4 Star 40 kit
 

I'm ordering my first kit from my LHS tomorrow. I went with the Sig 4 star 40. Which some of you think is a good kit to start out on. I just started flying this year. Went from a Avistar to a US 40 to a SE. Which are all AFR's so the kit building is going to be new to me. Is there any tips you can give me before I start building the 4 star? Does it need beefed up anywhere? I plan on running a Irvine 46. I see where it is rated for a 40, will the 46 be ok in it? Thanks and I'll let you know how it goes. JT

4 Star 40 kit
 

Hey JT; I'm currently building a 4* 40 myself. I'm pretty much finished with the wing and most of the fuse. It's easy to build, the pieces fit great. I'm putting a .46 fx on mine, it may be a bit over powered but i think we'll be O.K. As for beefing it up I was tempted to sheet the the wings forward of the spar but eveyone assures me me that it's not necessary. Good luck I hope You enjoy Your first kit. BKF.

4 Star 40 kit
 

jt,you picked a great plane to start building with!!,it is very easy to build and a very strong plane the .46 will be right at home in it.
i have built about 5 of these planes for people and the only thing i do differently is to sheet the turtle deck with 1/16th balsa,this is not for strenght,it is for covering,i find the 1/4 balsa stringers tend to sag a little when covering with monocote.

4 Star 40 kit
 

Thanks for the replys. I do plan on sheeting the turtle neck.....do I just glue the balsa sheeting to the top of the stringers? I did look at the web site that someone on here gave a link to. I liked the custom engine cowl, but I dont think I'll tackle that for my first kit. Sure does look nice though. Thanks ,JT

4 Star 40 kit
 

I have owned 3 of the 40 size (one of them was clipped wing) and a 120 and you will have a very fine plane. If you ever have the opprotunity, a 4 stroke engine makes for a perfect combo--ONE WARNING--- do not use 21st Cen Fabric --It is not strong enough to keep the wings from warping at speed

4 Star 40 kit
 

Guys,

If you're building a 4* you may want to check out my web site on 4* Mods. I built one earlier this year and did quite a few mods to it that you may be interested in (cockpit/canopy, nose cowl, turtledeck, etc.)

I've had tons of response to the site so it seems to be helping other 4* builders out a lot. Good luck on your planes, the 4* is a sweet bird that will fly very stable but have respectable capabilities. I chose to use the 40LA on mine (first low-wing tail-dragger... not a 3D plane) but grew out of that engine quickly. The 46FX would be a better motor on that plane. Still, it's a ball to fly even with the 40.

Good luck, you're gonna love this plane and it's a well produced kit to boot.

Neo

http://www.renderwurx.com/rc/MDextra...os/my4star.jpg

4 Star 40 kit
 

Ok, Neo, thats the web site I was talking about. Your 4 Star is awesome. I'll do the the turtle neck sheeting for sure. did you just glue the sheeting to the top of the stringers?


But the engine cowl I'm not to sure how to do it. Sure does set the 4 Star off though. Totally different looking plane. Also I really like the way your did the mods to the canopy. I want to do that. Could you give me a little advice on how you did it, in newby terms? I really dont want to cut too much off. I dont want to go through the hassle of trying to get a new one from Sig. Also I'm going to go with the rounded wing tips. If I remember on your web site that you just carved them out of a chunk of balsa. One more question, I've read on here about clipping one rib bay off on each side of the wing. For better roll rates. Have any of you other guys done this? I thought I might as well do this as I build it instead of later. Thanks for all your replys, JT

4 Star 40 kit
 

I clipped one bay off of each wing panel---still a floater with less wing. --- No big project--just a bit more nimble

4 Star 40 kit
 

Hi all, I'm buliding the 4*40 now as well and tonight I did the sheeting on the turtle deck. Using 1/16 sheeting butt joined (?) the sheeting at the center stringerr and ran it down to the fuse. Filled in the lap joint(?) with Micro Fill and will sand smooth tomorrow. Pretty easy mod to do after taking a few measurements and cutting two pieces the same. Will takle thew canopy later and hope I can figure that out without screqwing up the one that came with the kit. Also reinforced the landing gear ply block with 1/4" triangle and drilled it for 1/4-20 plastic bolts. Oh yeah, also reinforcede the the fuse former right behind the wing with more 1/4" tri stock. All of these done as per great advice passed along on this forum.

4 Star 40 kit
 

JT,

Actually, I do the deck a little differently. I butt-glue all my sheeting together into one piece, sand it smooth on one side and apply it onto the deck, working from one side of the fuse to the other. When I do this, I don't glue it to the stringers or formers at all.

I only glue the deck sheeting around it's perimiter, starting down the full length of the deck on one side, then wrap it on over, gluing the two ends as I go, and finally gluing it down to the opposite side, down the full length. This produces a more natural curve without any flat spots from tacking it to the stringers & formers. Of course it requires that you have pre-cut and pre-curved the assembled sheet before gluing it down.

Also, I add one additional stringer down each side, only this stringer is cut into sections that go "between" the formers instead of "on top" of them. This gives me a flat surface to glue my sheeting to down each side of the fuse. Offset them back from the fuse side 1/16 to allow for the sheeting to fit flush (notch the formers too).

As for clipping the wing by one bay... I kinda wish I had done that now, it's got more than enough wing. However, I do get a very quick roll rate on high rates even with the stock wing length. Probably would be better one bay shorter, but it's no big deal either way.

As for the cowl, I get 2 or 3 e-mails every day asking me to "detail" my steps in doing this and other mods. I've gradually built up a "canned" response in the form of about two pages of text instructions that I can send back quickly. I think I'll go ahead and post that "document" to my 4* web site today and will let you know when it's up.

Neo

4 Star 40 kit
 

FYI,

I've got my "detailed mod instructions" sheet posted to my SIG Four Star web site now in case anyone is still in need of help.

It covers in more detail how to do the cowling mod and turtledeck sheeting.

Neo,

http://www.renderwurx.com/rc/sig4star/

4 Star 40 kit
 

Thanks for taking the time to update your procedures for doing the mods. It will help others as well as myself.. JT

4 Star 40 kit
 

I just finished mine and I'm takin' her out for the maiden voyage tomorrow. A Spiderman design, complete with action figure in the pilot seat. I'll post pics when their developed. It looks awesome, and if it flies as good as they say, I'll never own another plane. Well, maybe a Hobbico Spectrum. Retracts and a tuned pipe just sound cool.

4 Star 40 kit
 

About that sheeting...

Trial and error(s) led me to these finer points of how to sheet the deck on a 4*40.

I butt glue three sheets, each 2" wide to make the 6" width necessary to wrap over the deck. This worked much better than two sheets, each 3" wide because it put the seams off to either side of the very top of the deck. (It is at the top of the deck where the bending is most severe, especially toward the tail) I found it much easier to make form the sheeting without cracking this way. Also, be very careful when applying the CA to the seams. Too much CA will wick out from the seam and cause a hardened spot on the sheeting. This area will not form as smoothly as the rest of the sheet. It can cause a flat spot in what would otherwise be a very nicely rolled sheet.

... my 2 cents worth,

Fever