people will bicer back and forth about which to buy because they bought it. I've built the goldberg, sig and GP cubs and the GP cub was the easiest and best designed cub, sig is the most scale and the most work. The GP 40 cub was my fist kit and I came out just fine, I was 14 at the time. wow time flys

I still say Build the GP Cub 40 or 60, I recommend the 60, though the 90 inch wing is kinda cumbersom. Then build an untra sport 60 weather ya like the kit or not you'll get allot of good experience then build a warbird.

Thanks for the advice and I agree, a pissing match over which kit is better or easier is useless banter. What I am getting most out of this thread is to take a progression path towards the larger Warbird kits. Staying consitent with tail draggers, it seems that one of the .40 sized Cub kits followed by the Ultra Sport 60 or similar, and then a .60 or larger warbird. By the time I get around to investing time and money into a giant warbird, I 'll have three or so builds under my belt and a few more years of stick time.

Either the GP or Sig cub, know several people who have built them and love both sets. Its really, as mentioned before a measuring contest of ones parts so to speak to argue about it.... but as far as cubs, They are straight forward builds, really not to much of a jump from a trainer build, still more basic then other models. Not to mention the options....Clip or Non clip wing, cockpit detailing(which will come in hady when you go to detail your warbird) ect. I would say go with the GP one, only becuase my best flying buddy build one and she is beautiful... IMHO, cover it in fabric and paint it olive drab military colors or something different then yellow, makes it stand out more for being outside the box if you get me! Good luck! make sure to post your build for us when you start! I love watching builds! and its the fastest way to get help!

Aw man, I was 2 seconds away from settling on the Sig 1/5 when I decided to check the thread once more... Too funny. Like i said though, I think I will be ok with either one. Is it possible to have too many Cub build threads??? Perhaps I'll start another one and find out.

Again, thanks fellas for all the input.

HAHAHA, Sorry about that showtime, but in all honesty, get the sig, if you pretty much had you rmind made up then do it....jsut remember, when it comes doen to it, its all about what you want! We can TELL you what to get over and over haha. But really.... i think you are safe with either kit!

Another thing you can do, is if you build a plane that you don't love that much, build it, then sell it to another club member or there are a few good auctions to sell stuff at.

It sounds like you have a good plan.

Jon

Sounds like we have something in common... scale warbirds. My favorite plane, of all time, is the 7AC Champ... 30%er in the making... but where warbirds are concerned, I prefer to get jiggy with it and do some challenging builds. Nothing expands knowledge like a challenge! My very first kit build, back in the late 80s, was a Byron F4U1A!! The most difficult kit that the LHS had. I spent plenty more time than most putting her together, but learned the in's and outs of doing things. Just completed a Boulton Paul Defiant (60 size) scale bird... challenging, and the manual is very incomplete as far as text explaining the procedures, but if you can train yourself to do what is not told of you, you'll make a great builder, and have fun doing it. This kit, as well as a couple other "rare" birds is available through FlyBoy Models. Try it out.

Skratchbilt, you obviously have a talent and the patience required to work through a challenging kit. My main concern is patience. I have the shop, tools and the internet & acquaintences, but I can picture myself wanting to rush through a particularily mundane part of the build and make a major mistake. Personally speaking, I have a tendancy to quickly get bored with repetitive and mundane tasks. The good news is that I have the time to walk away and come back to it when I feel the itch. I am not on a clock.
I'd love to see more pics of your warbirds. Your Daffy looks great. That bird wasn't very popular in real life terms but I believe it did play a critical, although short role in WWII.

I will second, third and forth the suggestion of building the Ultra Sport next!

It is a good build that will teach you volumes toward building warbirds and it is THE BEST flying plane ever put in a box!

I ordered the Sig 1/5 J-3 Cub kit from my LHS this morning. Since the LHS isn't really local (nothing seems to be anymore) and it is over an hour drive one way, it will be a week or so before I receive it. Now, I have a Magnum .70 4 stroke lying around and I am wondering if that is the way to go? I have read in various threads people recommending everything from .52 4 strokes to .80 4 strokes. I mentioned to the LHS owner about getting a Saito FA-62a and he said he would go with a .72. He said he has built three of them and highly recommended at least a .70 4 stroke. I am sure the range of suggestions with be as vast as which kit I should begin with so I'll just ask, does anyone have a real heart burn over me using a .70 4 stroke in my 1/5 scale Cub? If so, why?

im sorry but there is no skill involved with assembling an arf

I didn't see it was an ARF until after I posted. His whole paragraph talked about scratch building kits and so I just assumed that was a kit as well. However, don't let stuff like that bother you. To each his own. As long as the hobby remains healthy in general, there will always be Kits to build for whomever wants to build them. As for me, I have only ever built ARFs because I didn't know any better and I'd hate for people to bash me and make me feel lesser because of it. I didn't have a Dad or anyone else introduce me to RC flying. I just went to a LHS and bought a Sig Kadet ARF because that's what the owner told me to do. Now that I've been in a it a few years, I want to build a kit. Some people may never want to but does that mean they should be treated differently?

Now, back on topic... About that .70 4 stroke?

I think the Magnum 70 will be perfect in the 1/5 Sig Cub. Go for it!

Now, a suggestion if I may...

When you build the wing, remove the last two rib bays and make it a "Clipped" wing. They fly MUCH better than the full-size Cub wing.

Mike, I have read a gazillion threads about Cubs in the past few days and this is the first time I have seen you recommend the clipped wing. Why the sudden change?
Can I mail you the last two rib bays as proof that I clipped the wing? Seriously though, I will clip the wing. I have heard way too many experienced pilots like yourself tell me to clip the wing to simply ignore it.

You're joking right? I'm a HUGE proponent of clipping Cub wings!

Uh yes, that was an attempt at a joke. Obviously you didn't sense the sarcasm oozing from the text. In this thread alone I think you mentioned clipping the wings 3 or 4 times and every Cub thread I've seen in the past few days you have contributed and always end with clipping the wings. Sorry, sometimes humor doesn't translate well in writing. You've been a big help and I appreciate it. Looking forward to building it and hoping guys like you can offer me tips along the way.

oh that was directed at scratchbuilt. my bad

Mike

Why do you recommend clipping the wings on a Cub? I've flown a few standard wing configurations and thought they flew well.

The term "Clipped Wing" is a bad term. It should be called a "Normal Wing" and the full-size wing should be called the "Wing that's too big"

When the Cub was designed back in the 20's, it was envisioned to be the "Car of the future" or the "Model 'T' of airplanes". The designers pictured everyone owning one and flying to work and the grocery store. So they made it inexpensive by using a tiny engine.

For that tiny engine to get it off the ground, they put a HUGE wing on it.

Well it never reached the sales they expected, but about 10 years later, when the ones that WERE sold were due for an overhaul, a lot of pilots decided to put a REAL engine in it, and "Clip" the wing down to a NORMAL size to reduce the excessize Adverse Yaw that was generated by that long wing.

Once they did that, they found that it was a fantastic airplane!

Try it, you'll like it!