Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

I searched for Sig Ninja and the only post I found was six years old. Have they become outdated? Are they behind in function and technology?

Thanks, Cliff

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

I am no expert in this area but have dabbled with a modern motor glider from Horizon called the Radian. From what I can tell the Ninja is available from Sig for about $60 as a kit. Probably a good plane at Wingspan 58 in 1473 mm Wing Area 500 in² 32 dm² Weight standard w/16oz(454g) ballast 30 - 34 oz
50 oz 850 - 964 g 1417 g Wing Loading standard w/16oz(454g) ballast 8.6 - 9.8 oz/ft² 14.4 oz/ft² 2624 - 2990 g/m² 4394 g/m² but as a slope soarer I bet the experts would consider it old world because it is balsa construction. And prone to cracking, compared to foam models that bounce. There's really nothing wrong with older designs. A Gentle Lady for example will always be considered a good plane, especially for somebody new, or an expert that just wants simple relaxed flying. So I'm not sure what your intent maybe for a Ninja, but Sig kits in general, built well, will produce nice flying planes. If you ran across a Ninja kit, or are thinking of building one, you probably cant go wrong. Hope the "experts" chime in. They'll give you their opinions. Good luck.

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

There's really no such thing as an "outdated" plane. Sure, it's a bit old school but it will still fly. There are many people around that still build their planes and enjoy the building as much as the flying. Newer doesn't always mean better. Nothing says you can't update some of the materials used in the construction to improve the strength or to make a design lighter. I did just that on the Windfree I built and am glad I did.

I am still flying planes like the Paragon, Gentle Lady and Windfree, all of which are older than the Ninja.

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

It's only outdated by the fact that it needed to be built from a kit and that it uses wood.  With the flook of cheap ARF's that has occured in the last two decades the folks that just wanted to fly stopped buying kits.  And those that enjoy building didn't generally buy kits in the first place.  So that's why it's hard to find such things now.


As a design it's still as good as it ever was.  Which means that while its performace likely can't match most of the nicer and very pricey glass bagged stuff it will likely outdo most, if not all, of the soft molded foam models.  But having said that it's still a case of matching what you want in a model to your slope.  Heavy and strong to suit big lift large area slopes to smaller and lighter to suit light lift slopes.  If the Ninja fits in size and weight wise to what is normally flown at your area then you'll enjoy the model.

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

Mine needed higher winds than I thought it would when slope soaring..however when it got real windy it flew well loaded up with ballast. Also I had a lot of fun with this plane when I hung a 15 glow motor on it !

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

It's a good plane for medium winds. A friend was making fiberglass fuselages for them at one point.

We found it to be a good jack of all trades. Not particularly fast even when ballasted due to the big wing chord and airfoil, but a good flyer and worth building unless you have a special need for super fast, or super durable.

Note BECAUSE it's not "super fast" it is a nice flying plane with friendly habits.

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

Sig never made a kit I didn't like.:)

RE: Sig Ninja Outdated?
 

I would agree with wind junkie.. What I consider real windy for gliders would be medium winds in other locations.. There are so few slope sights here that doing it is a very rare occasion...and my comment above would be incorrect in better sloping areas...