Plane Talk: Sig Manufacturing Messerschmitt Bf 109 ARF - 2009/08

The construction is completely
built up from laser-cut balsa and
plywood. The fuselage is sheeted and
the flying surfaces feature typical
open construction.
The prepainted cowl is a thing of
beauty; it’s molded fiberglass with
numerous details (guns, exhaust
ports, intakes, etc.). The spinner and
canopy are molded plastic and come
prepainted as well. Literally all
hardware is included: wheels,
clevises, hinges, screws, pushrods,
etc.
While inspecting the parts and
manual, I found that the kit comes
mostly built and finished. There’s not
much for the builder to do, other than
a few construction steps and
installing the radio/power
systems.
Let’s start with
the wing. It comes
preassembled as a one-piece unit; all
that is left to do is install the ailerons.
The ailerons and the wing are
preslotted for the cyanocrylate-type
hinges, so this step takes only a few
minutes. Installing the servos is also a
quick job because the wing has
preinstalled strings to help pull the
aileron connectors through the wing.
The main gear comes as a fixed
variety (no retract options either). I
decided to use the gear for ROG
Construction: I won’t go into a detailed,
step-by-step description of the Bf 109’s
construction; that’s the manual’s
purpose. However, I’ll touch on a few
things that caught my attention.
The Bf 109 comes in packaging that I
would call “standard” these days. All
parts and pieces are nicely individually
poly-bagged. Everything is well
protected, and I did find a surprise after
unpacking everything: no wrinkles.
I’ve built and reviewed a lot of ARFs
and RTFs, all of which have required
some sort of touch-up with the heat
gun; not so with this kit. The
covering is wrinkle free
and expertly applied.
THE BF 109 WAS a major player in
World War II. More than 30,000 were
built before the end of the conflict. This
mount was the favorite of many German
aces, including Erich Hartmann, Hans-
Joachim Marseille, and Adolf Galland.
The series proved to be so resilient and
robust that it was produced (in Spain
under license as “Buchons”) 10 years
after the war in Europe had concluded.
Although the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was
the best German piston-engine-powered
aircraft of WW II, the Bf 109 remains the
most famous—thanks in part to the sheer
number manufactured and the total
number of engagements in which they
were involved. This line is credited with
destroying more enemy aircraft than any
other German fighter.
Sig has introduced an
ARF version of the
legendary Bf 109,
which the company
claims is patterned after
the E-series aircraft. It
is meant for quiet electric
power and sized to use affordable electric
components, yet it is large enough to fly
realistically.
According to Sig, in an intermediate
to advanced pilot’s hands, this model is
capable of every scale maneuver that the
full-scale fighters could do—plus some.
Let’s find out!
TOM SULLIVAN
Plane Talk: Sig Manufacturing Messerschmitt Bf 109 ARF
of the WW II German fighter
Although the covering is an iron-on
type, it’s preprinted in a realistic-looking
camouflage pattern. Embedded in the
printing is a nice variety of panel lines,
hatches, etc. Although these panels are
not necessarily accurate to the full-scale
Bf 109, they do a nice job of giving this
ARF a scale look.
Taking to the air for the first time, Sig’s Bf 109E ARF proves to be a nice-flying, great-looking sport-scale model.
An
electricpowered
RC
version
52 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 6/22/09 12:25 PM Page 52
(rise-off-ground), but you can also fly
without it, for easy hand launches to
simulate retracts.
You can also install the optional
underwing scoops. I used a fair amount
of thick epoxy around their perimeter, to
make sure they would stay put during
high-speed flight. (You may want to skip
adding the scoops if you don’t install the
main gear.)
The fuselage doesn’t take much
longer to put together than the wing did.
Starting with the front, mount the motor
and speed control of your choice. I chose
a Scorpion power system from
Innov8tive Designs.
The 3014-16 outrunner motor coupled
with the Commander V2 45-amp ESC
seemed to be the perfect match for the Bf
109. Everything fit well, and the supplied
mounts and propeller adapter seemed as
though they were made for this kit.
I also have one of the X-Caliber 3S1P
packs; it was part of the system from
Scorpion. But as I found out later, the
narrow battery tray inside the Bf 109
limits the size of pack you can use. I
couldn’t use Scorpion’s and ended up
using a similar Li-Poly pack from Sig,
which was a bit narrower.
