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Author Topic: Tigercat  (Read 26479 times)

Offline david smith

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Tigercat
« on: August 16, 2016, 07:06:15 PM »
Eric I didn't want to hijack Kens thread so I figured I would start a new one about the Tigercat. I am very interested to see what you come up with Eric. The Tigercat is something that I have always wanted to build and have it be successful. I have built the Brodak version and it was ok but needs some serious modifications to get it better, so many that you might as well start from scratch. I have started 3 others but never finished due to changing my mind early on in the build. I have one of your Corsairs started and the plans for your Seafire but I would drop everything to do a Tigercat. I have a profile Tigercat that came from a guy in Texas that flies really good the only problems I have had has been more of equipment issues with engine runs then tank size too small but you should solve some of that with going electric. There are some pics of my Tigercat here http://stunthanger.com/smf/carrier/pics-from-the-polk-city-contest/ Any ways looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Offline john vlna

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2016, 08:59:31 PM »
 If anyone is looking for a good light weight plan for a profile model the Bob Adair design published in FM (60's) is available from the AMA. I built one back then, not for carrier but a good flyer, 44" wing. Quite suitable for carrier. Look under T for Tigercat
John

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2016, 10:43:24 AM »
     Hi David, don't stop building yet, the closer I get to starting the F7F more questions pop up as you have found in your endeavors with this plane. I have started cutting some of the maple parts and have made the rib blanks so I can start the wing so I'm still headed in the right direction. If your are building the F2G1 Super Corsair it is a really nice plane, fast, easy to fly, good LS, looks great from inside or outside the circle, but it is a little more trouble to build. I drew those plans and completed them as I built the plane so the plans are exactly like the plane I built if its the F2G1 (super corsair). The Seafire is another nice plane and I would have gone with it over the years but the wing is more work than I like to do and I figured no one else would ever build one although not many people have built the much simpler 109T which gives the most bang for the work you put in on it.
     I will post some pictures of the F7F which may turn out to be how not to build a F7F if you value your time. I've chosen the Cobra 2221/10 with a KV of 1500 for the motors turning APC 8/6EP props, power will be TP-4400mah 4S 70C battery through one Cobra 100+ ESC. As always this is pushing over their prescribed limits but that is the only way to get the performance up to par. The plane will be right up to the 3.5 pound limit (or over) so will not be a top performer. Maybe a 70+ HS and a pretty fair LS if there is enough battery left to stay up until the end of the flight. Right now I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out where to put the ESC and then how to get to it from the battery and then how to get from the ESC to both motors and keep it simple and serviceable so it doesn't take 30 min to change the battery out. A lot of if, ands, or buts there.
Eric

Offline wwwarbird

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2016, 09:38:25 PM »
Narrowly averting disaster since 1964! 

Wayne Willey
Albert Lea, MN U.S.A. IC C/L Aircraft Modeler, Ex AMA member

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2016, 11:26:38 AM »
     Actually I scaled up a 3 view from Aircraft Number 79 squadron/signal publications to come up with what I have so far in this project. First I played with the 3-view until I had it where it would be a 1/4" to the inch and then made a copy over paper with 1/4" squares. Then I transcribed that to paper with 1" squares. Then I chopped, channeled, shortened, and what ever else I could do to it, trying to get the movements I wanted to end up with. In profile carrier you are allowed quite a bit of latitude in how close the plane is to actual scale. I'll add a picture of the plans but they will surely change before this is ever completed.
Eric

Offline david smith

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2016, 08:53:07 PM »
Are you planning on having any kind of dihedral. This has got me building in my head again and I remembered seeing an article that Bill Melton did about his guardian.  He put dihedral in to keep the controls internal until about halfway out the inboard wing where the leadouts came out and through the slider.  I was thinking that this might be easier to do now that you can use a 2 line bellcrank and 2.4 so no more crazy linkages for throttles and with the twin idea it needs to stay as clean (aero) as possible.

