RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Dale...Below are a few pics of one of my old SSE's that is starting to show it's age (built on a TV stand during one of my cross country moves). The receiver battery is braced just ahead of the landing gear mount block. I hear some people are building hatches under the fuel tank and that sounds like a great idea. If I had done that on this plane I probably wouldn't have needed the heavy hub to balance it.

The other pic is just a picture of the stabilizer where I always write the channel #, weight and make a little mark for each flight.

Damon

Edit---Wanted to point out the aileron and elevator hinges are done with Monokote and have held up for almost 4 years and almost 60 flights. A lot of people boo hoo this idea but I'll tell ya, there is no chance of flutter and it doesn't look like it's anywhere near failing.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

My battery is stuck under the tank as far forward as possible. I used velcro and stuffed foam around it.

-tychoc

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

DamonTX:

That looks GREAT!!! Can you cover my plane, when will you be in Nashville?? ;) I hope I can do have the half the job you did. Where is the other plane? Want to see the double fuselage.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Manny...I posted pics of the twin earlier tonight. It ended up on the previous page, post #72. LOL!!!! The last time I was in Nashville was two years ago when I drove through there when I moved from Dallas to Vermont. Moving again next spring but Nashville is a wide swing when you're going from Vermont to North Carolina.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Hey DamonTX:

I missed those replies. All I have to say WOW;) LOL!!! You sure are a very good builder.

I was working on my Edge and I made a mistake on the joiners for it. I put the right front joiner in the rear. I cannot believe I made that mistake. I emailed VF and I have to wait to see what I need to do.

I was even taking my time.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Manny..Oh boy! Has VF gotten back with you yet? I'd like to know what their fix is. Hopefully they'll send you another joiner and you can make due with having the front one in the rear.

Dale & Tychoc have you guys got any pics...and have you figured out what you're gonna do with the battery? If you can, it would be nice to see some pics of any ideas for having an access hatch under the tank. I think I'm going to delay covering that area until I can see where the balance is going to fall so I can have the option to put a hatch there if need be.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

I was playing with the idea for a hatch for the tank compartment and/or battery up front but decided to scratch the idea on my first build. Partly because the manual discouranged this due to structual strength, although, I've seen many having at least done the tank hatch.

I'm at work now, but my battery installation basically consisted of putting a piece of velcro up front under the tank. The battery is stuck in there pretty good now, in fact, when trying to remove it I had to use a flat metal ruler to release the grip of the velcro since there's not enough space to get your fingers in there.

I'll see if I can't post a picture later tonight. The more I read, the more convinced I'm that putting a hatch in is generally a good idea. A little planning/work up front could possbly save tons of work later:eek:

-tychoc

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

The C.G. on the SE is extremely conservative. I was at least a half inch behind the recommended spot and it still landed like a trainer. I really doubt you will need your battery up that far to fly this plane. Maybe for the first couple of flights, but it flies much better with the C.G. back further.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

GREETINGS!

Just bought a 95% completed SSE from a fellow builder. There's still plenty to do and all the parts appear to be in the box, 'cept the landing gear.

Problem is, no plans and no construction manual. I'll get by without the plans but I'd sure like a copy of that construction manual if anyone out there has theirs in PDF format, (or otherwise). I know I can buy one from SIG, (Top Flite has theirs on their website for their kits...)
but I really don't wanna order them if I can download a copy from another modeler.

Appreciate any assistance rendered.

Thanks,
Don

(Point Magu)

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Hi Damon
Here's a couple of ideas you might try. I used an 1100mil flat pack and with a bit of trimming on the back of the tank tray managed to get it to fit very nicely under the bottom rear of the tank. This is probably similar to what Tychoc did with the velcro tape. The only draw back is the tank must be removed to get the battery out. As per making a hatch the quickest way I could think of would be to cut FB-2 and add some 1/4" square braces and small screws to close the hatch. With this area being so tight I don't think you can get a square pack in there. Also I don't know if you could get the battery in the front half of the tank compartment as I already had FB-2 in place before I saw your post.
Are all of these kits coming out this tail heavy ??
Are you using the wheel pants ??
The reason I ask is that I will not be using them as I am using a larger 60 size gear, I checked the weight on the wheel pants and they came in at 3oz. Thought maybe not using the pants was contributing to the tail heaviness, Though they are not on the front of the plane they are in front of the CG balance point. I am not sure how far this would throw the balance to the rear.

Sorry I did not reply faster but I have been setting up this new computer and transferring everything from the old one [X(] I will get some more pics on tomorrow.
Dale

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Dale...Every one I've done has come out tail heavy and I haven't heard of anyone who hasn't had the same experience. It might not be if we didn't put the flying wires on the tail and I'm not doing it one this one because it would look dumb with twin fuselages.

