Sig Senorita builders - Help?

Please?

On the fuselage, the bottom strut that begins at the tail, and ends up at the front of the plane, is SPLICED... from BASS, to BALSA. I assume that it is to ease the bending that's required. The balsa continues on, and I don't know where it terminates....!

C-2 shows as a part to be attached...but is it to be attached to the bottom balsa strut? Or does the front of the fuselage finish without a 'CLOSING" piece, to be closed up when the two sides are joined? Or better, what needs to be added before I un pin and lift the fuselage side from the wax paper? Superimposing details upon details makes it so difficult to visualize.

Also, I never noticed that the kit included just a few pieces of 3/16 Bass, but lots of 3/16 Balsa. So I built one side with all bass, except for the balsa splice piece. Now I have to make the second side the same way! Any MAJOR problem there? Why would they ever include more Bass than Balsa??? Thanks so much! When I gain experience and finish this model airplane, I might be in positiion to help others. And I will!

Mike

Hmmm.... many years ago (>20) I framed up a Sig Senior. I bet what you are seeing with that bass wood is the load bearing longeron for the engine and landing gear mounts. As I recall, except for the 4 corners of the fuselage everything is balsa. Well, it probably was but *I* changed it out for spruce because I was intending to heap lots of abuse on the airframe .

Good luck and let us know how it flies.

Jim

On Thu, 1 May 2008 11:58:31 -0700 (PDT), snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net wrote in :

I haven't built the Seniorita and I don't quite understand your question.

First you say that there are just a few pieces of bass, but lots of balsa. Then you ask why they would ever include more bass than balsa. I just can't figure out which kind of wood you have more of.

Take a deep breath and keep building as best you can.

Make the two sides symmetrical.

If you don't guess right, you just keep cutting and pasting until you have a fuselage that satisfies YOU and that you think will be strong enough to fly.

Our eyes and fingers can detect differences down to hundredths of an inch when we're up close and paying lots of attention.

You don't have to build to those tolerances. You can have a longer, wider, heavier fuselage than other Senioritas and it will still fly. You can add inches or subtract inches almost at will--so long as you get the Center of Gravity right at the end.

This is known as "kit bashing."

I've seen people do all kinds of strange and wonderful things, both in magazines and in person at the field: lengthen wings, chop wings, double the wings, add dihedral, take dihedral out, put anhedral in, change from tail dragger to trike, relocate landing gear, add or remove canopies, etc., etc.

I've even done a little of that myself.

"Sin bravely." You know the kind of structure you want to end up with. You can make it happen and when it flies, you can take pride in what you've done.

Marty