Sig Astro-Hog, Rescue and Re-build

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Everything is pretty much done other than covering, so I may as well get started! All the pieces needed filler, as there were dents and scratches all over. Sometimes a little warm water dripped into the dent was enough, but usually filler was used.

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I'm using a silver pretty close to what was on it when I got it, and also using the original design as a basis for my take on it. Silver goes on first.

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Instead of red, I went with the same blue used on my Pietenpol. The colors just go together well and I've got enough of both colors to do the job. A pinstripe 3rd color may be used to separate the silver and blue if any of the covering I have would look good. The top & bottom of the wing design differs from the original in that the leading edge color turns back and runs parallel to the fuselage. The fuselage colors will flow together with the wing color. The yellow headrest will be painted or covered - right now it's still the original paint.

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I just love how a model can go from very much a work in progress to "finished" purely with some covering!

The Astro-Hog looks amazing.

Any chance that you have some photos of how the wing is fixed to the fuselage? Mainly interested in the leading edge. Been thinking about trying to engineer a detachable wing for my spitfire, to make it a little more transportable :)
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
I'll try and get a couple pics for you. It's a pretty simple process that is very common - a couple hardwood dowels are sticking out of the leading edge, and those pins fit into holes in the fuselage. Then bolts are used just to hold the trailing edge of the wing in place.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Covering is taking longer than I'd like, probably because of all the compound curves on the fuselage which are really slowing me down. They're hard to do, and this job will be FAR from perfect. But once in the air it won't matter. I also finally found a good rubber tube that worked well for the cockpit edging, and am happy with how it finishes off that area.

Colors for the covering look good, but it really needs an accent color so I'm ordering some yellow in a couple different thicknesses. It sounds like an odd color combination, but the piece I tested looked very good, so I guess covering won't technically be done for another week.

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
I love having access to vinyl cutting equipment! :) It's too early to install the vinyl, the pinstripes aren't done, and the covering continues on the tail, but I couldn't resist adding a finishing touch.

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
My pinstripe material from Great Planes showed up, and I'm super happy with how fast and easy it is to work with. It handles curves much better than I am able to install it, it sticks well, etc. The thin 1/16" roll is somewhat delicate to work with, and the wider 1/8" is a bit easier. I'm happy with how the yellow sets off the other colors, and now I just need to let it sit for a day to decide if I need more or less striping. In particular, the yellow stripe along the bottom of the windscreen - I'm leaning towards removing it or adding some additional striping to make it look like less of an after-thought.

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The control surfaces are all now installed as well. Once pushrods are installed it'll be ready to balance, program the TX, and maiden. Although I'm probably forgetting a few other small tasks somewhere along the line...! :) The headrest for the pilot may not go back on, as I'm not sure the design of the plane really needs it. It may just go on to keep the plane looking like an Astro-Hog, we'll see what happens. If time permits, I'll probably also cut a few vinyl numbers for the plane. The rear fuselage sides are looking a little plain and that could easily dress it up.

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PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
That looks amazing. I think you are right with removing the stripe near the windscreen. Too much actually takes away from the subtleness that pin striping is meant to be. I also agree numbers on the fuselage (possibly an off white or light cream) and maybe do a blue strip across the horizontal stabilizer to match the front wing and balance that out in my eyes at least. You could leave it as is and still be in that totally amazing category.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
I actually pulled the windscreen trim right after posting the pics. It takes away from the look of the screws I wanted for holding the screen in place. It looks better now. I like the idea of the blue on the horizontal stabilizer.
 

Tench745

Master member
I'd consider a thin strip of the silver covering material at the base of the windscreen to make it look less "stuck-on" and more "attached". Turning out really nice. I'm jealous of your vinyl cutter.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
I'd have to check at work. We have a vinyl cutter and a vinyl printer. Being in charge of the vinyl department has its perks. :). None of it is high end, we just use it for cutting DOT and legal info for commercial vehicles.
 

AkimboGlueGuns

Biplane Guy
Mentor
The Hog looks a lot like a good year plane in those colors. Are you doing a tail wheel conversion? I've seen a couple done like that and they tend to look pretty good.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Well, looks like it's all ready to go. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be decent, so I'm charging up all four batteries I have for it and will head out to the field early in the morning. It probably sits too low to take-off easily on grass (unless it's cut short), but the field I'm heading to tomorrow has both grass and asphalt. It took about 3 ounces of lead to balance it out, which surprised me a bit.

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PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
But but... you'll get it dusty!! Its to pretty to leave the house...

Who am I kidding. Lookin forward to another successful maiden GL
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
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! :cool: 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.
 
Big congrats on the successful maiden!

Nice! I've got a Hog Bipe laser cut kit still in the box. I'm hoping to get to it this winter. Three builds to get wrapped up first. Plus I am still contemplating the 1/4 scale Jerry Bates Arctic Tern.... So many planes, so little time!