Attaching the cowl is straightforward,
and then comes the spinner. It is supplied
but isn’t what I would call standard.
The cone is a molded piece of plastic,
and the backplate is a precut lightplywood
piece. The manual has a fullsize
template you use to trim the holes
for the propeller. Then the cone is held in
place via a single bolt through the center.
Radio installation is next. The
receiver mounts to the underside of the
battery tray, and the elevator and rudder
servos mount immediately to the rear of
the tray in their own laser-cut mount.
Attaching the tail surfaces is quick,
and they went together as expected. The
stabilizer is also supported by supplied
rods that simulate the scale struts. The
holes to attach the supports are
predrilled, but the holes on the fuselage
were too far forward.
After marking where the holes should
have been, I used a 1/16-inch-diameter
drill to make the new openings. After
test-threading the screw into the hole, I
hardened the wood with a few drops of
thin cyanoacrylate.
The only real problem was with
attaching the elevator and rudder. Before
you do so, test-fit them to the model.
My review kit was one of the first
production models, so yours may (or may
not) need the following modification. On
my airplane, the rudder would hit the
elevator halves, allowing only
approximately 12°-15° of travel. This is a
design or manufacturing problem, but
there is a quick and simple solution.
Use a hobby knife to trim the inside
surfaces of the elevator halves a bit, to
widen the gap for the rudder and open
the angle.
With the control surfaces in place,
almost the only thing left is to install the
pushrods that are held in place by
setscrews.
The final detail is to affix the canopy
(which is held in place by four screws). It
attaches to the top hatch, and the
prepainted framework adds a great deal
to the Bf 109’s looks.
All finished, my ARF came in at 3
pounds, 8 ounces, with the battery in
place. The CG was a touch aft, so I added
close to 11/2 ounces of nose weight
directly behind the motor. I adjusted the
control throws to match those that the
instructions recommended and then
tested the motor.
When throttling up, the included
spinner tended to expand away from the
backplate. After a few minutes of
tinkering and taking measurements, I saw
a small crack developing. This flex could
become an issue. So I substituted a
plastic spinner from the local hobby shop
and cut a small piece off of the front
portion. (Sig’s manual includes
instructions for doing this.)
Once I resolved that, the motor
produced only roughly 260 watts of
power with the APC 11 x 5E propeller.
That was a bit less than the recommended
300-400 watts; however, since the Bf 109
was a bit lighter than specified, I decided
to go ahead with the flights with this
motor.
The total time from opening the box
to this point was two hours and 35
minutes. It’s amazing how far electricpowered
ARFs have come.
Flying: Now for the fun part! It was time
to see if Sig had captured not only the
looks, but also the flying characteristics
of the full-scale Bf 109.
With the battery pack fully charged
and a quick preflight check completed, I
throttled up a bit for the initial taxi test.
Ground handling at low speeds is spot
on, but the model can dance around quite
a bit when accelerating to takeoff speeds.
Be careful when the tail comes off the
ground; the small rudder can be “blanked
out” by the fuselage and become less
effective.
Once in the air, the Bf 109 is a lively
warbird. It took a significant amount of
aileron trim to keep the wings level, but
the rudder and elevator required only small
adjustments.
This airplane responds well to all
controls and was easy to fly with close to
75% power. With a 300- to 400-watt
power system, you could probably throttle
safely back to 50%.
The Bf 109 handles similarly to any
sport model. It tracks straight and true and
is surprisingly aerobatic for its size. I have
no problem landing it, either. It settles
down and can even handle a spot of rough
grass on the rollout.
Sig’s Bf 109 ARF is an excellent little
electric warbird. The large amount of
prebuilt parts makes assembly speedy. The
preprinted and prepainted parts are
effective in presenting a great “scale”
look.
Although this model is too large to fall
into AMA’s Park Pilot Program
membership category, it is small enough to
fly on larger fields with no problem. MA
Tom Sullivan
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Sig Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Box 520
Montezuma IA 50171
(641) 623-5154
www.sigmfg.com
Items Used in Review:
Scorpion products:
Innov8tive Designs
(760) 468-8838
www.innov8tivedesigns.com
Batteries:
Sig Manufacturing Company
(641) 623-5154
www.sigmfg.com
JR radio system:
Horizon Hobby Distributors
(800) 338-4639
www.horizonhobby.com
APC propeller:
Landing Products
(530) 661-0399
www.apcprop.com
Other Published Reviews:
Fly RC: May 2009

The construction is completely
built up from laser-cut balsa and
plywood. The fuselage is sheeted and
the flying surfaces feature typical
open construction.
