mkjohnston

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HI everybody, My name Michael and I am old RC model airplane builder.I haven't really built anything since 2005.So, I have this brand new Sig Kavalier kit and I going to share some pictures of my build and see if anybody is interested in this airplane. Sig calls its kits,'Craftsman kits' and that is a true statement as I build what I fly as I don't like to buy some one else junk and fly it! No offense there as I not into ARFS even though my first RC airplane was a pilot ARF from Hobby shack in 1977 with a Cox Black Widow .049 for power and a HobbyShack Aerosport two channel control. It is not the right way to learn how fly as far as I am concerned. So now 40 years later I,m now building and flying again. Wow what a joy it is to fly after all these years and in the same note it is so sad to see how this hobby is dieing.
My goal is to build it light and use Top Flite Monocote and try to match the color scheme on the box. I have no desire to learn how to cover this airplane with cloth, skllk and use dope and paint. People who can do this are very rare breed these days.I have always heard that this cover system makes a very heavy airplane. My first problem when I finish this kit is to match the monkote colors to the paints out there. I am going to power this airplane with a brand new O.S. MAX 35 AX 2 cycle glow engine. Thats another thing I am not crazy about areelectric powered airplanes at all so you could call me old school which is fine with me! anyways Who wants tofly or drive a turbo powered screw driver!
My pictures that I added this thread show the right wing panel on my building board which was in two pieces last week. I look forward to hearing from you .Thank You You Michael Johnston

fourstar40

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I love that plane. I had one years ago and have thought about building another. They fly really nice and I like the vintage look of them. I will be keeping an eye on your build. Have fun!

hsukaria

Looking good so far. I also have a Kavalier kit that I plan to build. I will be watching your progress eagerly.

Although the OS 35AX might be adequate power, it might be light enough that you will have to do some jockying with weights to balance the CG. It might come down to adding weight in the nose or a bigger heavier engine. I will be interested to see what your outcome will be. I have some light 40's and normal 46 engines that I could power mine with . Your experience with this will help me decide.

Thanks for doing this thread.

mkjohnston

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Hi hsukaria, I got my 35 back in the summer and boy, does it have power! I ran it on my test stand twice recently, running a 10X6 on it and I was really impressed with how well it ran. I really hope it works out well with my Kavalier. I talked to Sig when I got this kit and they said it was an Ideal power plant for this airplane! Thank You Michael

hsukaria

I've seen the OS 35 AX in action and it is powerful. I was just wondering if it might be a little light and cause the CG to be too far back. But that can be remedied with the receiver battery placement.

mkjohnston

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I do agree that the 35 is very light and I might have to adjust the CG to get it to balance right. That is the fun of building your own model aircraft!
Thank You
Michael

hsukaria

Agreed. That is why I am looking forward to your final result for CG and total weight so that I might know what to expect when I build mine.

mkjohnston

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Hey hsukaria, what engine are you planing to use in your Kavalier? I am going to build her as lite as possible as I am using CA and some epoxy here and there. I will let you know how it comes out. I have three rolls of MonoKote for my covering scheme. The only I haven figured out yet is what types of paint to use on the cowl. My builder side says to construct the cowl out of balsa and the other says Krylon spray on paint ha.
Thanks
Michael

hsukaria

I have a few choices, but most likely a Super Tigre G51. I also have an OS 46SF, so either one, they weigh the same with same performance. If the build comes out real light, less than 4 pounds, I can try a Fox 40 small-case, that is about the same weight as the OS 35AX.

I think Fiberglass Specialties makes a fiberglass cowl for the Kavalier if you don't like the plastic one. I don't have experience with plastic cowls, I will try it and see. I like planes that have the cowl built up from wood that is integral to the fuselage, like the original Kaos, UltraSport, even the Sig Wonder. That gives the cleanest lines, IMHO. But the Kavalier has the funky engine mounting at 45 degrees, but maybe that can still be built up from balsa blocks if you are so inclined. Hmmm, maybe I will consider that for my Kavalier build.

mkjohnston

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I like the OS Max 46 SF its a great engine and I found one on ebay for 120 bucks. The seller claims he replaced the front and rear bearings because of the age of the engine. It was nice looking but I have my eyes on a new Rossi 45 and I hope to purchase that soon. It would be way over kill for the Kavalier but I have new in the box mint Tower Hobbies Kaos to build after I finish this kit.