I'm also not using the wheel pants on this one since our field is grass and kind of rough in places.

Tonight I covered the bottom of the fuselages then remembered about the hatch! Oh well, maybe next time. With twin engines, it might be nose heavy anyway.

Damon

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

What type of spinner are you using? I am thinking about putting a tru-turn on mine. I would think that would add weight. I am also going to put on the OS 70 II engine. That gives about 3 oz more than OS .46AX. What kind of engines are people putting on? I am wondering if I will have the same problem everybody else is having since I am putting on different items explained above.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Manny...You might just balance right on with that engine without adding weight anywhere. I recently switched from Tru-Turn to the Great Planes spinners, they run about $5 less for a 2.5" spinner and are shinier.

Damon

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

I was planning on working on the SSE and VF Edge 540 this weekend, but guess what - I crashed my Tiger II on Friday night. I got fix!! I hope it still flies well. I did not get to work on my other planes:( and I am going on vacation leaving on Weds., but I am going to Florida;)

I was coming in for a landing and I thought I was alot closer to the runway. I was not. The mains caught in the grass and flipped over and messed up the vertical stab. The plane split right after the canpoy. The only good thing was it was clean break. Yes!!! You can hardly tell now.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Sorry the hear about the broken fuse on your Tiger.

Mine came out tail heavy as well. I put a 2oz prop nut, moved the engine forward on the mount and added an additional 1 oz of lead to make it balance. Sounds like you should get close with the heavier engine. Just don't drill the engine mount holes until you're ready to balance it. That way you can shift it around a little to balance it.

-tychoc

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Hi tychoc
I ran into a problem on the canopy hatch, the instructions were not very clear on what to do with the canopy side rails after the balsa sheeting was in place. (see pics) Do you just round these off close to the same lines as the fuel tank cover? Did you sand the inside of the rails to match up to the sheeting? The manual is not very clear on this part and does not give a clear picture of how they should look when finished. Thought you or some of the other folks on the thread can help me out on this one.

Manny.. Don't worry about the Tiger II, if you got the fuse back on straight you will have no problems with it. We have 3 of them at our field that have had some pretty serious damage inflicted on them and all 3 are still flying fine.

Thanks
Dale

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

SLOWFLY58:

I don't have the instructions here at work, but I believe they do mention it later on. Yes, you have to cut/sand down the edged so that they conform to the rest of the plane.

I used a small [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAA64&P=0]razor plane[/link] to do the rough shaping and then 80-100-150 grid paper to smooth it out.

Hope this helps,

tychoc

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

The big engine goes up front, pull pull on rudder, ballence on the wing tube.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Hey Guys...
I just figured out that if you haven't covered an airplane in the last 15 years it takes a lot longer !!!! The old saying is true in my case that it takes longer to cover a plane than it does to build one LOL :) I brought it inside to cover because it seemed like I was getting more bubbles that normal. Might be the high humidity that we have been getting. Anyway here is a current picture, hopefully I will get to fly later this week. I will get the tail feathers and tops of the wings covered tomorrow. Should be on the control surfaces by afternoon.

Dale

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Got the manual and the plans so construction is complete. Started covering today. Using Oracote, (British product) and so far, most impressed with this covering. Low heat, super shrinkage and wild, flourescent orange color.
Covered bottoms of both wing panels and the eppange. Fuselage dark blue with white rudder and elevator.
Photos to follow...
Power will be Thunder Tigre .46.
Approximately 36 hrs from 1st flight...

Point Magu
Cumberland, MD

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

SlowFly:

Looking very good!! Keep us updated:D. Plenty of pics

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Hi Guys
Finally finished mine !!! Not the best color scheme I've ever done but overall I thought it came out alright for someone who has not built a kit plane in 15 years. I will go over it one more time to make sure I did not miss anything and will try it out on Wednesday if the weather permits.

Hey Manny... Hope yours comes out well. Send us some pics soon !!!!

I would like to thank everyone on the thread for their help and support to get mine finished.

Posted some pics below.

Thanks again

Dale Jenkins
SLOWFLY58
Southern Eagle Squadron
Leesburg FL

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Dale looks awesome...let us know how the maiden goes and don't wait 15 years till you build another one! :D

Mine isn't quite finished, still need to balance and order a second canopy then maybe add some decals or other details.

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Damon! Cool!! :D

RE: Sig Something Extra Kit
 

Thanks Damon

I'm still trying to decide on using the decals and possibly placing a 1/4" stripe down the side where the two colors meet. Yours looks super !!!! hope you get to finish it soon.

Dale