Offline david smith

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2016, 08:58:20 PM »
I just realized that you said you enlarged a 3view from a squadron signals book. I think that was the same one I used one time and I'm sure you have changed yours enough that it won't matter but I had started working on a fuse from the 3 views then went to the wing and realized that the side view of the fuse was bigger than the top view and if I would have tried to match the side view the wing was like 3 inches over 44 (it was for a class 2).

Offline bill bischoff

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2016, 09:43:02 PM »
Eric, the way I read it, you are planning to use one ESC to run both motors. You can't do that with brushless motors, only brushed motors. For brushless, you need a separate ESC for each motor. You CAN parallel them with a Y-harness into the throttle channel on the receiver.

If my interpretation is incorrect and you know this already..... "Well, that's very different. Never mind"*


(*A 40 year old SNL reference, for you youngsters)

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2016, 10:24:08 AM »
     Well shucks Bill, I sure didn't want to know that but thanks for bringing it to my attention. Now I'm wondering why. The next size down is a 60+ in the Cobra line and is very close to the same size as the 100+. I have no need (or time and brains) to have telemetering so I'll have to think this one over. David, I build my wings on a jig mounted on a flat board so my wings are flat on the top with dihedral on the bottom. I added 1.5" more cord from the root to the tip of the wing (41"span). I noticed the plane did look a little long so I shortened it by 2" between the TE and tail. Lets face it, this plane (the real one) is one of the nicest looking twin engine fighters ever, which just makes it a bigger challenge to build and compete with. I'm still engaged in trying to get this project off the ground, but it is becoming all to familiar with several previous starts that I gave up on. I'll post some pictures for comments in a day or so.
Eric

Offline Mike Anderson

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2016, 12:07:29 PM »
     Well shucks Bill, I sure didn't want to know that but thanks for bringing it to my attention. Now I'm wondering why. ....

The reason is that the timing of the pulses sent by the ESC to the motor windings depend on the angular relationship of the windings to the magnets as the drum rotates - the ESC needs to monitor the windings so it knows WHEN to pulse and which windings to pulse.  IF you have a 2nd motor hooked up the ESC will be getting two sets of 'feedback' pulses that are not in sync and would be very confusing for the ESC.  That is the 'Super-simplified' explanation - take my word for it, you really don't want any more detail than that.
Mike@   AMA 10086
Central Iowa

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2016, 10:22:07 AM »
     Thanks Mike, and I sort of get it and your right I don't want to know anymore. I'm attaching a couple of pictures of an F7F flown by JanO over in Europe for the last several years. He has done very well with this plane in their BCD event all over Europe and these are the most resent pictures of it after making contact with the deck during a contest. After watching this plane over the years I finally decided to try one again.
     I have ordered a couple of 40A+ ESCs and will decide whether to put them in the fuselage or up in the wing. I'm using Spectrum electrics and was trying to find a very small rec so thought I had found one. They gave "no" measurement of its physical size even though they said it was small to fit in tight places, so I called them and asked it size. They told me no one ever asks them that question and they don't know. Well they have always provided that info up until now so......... Anyway I found a JR that would work but they are on back order which means on the next boat from China a very different rec will arrive to take its place or not. Anyway-------
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2016, 11:00:17 AM »
     Daaa
Eric

Offline Russell Shaffer

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2016, 11:46:25 AM »
Eric, I have one of these and they do give the measurements.  Heads Up is very good to deal with and super fast and cheap shipping. 

http://www.headsuphobby.com/Power-Up-RD410-24GHz-DSM2DSMX-Compatible-4-Channel-Receiver-v20_p_1070.html
Russell Shaffer
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Just North of the California border

Offline Jim Dincau

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2016, 12:11:44 PM »
Here are the plans for Odeyn's Tigercat
Unless it's crazy, ambitious and delusional, it's not worth our time.