Rubbernecker

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FWIW The plastic cowl, if like the ones from years ago, is very usable. The Sig cowl was not cheap abs that comes in most kits. It was actually very sturdy.

John

mkjohnston

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Hi Rubbernecker, I just looked at the cowl and I am not sure what it is made of. It is a little different in that hole for the front of engine is already cut for you. In the instruction they show some drilling a series of holes and connect the holes to complete the hole. You still have to figure out where the engine head goes through the cowl.

Rubbernecker

My Feedback: (22)

Yea, the holes were drilled close together so a modeling knife could be used to cut it, finishing up with a file and sandpaper. Yes, you do need to figure out for the head, muffler and needle valve.

John

mkjohnston

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John, years ago I had a white cowl on my Kadet but I think I just threw it away because I didnt want to paint it. I have a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel that I can cut it with but I also have a nibbler. I just have to find some cheap paint to match my Monokote colors. Thank You Michael.

buzzard bait

I like to use my Irvine 36s and 39s to power old style 40 types. Very similar engines to yours. Weight is similar to the 40s in use way back when the plane was designed, so there shouldn't be a balance problem, especially if you're building light. And yes, they are very powerful! Nice to see another builder back at the bench.

Jim

mkjohnston

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Hi Jim, That is what I am shooting for here with my build. The 35 AX has a great power range that suits my needs for this airplane. I have built the right wing panel and taken it off the board a couple days ago.I layout the left panel over the weekend and I am getting ready to attach the trailing edge. Its coming along very nicely for me and I should be able to glue both halves of the wings together soon. There are very few builders left in the town where I live and its such a seem to see this hobby going this way. I can say that it is a joy to build this airplane so far there are a few a quirky things but I am working it out.
Thank You
Michael Johnston

skylark-flier

The Kavalier is designed so that the head of the engine comes through the cowl on the upper right side (about 45 degrees) so the muffler sits at the lower right side of the fuselage. You'll find that the instructions clearly show the engine set-up on the firewall when you get to that point.

IMHO, your OS.35AX is definitely powerful enough to fly her rather well - not as a howler, but as a fun-to-fly and decently aerobatic plane. 10X6 should be the perfect prop for her too.

BTW, the Kavalier is still actively kitted by SIG, and spare parts are available, should you mess something up in building (hopefully, not needed though).

One small item to think about: the Kav's not designed for dual aileron servos but I've found that many 4-ch birds benefit from a dual set-up - - my own CG Sr Falcon, CG Eagle-II, SIG Stratus and SIG Kadet Mk-II among them. In addition to the "insurance" value of a dual set-up, they always seem to have a lot better/stronger response to control input.

If it helps, (and I know that this is a long way off, in the future) I'm including the "official" set-up and throws for the design, as an attachment - came from my website.

buzzard bait

The loss of builders certainly is disappointing, isn't it, Michael? I used to look forward to our Mall Show every year because you'd see what people built during the winter to fly the coming summer. Now it just looks like a trade show. I still enjoy building, but in our club it's mostly ARFs now, and most of those are electrics, which sound awful to me. Looking back, the 70s to the 90s was a real golden age for RC as a hobby. I never imagined how quickly those days would disappear. I have to say that some members have gotten into some pretty amazing electronics, but that's not what attracted me to the hobby; I'll keep doing what I do.

So enjoy your Kav, show us photos, and we'll just share online.

