Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / April 2004

I have recently purchased the Sig 1/5 Cub kit.
First of all I would like to thank SIG for their decision t
manufacture a Cub KIT. In a time when ARFs are the norm it is nice t
know that there still are some manufacturers that cater for th
traditionalists among us that enjoy building our aircraft ourselves.

I am about to start the construction and so far I have only looke
through all the parts in box. As far as I can tell this will be a ver
nice build. Almost every part is laser cut and it is possible t
assemble most of the fuselage before applying any glue.

The kit appear to be very well thought out.  As an example, SIG ha
simplified the previously rather tedious process of adding wing spa
webbings by providing the webbing as a long one piece part, laser cu
to interlock with the wing ribs.
All parts to build either the clipped or full span wing is included i
the kit. I appreciate that SIG has opted for a two-piece plug-in wing
This will make transportation a lot easier.

As for scale looks, the 1/5 Cub is definitely sport scale. This i
probably not a bad thing. Most builders will build the kit without an
modifications and end up with an aircraft that looks a lot better tha
most of the ARF Cubs that swamp the market.
On the other hand, if you want to do I nice scale job, the very wel
thought out construction will save you a lot of time that could b
spent on modifying some components and adding scale detail.

Some things that could be improved for a more scale look:

IMHO the cabin area of the Sig 1/6 Cub is closer to scale.  
The new kit has a rather substantial lite-ply former behind th
windshield that doesn't look very scale but on the other hand should b
very strong. Although not to scale, I have decided not to modify thi
component.

A nice touch is the door and window, that can be opened. The lockin
mechanism need to be modified however, now it's anything but scale.

The stabilizer is built using laser cut balsa parts and should g
together really quick. However, the stab attachment to the fuselage i
not to scale at all. It would be nice to modify this part to mimic th
variable incidence-arrangement of the full size Cub.

The cowl is one piece F/G. I haven't checked the measurements yet bu
to my eye it the front part of the cowl is to wide compared to the ful
size.

The dummy engine supplied is ABS plastic and O.K. for
stand-a-long-way-off scale job but nothing more. However, it's not tha
difficult to build an engine dummy using balsa/ply discs and parts fro
the scrap box.  

The U/C is unsprung and soldered from preshaped piano wire. There is
very nice looking sprung U/C available from Robart that that I woul
like to add to my Cub.

The ailerons are not Frise-type as on the full size Cub but ar
simplified in construction.  IMHO, a bad decision by SIG. Frise-typ
ailerons are not that difficult to build.

The jury struts are brass tubing which is O.K. but I think there i
room for improvement when it comes to mounting them. I will try to com
up with another arrangement than the one shown on the plans (simpl
flattening the ends of the tubing, drilling a hole through it an
attaching the jury-strut to the wing and struts with screws.

/Red B

-
Red B
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