Offline Mike Anderson

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2016, 01:48:19 PM »
It took me a while to find it, but here is a poor quality photo of a Tigercat I built in the mid-80's.  It was 44 inch span (the limit back then) & about 320 sq. in. I used a Conquest .15 and a Veco .19bb.  It had a line slider, dihedral and the controls were in the wing.  Not very fast (70 - 75) but the one time I entered it in competition, the wind was howling straight down the deck by the time I flew.  The plane would balloon a huge jump as I approached, and I would end up diving for the deck.  I took 8 passes that missed all the wires, before I finally got it down for a landing.  Thanks to the tricycle gear, I got a 60 point landing on the 9th.

David's dad, Brett, had a Class 2 AJ Savage, and he and I used to fly two up demo flights, formation flying and simultaneous 'touch and go's.  


edit:  span of 40 was a typo -- corrected to 44
« Last Edit: August 21, 2016, 11:29:02 AM by Mike Anderson »
Mike@   AMA 10086
Central Iowa

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #15 on: August 20, 2016, 01:52:50 PM »
     Jim, thanks for posting JanO's plans for his plane. Looks very straight forward in how it is built, I'm surprised it held up so well in the crash having split the ply deck and all. Then what looks like a speedy and well repaired plane. I love it's battered looks, yet it is still very functional and ready to go again.
     Russell, the rec I would like to get has the plug ins straight out one of the small ends. That way the rec can be built about 3/8" thick, 5/8" wide, and an 1" long. That I could just slide it in anywhere I had 1/2"by 3/4"by 1-3/4" space, like in one the wing bays, between the spars, inside the almost 3/4" thick fuselage or just stick it one the side of the plane, or where ever for that matter. The one you show a very small box rec but the plugs are out the top so when you plug in the ESC, or a servo, that all sticks out the top which then makes it to big. Oh well.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #16 on: August 23, 2016, 11:18:29 AM »
     Here are a couple of pictures, one shows how the 3-view is enlarged to any scale using the squares on the paper (this plane is built 1/4" to 1"). The other is of one of the nacelle's and how it attaches to the wing + one of the motor mounts that attaches to the maple part of the nacelle. After looking at JanO's plane and how the motors are attached I'm thinking of changing the way I might mount mine. I find it interesting that during his horrific crash on the deck the motors broke away from the wing without damaging the wing itself. With the setup I show in the attached picture I may not be so lucky because the maple might break off of the wing but when doing that, some of the wing will leave with it (not good).
     I'm waiting for the two 40A+ ESC's to arrive so I can then find a place to put them. I'm looking at placing both of them side by side in the first wing bay on the outside wing along with the rec.. That way I can keep the battery wire runs to the ESC's short which I learned long ago is a good thing.
Eric

Offline Jim Dincau

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #17 on: August 23, 2016, 01:26:01 PM »
That is a neat motor mount, I am going to copy that.
Unless it's crazy, ambitious and delusional, it's not worth our time.

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #18 on: August 27, 2016, 11:27:41 AM »
     After breaking a couple of wooden glued in motor mounts I switched to this type of mounting. It began when I converted one of my planes to electric and to mount the motor I made an aluminum mount and bolted it to the lower engine bearer while removing the upper engine bearer. A peace of 2" aluminum angle, hack saw, drill press, belt sander, and elbow grease.
     Here is the latest picture of the F7F. Don't get all put out by the way I mounted the gear, I'm desperately trying to save weight because I will be lucky to come in below 3.5 pounds with this plane, (I think) so for this plane it has to be this way. I don't think it will be very noticeable while in the air and while on the ground tall grass may do the trick. It already weights one pound 7 ounces which the battery is 1 pound/1oz, love those big ass batteries. As it sits in these pictures it is 5/8" lower than it should be so a little bending of the gears will take care of that.
     I'll start on the wing jig now and hope I cant start the wing by the end of next week, it takes longer to build the jig than to build the wing but they seem to strait (as the jig anyway).
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #19 on: September 03, 2016, 01:09:06 PM »
     A little up date. Man this week has gone by fast, I'm still on Tuesday and here it is Saturday. Needless to say I dint get as far along as I thought I would with the wing jig so now maybe I'll get started on the wing its self by next weekend. I did build a box for the B/A battery so as long as I have line tension the battery will stay in the plane. It is made of 1/32 ply so the weight of the battery on landing or centrifugal force while flying wont break it. I need to get the nose and after body shaped up some more so it will start looking more like a Tigercat. Hopefully it will be further along by next weekend.
Eric

Offline bill bischoff

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #20 on: September 06, 2016, 07:02:51 AM »
I sure hope you're going to use those bright orange wheels!