The prepainted cowl is a thing of
beauty; it’s molded fiberglass with
numerous details (guns, exhaust
ports, intakes, etc.). The spinner and
canopy are molded plastic and come
prepainted as well. Literally all
hardware is included: wheels,
clevises, hinges, screws, pushrods,
etc.
While inspecting the parts and
manual, I found that the kit comes
mostly built and finished. There’s not
much for the builder to do, other than
a few construction steps and
installing the radio/power
systems.
Let’s start with
the wing. It comes
preassembled as a one-piece unit; all
that is left to do is install the ailerons.
The ailerons and the wing are
preslotted for the cyanocrylate-type
hinges, so this step takes only a few
minutes. Installing the servos is also a
quick job because the wing has
preinstalled strings to help pull the
aileron connectors through the wing.
The main gear comes as a fixed
variety (no retract options either). I
decided to use the gear for ROG
Construction: I won’t go into a detailed,
step-by-step description of the Bf 109’s
construction; that’s the manual’s
purpose. However, I’ll touch on a few
things that caught my attention.
The Bf 109 comes in packaging that I
would call “standard” these days. All
parts and pieces are nicely individually
poly-bagged. Everything is well
protected, and I did find a surprise after
unpacking everything: no wrinkles.
I’ve built and reviewed a lot of ARFs
and RTFs, all of which have required
some sort of touch-up with the heat
gun; not so with this kit. The
covering is wrinkle free
and expertly applied.
THE BF 109 WAS a major player in
World War II. More than 30,000 were
built before the end of the conflict. This
mount was the favorite of many German
aces, including Erich Hartmann, Hans-
Joachim Marseille, and Adolf Galland.
The series proved to be so resilient and
robust that it was produced (in Spain
under license as “Buchons”) 10 years
after the war in Europe had concluded.
Although the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was
the best German piston-engine-powered
aircraft of WW II, the Bf 109 remains the
most famous—thanks in part to the sheer
number manufactured and the total
number of engagements in which they
were involved. This line is credited with
destroying more enemy aircraft than any
other German fighter.
Sig has introduced an
ARF version of the
legendary Bf 109,
which the company
claims is patterned after
the E-series aircraft. It
is meant for quiet electric
power and sized to use affordable electric
components, yet it is large enough to fly
realistically.
According to Sig, in an intermediate
to advanced pilot’s hands, this model is
capable of every scale maneuver that the
full-scale fighters could do—plus some.
Let’s find out!
TOM SULLIVAN
Plane Talk: Sig Manufacturing Messerschmitt Bf 109 ARF
of the WW II German fighter
Although the covering is an iron-on
type, it’s preprinted in a realistic-looking
camouflage pattern. Embedded in the
printing is a nice variety of panel lines,
hatches, etc. Although these panels are
not necessarily accurate to the full-scale
Bf 109, they do a nice job of giving this
ARF a scale look.
Taking to the air for the first time, Sig’s Bf 109E ARF proves to be a nice-flying, great-looking sport-scale model.
An
electricpowered
RC
version
52 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 6/22/09 12:25 PM Page 52
(rise-off-ground), but you can also fly
without it, for easy hand launches to
simulate retracts.
You can also install the optional
underwing scoops. I used a fair amount
of thick epoxy around their perimeter, to
make sure they would stay put during
high-speed flight. (You may want to skip
adding the scoops if you don’t install the
main gear.)
The fuselage doesn’t take much
longer to put together than the wing did.
Starting with the front, mount the motor
and speed control of your choice. I chose
a Scorpion power system from
Innov8tive Designs.
The 3014-16 outrunner motor coupled
with the Commander V2 45-amp ESC
seemed to be the perfect match for the Bf
109. Everything fit well, and the supplied
mounts and propeller adapter seemed as
though they were made for this kit.
I also have one of the X-Caliber 3S1P
packs; it was part of the system from
Scorpion. But as I found out later, the
narrow battery tray inside the Bf 109
limits the size of pack you can use. I
couldn’t use Scorpion’s and ended up
using a similar Li-Poly pack from Sig,
which was a bit narrower.
Attaching the cowl is straightforward,
and then comes the spinner. It is supplied
but isn’t what I would call standard.
