Well, after rebuilding my brother's PT20, I started on my 4 Star 40. Wing went together nicely, but I need to pay more attention to instructions. Twice I grabbed the wrong piece of balsa. No problems though.

The rebuilt PT20 and the wing sections of a 4 Star 40.

Looking good,

If you use a computer radio and don't mind for additional $14 I suggest you look into building with two aileron servos, instead of using the torque rods and have the servos in wings.

If I build one more I would certainly go with two aileron servos, setting up adjusting the aileron differential is so easy with two aileron servos.

Just my opinion, I am pretty sure that others happy with single servo setup, I have 80+ flights with mine but after using two servos in other planes ans seeing that it is so easy to setup and performs better. I wouldn;t go back to single servo unless 1.5 oz is critical.


Are you going to sheet the turttle deck? It looks better.
here are some pictures of mine during construction.

http://www.galip.net/Sig4Star

Cobra,

This is funny. I already have your website bookmarked!

I am going with the dual servo setup.

Thanks

i re inforced the fuselage the F-3 on all my 4 stars.

add tri to the fuse/ bottom tail wing

i also add a dowl to the front on the vertical stab.
drill a hole in the reaest former. this way the vertical stab
gets lock in. drill dowls into the fuselage and vertical stab post
to lock it there also. i do add tri on top of the tail wing and
vertical stab, but is only to blend in the deck's line.

i also use a different tail wheel set up . it's just so all the
force won't be on the rudder.

i re inforce the land gear mount area.
using nylon bolt helps, but i get tried of them breaking.
metal screws won't break but the landing gear mount area
gets rip. i don't skip on epoxy there.

i also use the gear from my .60 on my .40 4-star.
it's to give the prop more clearence. the gear supplied
bends after a while.

i usually clip the main wing total 3", take out the dihedral.
leave out the washout and extend the rudder.
the plane rolls will , unlimited rolls... if i pratice.
little or no input of elevator when inverted.
unlimted outside loops with a .46 size engine
the plane still retains decent stall or low landing speed.

opps
i don't belive the .40 4-star has a rear vertical stab post
that you can mount or glue to the fuselage.
i just modified it . The .60 has a rear post thou.

Common sense and good advice I did not heed.

Break out and inventory all pieces. This will make you familiar with them. This way you do not grab the 1 1/4" sheet for the lower part of the TE when a 1 1/2" sheet is required. Or you do not grab the 5/16" square rod and glue it in the TE when a 1/4" square should be used. The 5/16" is used for the LE. This will prevent you from buying a 3/8" square rod and sanding it down to fit the LE.

Mind you, I did not make any of these mistakes. They could happen though!

Clear skies!

thats exactly what i did on my first 4-star.hee...hee
use the LE for the TE .lol
i didn't like the idea of having to sand the LE anyhow.
i used dowls instead like the eagle 2

Well both the right and left wing are done. NO more mistakes!

Any hints or warnings for the fuselage?

Thanks!!

Don't build two right sides

You might want to reinforce the fuse area behind the TE of the wings with some triangular stocks (for those bad landing days !)

Also, you may want to consider enlarging the rudder by an inch for better knife edge performance

Alright Minnflyer, now ya got me worried. Is that possible to do? My inquiring mind wants to know!

Rajul, Is there a frame number of designation for that area to add reinforcement? Is this so it does not break in half?

Thanks!

Oh, this bird is getting a OS 46 FX powerplant and I bought a Sullivan tailwheel assembly for it.

CA the tri-stocks in all four corners, in the first (and second if you wish) bays behind the wing.

Another suggestion is to build the turtle deck after you install the wing, to make your life easier !

-Cut off 1 rib on each side. Rolls better and actually lands better-doesn't float all over the place.

-Add an inch to the rudder width. It is pretty small as it comes.

Swager, for more info on mods you can do, just do a search under 4*40 or 4*60. I'm sure you'll find plenty of good info and pics, including color schemes.

Thanks Rajul,

ED,

I just posted a new thread asking a question about the bays if I cut one off. Which bays would the servos go into for the dual aileron setup.

The rudder, should I go with the same shape and just enlarge it, or should I increase the rudder to make the bottom a little larger to give it a tapered look?

I've been looking and doing searches. I found some great stuff. Cutting a rib off was mentioned a few times.

Thanks in advance

You could always add a lite ply or thick balsa to the second last rib and cut the last bay off later. If you do this, then ensure you have an extra ca hinge just inside the second last bay.

Actually I have not put in the CA hinges. so now wouls be the perfect time to do the cut.

I am gong to put the servo as close to center as possible.

Thanks for the replies!!

Well, joined the wings today. If that isn't a hair-raising experience. It match up and turned out pretty good. Found out I had to sand alittle bit more of the LE to match the fuselage. Pictures soon.

OH! And finding where to put the engine mount either was no picnic. I had no idea about the thrust line, but I looked it up here in RCU and found out many others have asked the same question.

Clear Skies!

I joined the fuselage to the wings. Yea, drillin the ole nylon bolt holes! Lots of fun. Found out my measuremests were off 1/8 a degree from wing to wing from the back of the fuselage. I put a turtledeck on her. She seems pretty solid. Next are the tail feathers!

Looking good Ed !

Looks great, you will love the 4*

Swager,

While you're still in the early stages, here's some mods I made that may help you out:

-- Access panel in the rear bottom fuse for battery (balance)
-- Wire supports from cowl cheek to landing gear
-- Pushrod tube along bottom of fuse for Rx antenna
-- Sullivan tail wheel (nice!)
-- Run Rx antenna thru servo bay with rubber servo grommets (or a length of fuel tubing); keeps the rx off the servos/wires.
-- I also run two batteries with separate charger jacks/switches. Plug one into the regular battery plug and the second in an empty channel. They don't have to be matching mah, just voltage. THis not only gives you extra flying time without switching out batteries, but you can also mix them up for balancing options. Better to to balance with something useful instead of useless lead!

You can also fit a 10-11 oz tank in the front if you move the bottom tank support; also a good time to thing about an access panel for the tank.

Have fun.

G~

I have a sullivan Tail Assembly. Im taking the antenna out through the top and running it back to the tail assembly.

The one thing I did not like aboutthe construction was the fuel tank compartment. I have a sullivan 10 oz. tank and I will have to make some mods to get it to fit. The kit calls for an 8 oz.

Which leads me to a question. Is there a 10 oz. tank out there that can fit without the mod? I figured alot of flyers put a 10 oz. in their 4*40.

If a mod was made what had to be cut? Thanks

Oh BTW, a OS .46 FX is the power plant.

Move the bottom tank support further down into the fuse; it will require a little cutting of the ply support.