Easy build for newbie... Majestic vs. BigBird

[fprintf]

Well it's that time of year again. It is getting cold and my building bench is calling to me (as it did last year) to gather some cash and build a balsa plane. The only trouble is I am brand new to building balsa planes so don't have many of the techniques that might be required to build what I want.

Again, this is my first balsa plane.

Which is easier or a more suitable build for a beginner - a Ray Hayes BigBird or a LaserArtCo Majestic? Both will probably be built with carbon fiber spar caps per the directions found here and on the laserartco website. I have heard both are "stick some CA in the box, stir and out comes a plane" types of builds.

I have a flat bench, a looooong winter and lots of patience to do this correctly. What I don't have is money to spend on practicing my assembly on another 2 Meter plane like a Sovereign or Gentle Lady before buying what I really want - a 100"-110" really nice looking RES plane.

Thanks (again) for the advice.

Stuart

[Ollie]

The Laser Arts Septre might be a good choice. It has several things to recommend it. Low price for a quality 100 inch span kit. good airfoil. Easy build with tab and slot construction. See:
http://members.aol.com/laserartco/page11.html.

For your first kit build, I suggest that you follow the directions explicitly with out making any modifications.

Of course there is nothing wrong with either the Big Bird or Majestic.

[marty o]

I will second Ollie's suggestion. I recently finished a Scepter from Laser Arts. It was easy to build and flies great. It thermals very well. Dave at Laser Arts was very helpful in answering my questions while I was building. I thought about adding carbon to the wing and making other mods, but finally decided to keep it simple and build it per the instructions. The wing is strong enough to handle a winch launch, but I try be light on the pedal.