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #21 on: September 06, 2016, 10:07:04 AM »
     I don't know Bill, sense I posted the pictures with the orange wheels it seems the enthusiasm has faded away. I'm thinking its because of the way I mounted the mains to the fuselage instead of the to the nacelles. I'm afraid that with the way we crab in for our landings it might wipe the nacelles off the wing. If it comes in well below 56oz I might then think about attaching the gear to the nacelles. I have used those orange wheels a lot during my "builds", not so much in the finished planes although I cart them along when I go to contest in case I loose a wheel and cant find it.
     Do you know if Bill Melton made a Seahornet for carrier one time? I think I remember seeing a picture of it during his estate sale of his planes, cant remember whether it as a profile or a scale carrier plane.
Eric

Offline bill bischoff

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #22 on: September 06, 2016, 08:12:44 PM »
Here's an idea for your main gear. Make them "torsion bar" style, like the Brodak profile Guardian. Mount them both on the right side of the nacelles. That way they will flex to the outside instead of wrenching the nacelles loose. Should work...(?)

Don't know anything about the Melton Sea Hornet. That's probably a question for Pete or Bill Calkins.

Offline BillCalkins

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #23 on: September 07, 2016, 03:59:30 PM »
I have Bill's Sea Hornet, it is right at the max weight of 4 pounds and is a Class II. Ted Kraver bought it and sent it to me. Someday it will fly.
Bill

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #24 on: September 08, 2016, 10:36:09 AM »
     Thanks for jumping in here Bill. I wasn't sure it was a Seahornet but do remember it looked really cool.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #25 on: September 26, 2016, 01:12:18 PM »
     Finally got some more done on the Tigercat. The darn wing jig took me a couple of weeks of an hour here and a hour there and then when ever, much easier to start the jig and get it done over a 2 day period. The fuselage looks a little more like a plane now and when the tail goes on it should look pretty good. Whats hard for me is I don't like to see wires and "thingies" all over the place, worms and wort's. Course when you hide these things inside of a wing or fuselage then you have to make a bunch of little doors or hatches so you can get into the thingies you have hidden, strange I never thought about anything like that with IC planes?
     The last 2 pictures are why the plane has lagged in getting done. I thought I was doing the praying mattes a favor bringing her into the house (cold mornings) and then decided she was starving to death so I took her back out side where she had been. Where she had been was on a bag of dog stuff where I discovered she had been catching the flies and eating them. The other picture is a Monarch larva that my daughter brought over for me look after. When it is in the "J" position it means that it is about to change to a Pupa (Chrysalis) where they emerge 10-14 days later as a Monarch butter fly. This has been a bad year for the Monarch's here and this one didn't make it either. Oh well.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #26 on: October 18, 2016, 01:11:22 PM »
     Hey, I'm still working on the F7F is just kind of in a boring place at this stage of the build. I'm using the jig and getting things done slowly but surely, the fun will begin when I start placing all of the stuff that actually make the plane fly. I've been slow because I've had a few contest to go to and it seems that I have to keep playing with the bearing in my electric motors (damn), so here are some more pictures of a little progress.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #27 on: October 18, 2016, 01:21:17 PM »
     More pictures, installing the cap to the trailing edge. I like this type of trailing edge, strait, strong, light, and a paint in the rear to build but worth it.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2016, 10:49:21 AM »
     I have been working right along on this project although things have slowed down because I'm at the place where I have to find room for all the stuff I want to be under the sheeting not out in the open. I'm starting to do a little covering with UltraCote Corsair blue which is a very dark blue. I like to cover things while they are still in small units and then glue them all together plus all the glue finger prints added in (darn it). This is turning out to be a big unwieldy plane like a biplane or twin in my book which makes everything a little more difficult to do. Added pictures to show some progress and am having fun on the build still while waiting for wire and other stuff to arrive from China (damn).
Eric

