Maiden Flight Report
I charged up four 5 cell 5000mAh packs yesterday and headed out to the field this morning. Not knowing if there was enough clearance to take off on grass I went to Bong Recreation Area in SE Wisconsin, where there is a nice paved runway. Winds were maybe 3 MPH and skys were clear, pretty darn good weather for a maiden.
The first pack went in and I did some taxi-testing first to center the nosewheel, then pointed it into the wind and advanced the throttle. I wasn't sure what to expect for power, and was running a 12x6 prop for the maiden. A 13x6 was also on-hand in case the 12" wasn't sufficient. It rolled out nice and straight and with a little elevator it lifted off into the sky. It took a little trimming, but it was soon flying nice and level at 1/2 throttle. In fact, it was flying better than I expected. No torque roll, no issues with trim as I added throttle, etc. I ran the battery for 5 minutes and then decided to bring it in to check the voltage. Lining up for a landing was quite easy, and I did a couple approaches before finally touching down. I found the Hog comes in slightly faster than expected, but it's a big plane so it shouldn't surprise me that it takes up a lot of runway. The landing was pretty good, although I think the old wheels are a bit hard and I'll probably switch them out for ones that have a little more sponginess to them to help absorb the forces of touch-down.
I ended up running three more batteries through it, and can easily fly 10 minutes per pack. The Hog is FAR from aerobatic, but it will perform most standard moves (rolls, loops, etc). It's a very stable platform, and very predictable. It needs more aileron throw than you'd expect, and a little more elevator as well. Rudder is very responsive. In the trike configuration it'll end up mowing grass with a 12" prop, so I may change to a slightly larger nosewheel to help.
The last battery I was getting more adventurous with the flying, and was throwing it around as much as it'd let me. When it came time to land I was finally getting the feel for it, and it touched down at one end of the runway and came to a stop at the other end, almost like I knew what I was doing!
The previous landings started on the asphalt and the plane rolled into the mowed grass at the end of the runway to stop.
This plane is exactly as advertises on the Sig website. It's not a rocket, it's not for 3D. It's a somewhat basic design that flies well and is easy(ish) to build. While I wouldn't recommend it as the first balsa plane somebody builds, it is certainly easy enough to fly for somebody who is reasonably proficient at flying.