carrell

I posted a few construction photos of a SIG Astro Hog to
alt.binaries.radio-control this morning.

It will be a tail dragger, powered by an OS 70 Surpass. It will have the
receiver and S3004 servos that came with a Futaba 6XAS I lucked into for a
good price. Covering will be red and white Ultracote in the same pattern as
the box photos.

I'm having the plane built. I opened the box and started reading the
manual; and knew there is no way I could build it. After I bought the kit,
I saw a review that said something like "you need a chainsaw to build this
plane."

The photos are a bit dark, but it gives me an idea of the progress that's
being made.

The last message from the man building it said the framing was almost
complete, then the carving and sanding can begin. He started it on 8/19 and
the first 4 photos came on 8/20.

Since I haven't even soloed with my trainer, I told him I'm not in a hurry
to get this one done. He will be displaying my plane at a show his club is
doing on 9/12-9/13 at a mall in his home town; then he'll ship it to me.

I have a lot to learn before I try to fly a low wing tail dragger.

-------
Carrell

david morris

Looked at the pictures and it looks like he is coming along quite well
with it. You will love it. It is a fantastic flying airplane and is
pretty easy to fly for a low wing plane. I like the idea of a 70
sized 4 stroke on it. I have an Enya 90 4 stroke on mine and it is
overpowered. If I were to do it over I would go with a 70 also. If I
can make a suggestion, talk to the builder and have him move the front
landing gear forward about an inch from where the plans show. The
gear as shown is right on the CG mark and the plane will nose over at
the drop of a hat. I re-did the gear and moved it so the wheels line
up with the LE of the wing and it is perfect now. Before it would not
taxi on our grass runway at all even with full up elevator. Enjoy it
once you have mastered your trainer. You will love it once you have
the ability to fly it.

BTW, the focus of your next kit purchase should be an easy to build
kit so you can get some building experience. The Astro Hog wasn't a
hard kit to build, but there definately was some carving and shaping
involved. However, I didn't have to fire up the chainsaw to get it
done! There is nothing better than seeing something you put your
sweat and even some blood into rise off the ground for the first time.

Good luck!
David

carrell

Thanks David. I'm glad to hear that you think the 70 will be enough engine.
I'm not looking for unlimited aerobatics. I just want to fly around, do
some basic maneuvers, and make a smooth landing.

I take off and fly around pretty well with my ARF trainer; and Paul says his
thumb gets sore from holding the button for the entire flight. Sometimes my
landings can be pretty 'exciting'. I am getting better, and Paul says I
should be ready to solo pretty soon. I did my first deadstick landing
Saturday and it was actually one of my best landings so far.

I'll see if I can get the main gear moved forward, as we also fly from
grass. I've seen photos of Hogs with aluminum gear bolted to the fuselage
in front of the wings.

After I saw the Hog, with all of the blocks and compound curves, I was a
little discouraged. I spoke to my instructor about how I really wanted to
build something, even if only once, and he suggested building a trainer.

I did a little research and purchased a Great Planes PT-60. I downloaded
the manual from the GP web site and read it a couple of times before I


kit, so most of the parts have needed some sanding and fitting.

I have the fuselage built and am working on the wings. I'm currently doing
the wing sheeting. I've made my share of mistakes so far, but it appears to
be pretty straight and it is strong. My brother came over and joined the
wings for me, and I'll need his help for a few more things, but I've done
the majority of it on my own.

Even though I should not "need" another trainer when this one is done, I'm
very anxious to fly it. Maybe I'll like the PT-60 so much I'll try to sell
my ARF trainer to a new person who needs an inexpensive entry into flying.

I'll see if I can take some photos of my progress and post them.

Regards,
Carrell

alan harriman

It really isn't that hard to build. Just work on it a little at a time, follow
the directions, and stay with it. Sooner that you realize, the plane begins to
take shape and you're gaining a sense of progress. However, it looks your
builder is doing a good job and is progressing quite quickly. The Astro-Hog is
one nice, sweet flying plane. I think you will enjoy it.

My Astro-Hog is also powered with an OS70 four stroke - which is plenty of
power. It really grooves through giant loops, split ess's, immelmans, snaps,
spins, stall turns, avalanches, touch and goes, and whatever else you can think
of. And it does them with in a relaxing, graceful style. It's still my favorite
all around go to plane.

Here's a couple pictures:
http://www.skymasters.org/picgal/page2/alhog.jpg

And it flies great on floats:
http://groups.msn.com/FlightLine/waterphotos2.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=539

Alan Harriman

carrell

On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 01:15:22 GMT, "Carrell" <carrellhdelete@comcast.net> wrote:


It really isn't that hard to build. Just work on it a little at a time,
follow
the directions, and stay with it. Sooner that you realize, the plane begins
to
take shape and you're gaining a sense of progress. However, it looks your
builder is doing a good job and is progressing quite quickly. The Astro-Hog
is
one nice, sweet flying plane. I think you will enjoy it.

My Astro-Hog is also powered with an OS70 four stroke - which is plenty of
power. It really grooves through giant loops, split ess's, immelmans, snaps,
spins, stall turns, avalanches, touch and goes, and whatever else you can
think
of. And it does them with in a relaxing, graceful style. It's still my
favorite
all around go to plane.

Here's a couple pictures:
http://www.skymasters.org/picgal/page2/alhog.jpg

And it flies great on floats:
http://groups.msn.com/FlightLine/waterphotos2.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=539

Alan Harriman
========================================
Your plane looks really good. What prop are you running? My initial plan
is to use a Master Airscrew 13x6 for four strokes. I'll be using fuel with
10% nitro.

I did get a kit to build myself, a Great Planes PT-60. It's coming along
but it will still be a while before it's done. I'm learning a lot, and
might try a more complicated kit in the future; if this one flies.

Regards,
Carrell

alan harriman

I'm using a Master Airscrew 13x6 prop and running Cool Power 15 percent fuel.
(Use standard 2-stroke fuel)


That should be a good kit. Be sure to post here if you have any questions along
the way.

Al