Jim

FlyerInOKC

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Subscribe, this should be a great build.

mkjohnston

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Jim, you are so right and when you ask Tower Hobbies/Hobbico where did all the great kits they have no answer for you. I called Great Planes when I found out they swallowed up Andrews and asked if they where going to continue making Lous kits and I was told "No, we threw all of the die cutting machines in the trash."I couldn't believe that they would do that then I thought this Hobbico! I know they kept the Aero Master Biplane and updated it but it was not the same airplane. They just act like nothing has happened to this hobby and are happy when I give them my cash. they also have hurt the hobby shops nation wide due to fact that they don't support these shops. I've heard this from several hobby shop owners that I used to knew over the years.
I purchased my Kavalier from Sig back in June of this year. I have several kits to build and an Andrew's A-Ray which is almost ready to cover! When I get this Kavalier done and my A-Ray covered I am going to start a Tower Hobbies Kaos 40 build. I am currently flying a N.E A Trainaire 20 that I got at an AMA club swap meet back in 1995. Its a very cool little airplane to fly with my 20 year old OS 25 sf glow engine. It has a lot of hanger rash from being moved all over the country the last 20 year. But it still flys pretty darn good for 22 year old airplane. My old mentor used to tell me to see an model RC airplane that you built with your own hands fly straight off the board with out having to trim it out or adding something to make it fly was the great thrill to him! I still agree with him even though he is not with us anymore.
I love the new technology that is being offered in radio controls now. its nice to have one radio to fly up to 20 model airplanes one at time. In the old days if you wanted to fly more than one airplane you had to buy a complete new radio setup. Now you just buy a receiver and a battery and servos for each aircraft and bind it to your TX. I am one of three to four guys that still builds where I fly. The rest of them fly drones, ARFs and other things that doe not intrest me at all!. Two months ago I took off for the first time in 11 years and it was so cool to see it fly after all this time. I get a lot of complements at my field about my trainer. I hope to get some more people interested in building.
Take Care
Michael

mkjohnston

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Hi Dave, I havent thought of using dual aileron servos for this build. I fired up my 35 ax a few months back and it was a real screamer on a 10x6 prop! I got my Kav from sig back in the summer. I am so glad that they are still in business after all these years I had talk to you on here about the commander a few months back.and asked you about the Kav then.You helped me make up my mind on this kit It reminds me a lot of my old Kadet that I got back in 1978 for 25 bucks. I hope to have this up and flying by the end of January! I will be posting a lot of pictures here over coming weeks!
take care
Michael

skylark-flier

Hey Mike! I remember your Kommander and the Kav conversation. Kavaliers that I've flown with are really decent performers - more maneuverable/energetic/fun than the Kadets. Actually, they're quite equal (and more) to my ancient CG Sr Falcon which was built a bit different from plans (flattened dihedral, dual aileron servos, slightly larger rudder) - not really very far from my Midstar-40. You're going to like this plane - - A LOT!!

hsukaria

I have a Kavalier kit I plan on building this winter. I have a couple of questions:

1. How hard is it to build it as a taildragger? It has a one-piece elevator with the control horn in the center with the fuselage open to pass the pushrod out. I will keep it stock if it is too much trouble to convert, however. I fly off a grass field.

2. Has anybody built up the nose/cowl with balsa block instead of the included cowl? I like the continuous, uninterrupted lines of the old-style balsa block cowls.

Thanks.

FlyerInOKC

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Here is a pretty good article building balsa cowlings if you have never done it before. The site belongs to a laser cutting service for shortkits.

How to build a cowl from balsa blocks | The Balsa Workbench

mkjohnston

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Hi Dave, my best friend and I built a Falcon 56 mk2 on a piece of masonite laying around my dads garage I would say 1980 or so. The wing was very hard for me to square up as I didn't have the right tools at the time. My Falcon bit the dust on its maiden flight and I was not even flying it! my Friend was and if I remember he had lost it in a uncontrolable loop. The ribs had a slot for the main spar and I was using Elmer's wood glue and it wasn't a pretty site. I think i had just crashed my Kadet for the second time so I didnt have anything to fly at the time.Later that summer my friend loaned me an old Andrews H ray which had seen better days. I moved on to the Goldberg Eaglet and Eagle 63. I have a kadet mk 2 to build some time after the first of the year. It was so fun flying these old birds they where great airplanes. Like I said before it is so sad to see all these wonderful Kits and manufactures gone this day age.
Today I just got the second leading edge cut down to fit the left side of the wing and getting ready to glue it on the front of the wing. This so cool and very easy to do once you put your mind to it!
Thanks
Michael