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #29 on: November 01, 2016, 12:06:52 PM »
Very interesting.  Keep it coming. H^^
John E. "DOC" Holliday
10421 West 56th Terrace
Shawnee, KANSAS  66203
AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #30 on: November 11, 2016, 12:39:59 PM »
     Got a little more done. Installed the wire from the ESC's to the locations for the motors, had to do this before I closed the wing up anymore. Sheeted the top of the leading edge over the wires (wires are heavy) and now will have to slide the wing into the fuselage without pushing the wires down into the wings by accident. Glued on the 5/8"by5/8" leading edge in the wing jig and the finished with a small plane and difference size sanding blocks. The wing fits the cutout in the fuselage quite well, actually better than any plane I have built this way. Now I will cover the fuselage, add the wing tips and cover the wing, slip the whole thing together with battery, ESCs, bellcrank, receiver, and then check the balance and adjust it by moving the motors forward and back until it balances where I want it to. At that time I cant build the nessells so the plane will balance just right (famous last words).
Eric

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #31 on: November 11, 2016, 12:52:47 PM »
Looking good! Do you think you'll have it done in time for the SW regionals?

Jim

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #32 on: December 06, 2016, 12:59:13 PM »
     Sill working away on this plane. I'm thinking it takes me longer to cover a plane with iron-on than to paint it. At least I never had wrinkles after I painted something. At any rate the stabilizer is now glued to the fuselage and will soon add the  vertical stabilizer and rudder. I've removed the wing and will cover it next and then add it to the fuselage. Then install the LG, wheels, bell crank, push rod, slider, and battery. Notice I didn't mention the nacelles which I made a little long so that after "everything" was done I could slip them on the wing with the motors attached and adjust the balance by making them shorter hopefully. This could turn out to be a problem (tail heavy) with this plane. I should (shoulds will make you crazy) have installed the wing 1-1/2" further back, the F7F would have looked more like an F7F instead of looking like a Neptune, oh well to late now.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #33 on: December 15, 2016, 02:42:44 PM »
     Finally finished enough stuff to put it all together to see how it would look and where it balances. Now all I have to do is build another fuselage with a very long nose and try that balance thing over again. I was off by more than a little. The weight is so close to being over that there is no way it would ever work without a total redesign, it weighs 3 pounds 7 oz and I'm allowed 3pd/8oz. My AMA e-Profile weighs 3pd/3oz ready to go (single motor) and has twice the motor mass plus another battery cell. This is sort of like building a twine engine airplane (F7F) and expecting it to weigh no more than a single engine airplane (F8F) does insanity ring a bell? Oh well, I'm not done yet, thinking of building a different fuselage and see if I can lighten it up some, move the wing back, and make the nose longer (two different procedure's) then see where I'm at with the balance.
Eric

Offline BillCalkins

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #34 on: December 18, 2016, 02:38:35 PM »
Ouch,
Sounds like what I went through when I tried to build a Sea Mosquito.
Wing with fuel tanks, 2 Webra 32 GT engines, tail and rudder left me 1.5 ounces to build the fuselage.
I may try that again with electric.

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #35 on: December 19, 2016, 09:44:47 AM »
     Well Bill I don't know if I will tackle another twin. I've decided to build a whole new fuselage in an attempt to lower the weight a couple of ounces on this one. Lets see, I started out with a F7F which began to look more like a P2V and now will build a whole new fuselage that will look sort of like a Aero Commander with a hook? It is extremely hard to lighten a fuselage a couple of ounces when your working with balsa wood. Now if we were talking about cutting the weight of the battery then 2 ounces would be easy, then all you would have to do is pick HS or LS because you could only do one or the other. Oh well, I keep telling myself it will be fun to fly the F7F/Aero Commander/Twin.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #36 on: December 28, 2016, 01:04:27 PM »
     Here is the beginnings of the new and improved fuselage (just maybe it will balance now). The battery can now be moved entirely in front of the leading edge of the wing, 5" further forward than the old position. The tail assembly is moved 2" forward from the old position. This fuselage uses a back bone of 1/8"/3/8" spruce and will be sheeted with 3/32" balsa on both sides with the exception of where the battery is carried and it will be 3/32" bass wood on the outer side of the fuselage. The previous fuselage had a backbone of 1/8/1/2" spruce and 3/32" balsa sheeting. I'm hoping this will fix both the tail heavy condition and the possible over weight problem.
Eric