The cone is a molded piece of plastic,
and the backplate is a precut lightplywood
piece. The manual has a fullsize
template you use to trim the holes
for the propeller. Then the cone is held in
place via a single bolt through the center.
Radio installation is next. The
receiver mounts to the underside of the
battery tray, and the elevator and rudder
servos mount immediately to the rear of
the tray in their own laser-cut mount.
Attaching the tail surfaces is quick,
and they went together as expected. The
stabilizer is also supported by supplied
rods that simulate the scale struts. The
holes to attach the supports are
predrilled, but the holes on the fuselage
were too far forward.
After marking where the holes should
have been, I used a 1/16-inch-diameter
drill to make the new openings. After
test-threading the screw into the hole, I
hardened the wood with a few drops of
thin cyanoacrylate.
The only real problem was with
attaching the elevator and rudder. Before
you do so, test-fit them to the model.
My review kit was one of the first
production models, so yours may (or may
not) need the following modification. On
my airplane, the rudder would hit the
elevator halves, allowing only
approximately 12°-15° of travel. This is a
design or manufacturing problem, but
there is a quick and simple solution.
Use a hobby knife to trim the inside
surfaces of the elevator halves a bit, to
widen the gap for the rudder and open
the angle.
With the control surfaces in place,
almost the only thing left is to install the
pushrods that are held in place by
setscrews.
The final detail is to affix the canopy
(which is held in place by four screws). It
attaches to the top hatch, and the
prepainted framework adds a great deal
to the Bf 109’s looks.
All finished, my ARF came in at 3
pounds, 8 ounces, with the battery in
place. The CG was a touch aft, so I added
close to 11/2 ounces of nose weight
directly behind the motor. I adjusted the
control throws to match those that the
instructions recommended and then
tested the motor.
When throttling up, the included
spinner tended to expand away from the
backplate. After a few minutes of
tinkering and taking measurements, I saw
a small crack developing. This flex could
become an issue. So I substituted a
plastic spinner from the local hobby shop
and cut a small piece off of the front
portion. (Sig’s manual includes
instructions for doing this.)
Once I resolved that, the motor
produced only roughly 260 watts of
power with the APC 11 x 5E propeller.
That was a bit less than the recommended
300-400 watts; however, since the Bf 109
was a bit lighter than specified, I decided
to go ahead with the flights with this
motor.
The total time from opening the box
to this point was two hours and 35
minutes. It’s amazing how far electricpowered
ARFs have come.
Flying: Now for the fun part! It was time
to see if Sig had captured not only the
looks, but also the flying characteristics
of the full-scale Bf 109.
With the battery pack fully charged
and a quick preflight check completed, I
throttled up a bit for the initial taxi test.
Ground handling at low speeds is spot
on, but the model can dance around quite
a bit when accelerating to takeoff speeds.
Be careful when the tail comes off the
ground; the small rudder can be “blanked
out” by the fuselage and become less
effective.
Once in the air, the Bf 109 is a lively
warbird. It took a significant amount of
aileron trim to keep the wings level, but
the rudder and elevator required only small
adjustments.
This airplane responds well to all
controls and was easy to fly with close to
75% power. With a 300- to 400-watt
power system, you could probably throttle
safely back to 50%.
The Bf 109 handles similarly to any
sport model. It tracks straight and true and
is surprisingly aerobatic for its size. I have
no problem landing it, either. It settles
down and can even handle a spot of rough
grass on the rollout.
Sig’s Bf 109 ARF is an excellent little
electric warbird. The large amount of
prebuilt parts makes assembly speedy. The
preprinted and prepainted parts are
effective in presenting a great “scale”
look.
Although this model is too large to fall
into AMA’s Park Pilot Program
membership category, it is small enough to
fly on larger fields with no problem. MA
Tom Sullivan
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Sig Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Box 520
Montezuma IA 50171
(641) 623-5154
www.sigmfg.com
Items Used in Review:
Scorpion products:
Innov8tive Designs
(760) 468-8838
www.innov8tivedesigns.com
Batteries:
Sig Manufacturing Company
(641) 623-5154
www.sigmfg.com
JR radio system:
Horizon Hobby Distributors
(800) 338-4639
www.horizonhobby.com
APC propeller:
Landing Products
(530) 661-0399
www.apcprop.com
Other Published Reviews:
Fly RC: May 2009