. I just asked my LHS to order one up for me today. I hope some folks drop in on this thread and pass around some ideas.

Hmmm, my plane might just have an orange flavor to it. I found an old set of tail feathers from my Four-Star 40, painted orange. I might just use 'em for old times sake... if they're the same. :-)

Bob

Alex7403, if you use the search function for "kavalier" you will find many hundreds of posts. Here is a 7 page build thread.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=2338990

I first encountered the Sig Kavalier over 30 years ago. I thought it was a great kit with a great wing. So when I decided to get back into the hobby I was at first disappointed that I could not find the kit listed by Tower, but delighted when I found it to be available directly from Sig. I have a kit now and will be building it this winter. Sig says,

you are welcome Bob,
congrats for the new kit, i like it alot...
Orange is a great color, one of the colors im considering for covering is neon orange...
the only paint i have for landing gear is insignia blue, so it focus the whole plane into blue.

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the clarification on that wing airfoil type. From your photos, the wing construction looks similar to the 4*40, so I was just curious...

I have those already-painted orange tail feathers, so I might go with orange on the fuse. On the wings, maybe a light blue or I might try your idea with a metallic color (even though it might scratch). I might just want to experiment.

Got to go Thanksgiving food shopping. I make the meal, and afterwards my wife and her sister clean up. Can't argue with that!!

Bob

Keep it up Alex! I'm sure there are plenty of Lurkers (like me) out there with interest. I just finished my mid-star (mostly ), I'll post a few pics if you want to see it.

-MA

-MA,
how does the TT 46 pro pulls the mid star???
sure you can post some pics, just do it concentrated, not all the thread, so i would know which is which....

I guess I'm looking for the most offensive color scheme I can get... how does orange and teal sound??? :-)

Bob

Nasty!

Bob,
I wouldn’t do it because the teal is not enough contrast with trees, and trees breaking my planes.

I was adjusting my wing to the fuse, apparently sanding the wing dwells to angle was not such a good idea, it was better to leave them straight and then sand them.

30 min of sanding epoxy and fiberglass to fit it.

I’m planning to use ¼-20 blind nuts to hold the wing to the fuse instead drilling and taping as suggested in the manual.
So I marked the holes for the screws with a thin drill bit thru the wing and dwells is sitting on.

Decided to make a modification to the manual, this time i'll bolt the wing screws into blind nuts and not into threaded wood as the manual suggested.
Thread in wood will disappear with use.

I also glued the dwells to the fuse using 30 min epoxy and not med CA as in instructions suggested.

The nuts sitting right and supporting the wing tightly and evenly 38“ to wing tips.
Held tight and accept the wing balanced.

Not much redoing here.

Looks good the blind nuts are a lot better solution and will hold up better and be replaced if needed. Did you check out the square of the wing to the tail?

Alex, thanks for the thought on not using the teal. Good idea.... hadn't thought of that.

Iron eagel, well, looks like I'm going to have to make an airplane that actually looks nice. Won't THAT be a surprise at the Field? OK, I need a new color scheme... what rhymes with Orange????

Alex, another thought. First, I agree with using Tee nuts for the wing. I'd do the same as a matter of course. But, I remember on my Four Star, they only gave some balsa triangle stock to reinforce the wing hold-down plate. The plane flew well, but on one of my less spectacular landings (Iron Eagel can vouch for my landing expertise, or lack thereof) this pulled out. The triangle stock broke. The repair was easy, but I replaced the balsa triangle stock with some pine. It was only two 1" pieces, so weight wasn't a factor in the real world, and it never broke after that...

I was wondering what they might give on this plane? The wing location is different but I wonder if the reinforcement issue might be similar to what I experienced in the Four-Star??

Oh yeah, been meaning to ask any of the contributors or lurkers here... my old Four-Star had a kind of whistle to it when I made a low pass. Kinda neat. I had tape in the aileron gap to seal it, so it wasn't that. I wonder if the Mid-Star has that same distinctive sound?

Bob

Bob,
Lemon yellow?
Strawberry red?

And as far as landings there are still some pieces of my old TF Mustang in the hill at the end of the runway...
Not even the motor survived that one!

Paul,

Those colors with orange would really make someone gag... great thought!!!!

I wonder if they come in neon too?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Bob

Hmmm, Paul, you might be on to something with the Lemon Yellow. It would remind everyone of Garfield the cat. But don't tell anyone. That color scheme will drive 'em nuts... and they won't know why!

Bob

Hey Bob, I had a MidStar back in the early 90's and loved every minute of flying.
Basically built it stock, taildragger (reinforce the bottom of the rudder with lite doublers each side to
prevent the gear piano wire from damaging the balsa), I tapped the wing bolts in the wood part and
used CA to harden the threads and they never weared out. I'm posting a few pics (sorry for the bad
resolution they were scanned from old prints) too bad you can't see the checkerboard underside!

Have a ball with your midstar!
Full Rudder
----------------------
Any resemblance to the drawing is pure coincidence

Thanks, Full Rudder. My friend Mark had checks on the bottom of his plane so I have a rough idea what your plane's wing bottom was like. Thanks.

I'm planning a Saito 56 in the plane, so I could possibly put a Sullivan tailwheel unit on the fuse to balance it. Mark had the same Saitl 56 in his swinging a 12x6 MA prop and it flew fantastically. Now I'm trying to come up with an interesting color scheme. Putting the cart before the horse... the kit isn't even in yet. It should be into my LHS in about a week. Just trying to line everything up.

From what I gather, the construction seems quite similar to my old Four-Star 40 (loved that plane too). The only part of that plane that I didn't like building was the LE - I don't mind carving it to shape, just always worried that it'll be a consistent radius all the way across.

What size engine did you have in it? It looks like an OS, and if it was vintage 90's, that would make it a FS version. How close did I come to guessing it right??

Bob

Hi Bob,
My previous mid star flew on OS 46 AX, and this gonna fly on it too.
It pulled very well.
For the LE I thought putting harder then balsa wood spur instead of the supplied one, I have sanded it too much on the previous midstar and filled it with wood filler on scrap balsa.

If I go with a .46, I'd be using a TT Pro. The 46AX is most likely a really nice engine, if my experience with a 55AX is any indication. I expect that with the 46AX in your MS40 it might fly like a hoot!

I would have popped for a 46 2S if I hadn't already seen this one fly with Mark's Saito 56. As mentioned before, I have a 56 that needs a home anyway.

I like your finish. The blue and yellow reminds me of my old Navy days with Blue & Gold. Was this inspired by the Blue Angels???? Nice finish on the plane.

I wonder if the canopy will take a tint, if I got some Rit dye? Had you heard anything about anyone tinting their canopies??

Bob