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #37 on: December 29, 2016, 11:00:05 AM »
Looks like a winner in the making. 
John E. "DOC" Holliday
10421 West 56th Terrace
Shawnee, KANSAS  66203
AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #38 on: January 16, 2017, 11:52:42 AM »
     Well. So I have made some head way on the F7. Sat around starring at the fuselage for a couple of weeks wondering if I could sheet the entire side of the fuselage without the glue setting up or the sheet not quite in the right place and having the glue set up so cut the sheet in half and wala got it on one side OK. Could have used slow CA but didn't have any and didn't want to order it and wait around for it to arrive, like I have to hurry a build in the middle of winter. So I have attached some pictures of where the fuselage is now. I will cover the other side now and shape, sand, and cover with dark blue UltraCote. Then I'll slip the wing into the new fuselage and mount the two motors and see how it balances.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #39 on: February 20, 2017, 01:56:20 PM »
     Finally finished the new fuselage. I've attached a picture of the old fuselage along with the new one. The new fuselage weighs 5.3oz verses the old one that weighed 6.6oz. The new fuselage is at the bottom of the picture. So in the grand scheme of things I will still be worrying about the weight. When the for fun battery weighs 12.6oz (TP4400-3SR70) and the one that would make this plane almost competitive weighs 16.5oz (TP4400-4SR70) a 1.3oz lighter fuselage dosnt do a whole lot better. I'll now start to put every thing together so I can do some testing before the North West Regional.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #40 on: March 11, 2017, 10:03:01 AM »
     Well I got quite a bit done during the last couple of weeks. Its looking a bit more like a Tigercat now, that is unless you get hung up the landing gear mains. They just turned out the price I paid trying to keep the weight down. It weighs around 51.5oz so I hope to end up with 3oz left over so I can use a 3S 5000 70C battery instead of the 3S 4400 70C battery that is in it now. I don't look for it to be a high performing AMA e-Profile but hope it will be one that enjoyable to watch. I still have to some tuning of the ESCs even before I can fly it. Oh, and another thing is I'm waiting on some music wire and carbon tubing so I can finish the elevator control system. So I will be reporting some more on the build as I get it in the air. Only 2 pictures because I shot these with more pixels so can only attach two.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #41 on: March 11, 2017, 10:06:34 AM »
    Oh my.
Eric

Offline Bob Heywood

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #42 on: March 11, 2017, 05:04:17 PM »
Very nice...!!!
"Clockwise Forever..."

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #43 on: June 14, 2017, 01:14:39 PM »
     I finally got a chance to fly the F7 this AM and everything went quite well. It is no barn burner in HS and in LS I didn't deploy the slider but was able to hang it anyway quite easily up to 60 degrees. It seems to go pretty slow in LS but didn't fly LS for 7 laps. I'm checking the battery and found I used 1230 mah out of the4400 mah battery not using the slider. When the slider is deployed the nose will be pointing out of the circle and I will have to use more power in that LS configuration so will approach a full flight over probably 3 or 4 more flights. Hopefully I can get those flights in on the 19th and 20th (maybe). I only have one battery for it at this time and can only charge at home and the field is a 40 mile round trip so right now just one flight a day. When I figure out what I can do with it I'll give another report.
Eric

Jim Roselle

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #44 on: June 14, 2017, 01:44:03 PM »
Very cool model...

