Banchee mods'

[Terry Bolin]

Twice before (18+ years.....or so) I built two Sig Banshee kits. As I remember it: I had to add weight to the tail when using the Fox 35, Has anyone ever built one and cut some off the nose to off-set the weight of the larger engine?
Give suggestions of your experience or opinions please.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Terry Bolin
Neosho, Mo

[Tom Perry]

Terry,

I've seen the nose cut off and it works but you might like it better if you move the wing forward.

[Leester]

The instructions on the Banshee now tell you how much of the nose to cut off.

[Bill Little]

The instructions on the Banshee now tell you how much of the nose to cut off.

Hmmmmm......... I didn't know that! 

I would maybe be tempted to do as Tom said and move the wing forward to lengthen the tail moment a touch along with chopping off the nose.  Of course, I might also be tempted to increase the area of the tail feathers slightly to go along with the increased tail moment............
 

Bill <><

[Clancy Arnold]

Bill
I still have the plans for the Banshee(ks) that I built years ago that Jack Sheeks marked up for me to build to.   It included cutting the nose and bigger tail feathers.  I also extended the motor mounts all the way to the wing spars and recessed eh tank in between the mounts.  Send me an E-mail if you want the dimensions.  By the way, Jack took it to the SIG contest and won with it.  He still says it was the best flying model he ever flew.
Clancy

[Dwayne]

Cut the nose 1 1/2" or move the wing forward the same amount, all depends on how much work you want to do, It's easier to cut the nose.
Good luck
dwayne

[James Lee]

Jacks' Bansheeks was a really nice flying plane!!  Remember getting whipped by it at Sig several times!!
The last one I did I built the wing per plans with the cs sheeting then sheeted the LE and added cap strips...  Added about 1/8" shickness to the wing and a better airfoil...   Actually I did carve out a lot of the first layer of cs sheeting...  Shortened the nose and lengthened the tail plus a bigger stab/elev.  With the hole precut in the fuse blank it is difficult to actually move the wing forward.  But moving the wing forward about an inch would make a better design!!  How about it Mike!!
Later    
Jim

[James Lee]

Lets see if I can post this Banshee pic....   
Elwynn Aud Photo...  I think I lost all the originals......   Ain't computers wonderful!!
Picture from Wichita in '03 I think..
Jim

[Dwayne]

Now that's a nice pic, nice looking Banshee too.
Dwayne

[Terry Bolin]

 
Thanks guys, I will takes notes and put them with the kit I bought.
I just always hate to add weight to a model if There is some thing else that we could do. If any of you others have pictures, please e-mail me a copy.
Merry Christmas!
Terry Bolin
Terrybolinracing@aol.com

[Harleyman]

I lopped about an inch off the nose and mine flys great.  Unfortunately, I found the instructions to cut off an inch or so if you are going to use a muffler, after I installed the motor mounts and plywood doublers.   
So, I only have about 4-1/2 inches of motor mounts.  That was my reason to use an FP40  vs. a Fox 35 stunt, - less vibration.  No signs of cracks after two seasons of flying.  If I had it to do over again, I would add a tip weight box and adjustable leadouts.

 

[Mike Spiess]

I found that moving the wing ahead 2" works better as it adds to the tail moment.

[Leester]

If your going through the hassle of moving the wing forward 2" are you just cutting a new fusalage ? Seems like it would be easier, or is it ?

[Phil Spillman]

I flew a Banchee several years ago and had a fine time with it! As wear went along I modified the horizontal tail surfaces by increasing the overall total to be 25% of the wing area! This really improved the turn of the ship. I have had a modified fuselage on the board to go with the original wing this one to be called the "Bancheecane" since the fuse resembles a Hurricane RAF Fighter! It too will have an enlarged stab and elevator but will only be about 23% of the wing.

Back in the day, about 10 years ago, I powered this ship by a reported FP .40 and it worked quite well! Now an LA .40 should be ideal! 

[Windwalker]

I've built 3 Banshees. One for me, one for a friend and one for my daughter when she was 7 years old.. Each one had a few modifications, but all retained the "stock" moments. The only one of those three surviving today is the one my daughter has and it's closing in it's 29th birthday. On it, I used 1/16 birch ply doublers. I "hollowed out" the fuse behind the wing hingeline, installed 3/32 bulkheads (if you can call them that) at angles to the thrustline in hopes of adding some stiffness. I then sheeted the fuselage behind the ply doublers with 1/16th balsa. I increased the stab span to 21", increased the stab thickness to 1/4", and sanded a slight airfoil shape into the elevators.. I added i-beam style half ribs in all the spaces between the ribs. Lastly, I moved the landing gear wire away from the wing slot and made it sit more upright to help stop landing rebound.. It's been recovered a couple times over the years and I don't remember the final weight, but it is light enough that it's powered by an out of the box stock OS Max-S 35 and 10 X 6 Zinger wood....  Oh, one more thing, would you guys believe it still has the original Fox box wedge 4 oz tank on it?


Nick