Craigslist Special Sig Banshee

[Mark Misegadis]

Craigslist Special Sig Banshee

 My neighbor and I picked up some Craigslist specials that had been listed for a year here.  A Banshee, Twister and Tutor. We have been flying them and having fun after some basic clean up and maintenance.  They are well built but ratty on the finishing.

I am going to do some covering replacement as the plane had been through an inverted landing with the previous owner and has patches that are a different color. I helped this along with a tick of a tree branch the other day so I will make a little project of it.

This led me to searching for articles on Banshee mods. There are numerous references to shortening the nose that are not very well quantified.  To sum up what I have read. “Lop an inch.. 1 ˝ or 2” off of the nose”   The engine sticks out oddly on the nose on these planes to start with so I am assuming that folks are just talking about how far back they are making the cut out for the crankcase Deeper vs the stock position.  UNLESS.. they are saying.. lop that off of the nose and then make your cut out and install your mounts. If someone could clear this up for me I might go ahead and make this change also.
  
Method: I have my own ideas on how to do a Nose Job considering the doublers and new motor  mounts.  What have the rest of you done when modifying  a completed plane in this area? How did you go about this surgery?

I’ll probably fly it for another couple of weeks prior to making the changes.

Mark

[Tim Wescott]

Well, the last time I solved that problem my solution was deemed a bit extreme:

http://stunthanger.com/smf/index.php?topic=22001.0

If you just want to move the motor back (and assuming that the bearers are there to do it), why not just hack the notch back deeper and drill new holes?

I would move the motor if the CG isn't right.  If the CG is spot on, then I'd extend the nose of the fuselage with balsa -- it wouldn't be crash resistant, but you wouldn't find yourself bogging the thing down with lead in the nose.

[steven yampolsky]

This led me to searching for articles on Banshee mods. There are numerous references to shortening the nose that are not very well quantified.  To sum up what I have read. “Lop an inch.. 1 ˝ or 2” off of the nose”   The engine sticks out oddly on the nose on these planes to start with so I am assuming that folks are just talking about how far back they are making the cut out for the crankcase Deeper vs the stock position.  UNLESS.. they are saying.. lop that off of the nose and then make your cut out and install your mounts. If someone could clear this up for me I might go ahead and make this change also.

Make a copy of the fuselage. Just retrace the shape but move the wing cut out 1" forward. This will fix most issues and is easy to do.

[Garf]

If the plane uses tail weight to balance, note the CG, remove the weight, move the engine back far enough to balance where it was before, then drill holes and mount it. Cut the opening as far back as needed. Remove as much from the nose as needed to clear prop. Allow for weight of prop, spinner, and muffler.

[Jeff Traxler]

Clancy Arnold wrote an article in a recent issue of CLW that has all the mods that Jack Sheeks suggested for the Banshee.It's called a Bansheek.I am working on 3 of them.2 Electric and a gasser so I can remember why I switched.It is supposed rto perform well.Trax

[Dennis Moritz]

Check the moments on a Fancherized Twister. Duplicate the nose moment. Check the nose moment of the Twister that you have. That would probably put you in the right area. Twisters and Banshees share a similar wing. The nose moment on the Twister works better. Twisters fly well stock, if they are trimmed well. Since you are working with a plane that has already been built, moving the wing forward would probably mean cutting a new fues. On a plane in the condition that you describe, cutting back the nose would probably be the way to go. If the doublers aren't on their tightly, pry them off, relocate the engine, put in new beams, clamp the front end with new 1/8" five ply. Depends how far you want to get into this.

On the other hand a number of years back, I saw a club member put in a very creditable flight with a stock Banshee in Intermediate at Brodak. Winning in profile. No mean feat. Usually 30 folks or so duke it out in this event at the Big B.

[Clancy Arnold]

Mark
In my article about the mods that Jack Sheeks recommended on the SIG Banshee. The first one was to shorten the nose 3/4 inch and enlarge the engine cutout the same amount.  This allows the engine to be mounted 3/4 inch closer to the wing.  The second item was to increase the tail area.  Jack recommended going to a 22 inch span and increasing the cord to 3 inches tapering to 2 inches at the tips for both the Horizontal stab and Elevator.
Clancy

[Mark Misegadis]

Thanks for the replies on this. I don’t think there will be any way to pry off the doublers and I am for sure not going to start over with a new fuselage.. at least not until I have an issue with Sod and depth perception.

So here is what I am going to do.
 
•   New Stab, Elevator and Rudder  (Because the tail on a Banshee makes me gag)
•   Remove the stack of lead off of the tail
•   Install the new Stab, Elevator and Rudder
•   Mock the engine and tank back further on the nose and Balance the plane
•   I’ll then determine what I cut off.
•   New Aluminum landing gear

I have cut the new tail feathers and will get them ready while I am still flying this plane.
They are a more classic appearing with an increase to 20”.
(Clancy..I had them cut before I read your post about 22”)

I have also started the new landing gear.

I’ll have to get a current weight on the plane to see what the difference is when complete.

Mark

[Mark Misegadis]

Update on the Banshee.  It has been an interesting week.

Monday we flew during the evening after it had cooled off and calmed down.  I brought out the Tutor as I had not yet flown this plane.  My buddy Rich puts a nice flight on the Twister from the craigslist special stable. We are trying a new Fuel Mix for the FPs and it went reasonably well.  Rich is wearing his GoPro camera on a head mounted strap to get some video from inside the circle.  After his flight we switch out the planes on the field and fire up the Tutor. It has a funny harmonic vibration that we attribute to the plane but go ahead and launch it. I’m up spinning laps feeling out the plane and a new handle I dug up.

I start doing some wingovers and pulling up right when I am lined up with Rich as he is still wearing the GoPro. They go well until the 3rd one and then….. the inboard flap hinges let go.  Upppa - Downa...and WHACK. I fought it as for some reason I thought it was the outboard flap but on the video you can see that it’s the inboard if you stop it and review.  I have to admit the noises your flying buddy makes with you lawn dart one in are funny.  We clean up the yard sale and Rich goes out for another one as its getting dark. Interestingly enough he had a Bat strike the lines during that flight.
On the Following Day we go out again. I bring the Banshee this time. Rich flies and old P-40.

I’m up next in the Banshee for around the 10th flight since I purchased it. I put on a new set of lines and we do a pull test to make sure everything is good and neutral.   Up we go.  I’m having a good ole time.. pull off a couple of loops that don’t look as hideous as the last one I performed last week.. all is good.

Then I feel a POP and think to myself…..”Not again!”  Line failure it appears..I do three tight loops getting progressively closer to the ground and on the last one at the bottom as I am setting this all up…I run forward and belly flop the Banshee into the ground.  The plane is in good shape with nothing broken.. some very splayed landing gear and the down leadout pulled out all the way up to the wing tip.
One heck of a way to accelerate the work on the Banshee.  Today the Banshee is stripped of most of the MonoKote  where in some places it was 3 to 4 layers thick! The tail feathers and flaps have been removed and I am getting ready to operate and see what I have to work with on the bellcrank.  I was hoping to delay this little project or at least do it in stages.

Oh well it was fun while it lasted and the investment on these two birds was very little so I have no complaints.

Mark