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #45 on: July 01, 2017, 11:30:50 AM »
   Have been flying the F7F for the last 2 weeks, now have 2 5000mah and one 4400mah battery so am getting more testing done each time I go out. I have found that in flying the AMA e-profile event it takes on average around 500mah to fly the HS 7 laps and around 3200+mah to do the 7 laps of LS so that means to fly AMA I will definitely have to us a 5000mah battery. The HS in in the mid 24sec range and in the LS portion 3+ to 4 min depending on the air. Seems the scores will be in the 300s, it sure sounds sweat and flies like dream machine. Not worth all the trouble to build and fly if you want to be competitive by still enough fun to cart to a contest and be a also ran just for the fun of it.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #46 on: July 14, 2017, 10:53:31 PM »
     I found that my HS times are right around 24.20 (74mph) which is a bit low for AMA e-profile carrier so decided to work on that. I've been using Cobra 2221/10 Kv1500 motors and 3 cell batteries. The Kv1500's have always worked well for me as I was using "4" cell batteries and was turning 20K at take off. So with these 3 cell batteries and the Kv1500 motors I was getting around 15k at take off, less than I wanted. So I found that I could get Cobra 2221/8 Kv1860 motors and raise my take off rpms by quite a bit so I have been able to up my HS to 20.30 (88+mph) resulting in upping the overall scores to the 330's instead of the 315's. So I'm hoping that this will make the plane competitive in AMA e-Profile. The next contest for me is in August so will report back next month.
Eric

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #47 on: August 24, 2017, 11:43:13 AM »
     Went down to the KOTRC contest at Wittier Narrows and flew the F7F finally in a contest. Well, things didn't go so good for me, first it was the 70 pd pull test that pretty much did in my back, then the HS laps went OK followed by the LS that didn't go well at all. When I released the lines nothing happened, and they never did release so I wasn't able to complete the flight. So if I found out what the problem was I would then have to pull test the plane all over again before I could make another flight and I wasn't up for anther 70 pd pull test so that was it.
     When I got home I found that I had turned the trim nob on the transmitter and the stirring wheel wasn't pulling the release pin far enough to release the lines from the HS location on the wing tip (damn). I had completely forgotten about the trim adjustments on the ground transmitter. Oh well, perhaps another day. I might have to just fly the 15 carrier planes because the pull test are just to much for my back to take anymore in the higher events. I would like to get Burt to fly my e-planes but he has zero desire to mess with electrics so am pretty sure that is out (maybe?).
Eric

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #48 on: August 25, 2017, 11:45:11 AM »
Sounds like weight training is in order.  VD~  I still wonder about the pull test on our models as I still remember having to pull over a hundred pounds at the Chicago NATS I 70.   My brother was on the scales as the pit boss couldn't stay in place.  I pulled my brother into the pull test area until he sat down.  I remember years ago a person who is no longer with us was going to do test on how much a plane pulls during flight.   But do you think your plane was pulling any where the 70 pound limit?  I know my Gaurdian with Mac 60 was usually pulled to 100 pounds most times when who ever was on the scales could hold them until they finally learned to anchor them.   I always thought that maybe about 25 pounds was I was actually feeling while flying high speed.   Even now my profiles never pull as much as what we have to test to.  But I need to get out and fly again.  The old Roberts Bearcat keeps looking at me.    H^^
John E. "DOC" Holliday
10421 West 56th Terrace
Shawnee, KANSAS  66203
AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline eric david conley

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Re: Tigercat
« Reply #49 on: August 25, 2017, 12:39:46 PM »
     Well John this has been a sore spot with me for a long time (around 1990 when I started flying carrier). My F7F probably pulls around 15 to 20 pd's when at HS if that much. My cl-2 plane might pull the same and I've never seen why we should pull these planes the way we do. Paul Smith said that we should use the test figures that we have now so hopefully it will eliminate some of the older flyer's that seem to dominate the events. I don't think he thought that through enough because Paul is no spring chicken as we say. So if you cant make the pull you cant fly the plane, darn. I can still fly the planes without the pull test so will do that for a while, but will build a new e-15 Seafire and just fly in that event at the contests.
Eric


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