Official FlightLine RC 1200mm F8F-1 Bearcat Thread

[Grossman56]

Oh what a circus!!!!
Just throw a flying Tiger in there!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Those water based poly-U's are a real nice touch to these foamies when needed and Dan is always the consummate perfectionist on the paint schemes due to his artist background. By the way Tsmith........the clean bench is definitely a sign of a sick mind, can't remember the last time I saw mine looking that bare. ;)
Best regards,

Hey Charlie, one thing I want to check into if I remember next time I'm in Billings, is a clear pearl acrylic, I notice that a lot of exhaust stains have that rainbow effect, might bee cool looking.

Grossman56

[OV10]

Good thought, let us know how it works

[Grossman56]

Will, do, we're planning on heading there next weekend, we'll see, shaping up for snow outside!!

Grossman56

[flyingiceberg]

I've used Varathane on most of my planes now, having tried Minwax and found that Varathane is a bit better. You can get the same results with Minwax, just takes more layers, so....
I apply mine with a 1" foam brush and work it on width wise, then brush it length wise, front to back, once done, I'll keep an eye on in for any runs or build up and rebrush as needed. If I want to get to the next layer quickly, I'll use the hair dryer on it, on low and at a 12" distance approximately, Keeping it moving quickly. The foam will take a fair amount of heat, but hey, why chance it.
In this case, I coated it in the evening, let her sit until morning and gave it a second coat. Flew it the next day and gave her a third coat afterwards, look great with three coats.
I've tried it with an airbrush, this might be a great idea for a final coat, but I found it puts a pretty thin layer on, so it takes longer and the spray is not healthy, so maybe in a well ventilated situation, but hey, the brush works better for me. One other thing, the Varathane works great right out of the can in an airbrush, no thinning and you can use it as a glaze as well if you want to add a slight amount of color to it.
Things to watch:
Make sure your control surfaces are free after it dries.
Avoid getting it on pushrods as they can get jammed in the channels.
Same with servos, there's no need to coat them anyway.
Just remember that once its dry, its a thin coat of plastic for all intents and purposes and although it has a UV protectant, the plane is a very dark color, so avoid letting it sit in the sun, especially during those long Summer days of great flying weather we're going to have!
Ron brings up a great point as well, I now have a spare spinner and spare props for every plane in the hangar except for the Bearcat, I try to keep a minimum of two sets of prop blades for each. Going to have to get some for her as well, The incident with the P40, where I had to wait months for a new spinner taught me this lesson, for the sake of a spinner she sat from June until September, lesson learned.

Grossman56

How thick of a coat or you using? If I apply decals over the Varathane and then have to remove them will it take the paint off or does the Varathane provide a protective layer?

[Tsmith]

Just a quick update on the post varathane CG. I found that with the 3600 4S that I had on hand, the plane seemed slightly tail heavy at the recommend 85MM CG so I decided to order the 5000mah 4S Admiral Pro 60C, After a little messing around with battery movement the Bearcat seems to balance perfect with the 5000 about a quarter inch from the front. Now I just need to wait for some decent weather to maiden her. I'm dying to see what kind of flight time I end up with. Those of you with lots of flights, what are you finding is the optimal CG sweet spot?

[Alpha]

With the Admiral 4s 4000mAh pushed all the way forward, my timer is set for 7 minutes and I usually land by 8 or so.

That really is a beautiful Staggerwing, Tsmith!

[Ron1950]

I land at 9min with about 40 percent left n the 4s 4000 admiral batts but that's at about 60 percent throttle most of the flight

[crxmanpat]

I can get 12 minutes with the Zippy Compact 4S 6200 that I use. I fly it pushed all the way up against the firewall. Cat flies fine at that spot. Typically I'll fly 6 minutes, land, then fly another 6 minutes later. After 12 minutes I still have 30% left in the pack.

[Grossman56]

With the Admiral 4s 4000mAh pushed all the way forward, my timer is set for 7 minutes and I usually land by 8 or so.

Same with mine. 4000 all the way forward. I haven't upped my timer from the original 5 mins, but land and the battery is showing 71% I couldn't believe it at first, but its very consistent. I'll increase to 6 next season. It flies pretty good with the 3600's as well all the way forward, but I preferred the 4000's.
I was thinking of the 5000's as well, a little more weight around here wouldn't hurt.

Grossman56

[Tsmith]

Thanks everyone for your input and Alpha for the compliment on the Staggerwing. The sight of the Staggerwing, gear up, OS 3.00 purring at half throttle, 10 feet of the deck will never get old. I call it my weekend plane...lots of time transporting, assembling, disassembling, cleaning.

I guess what I'm hearing on the Bearcat CG is anything from a 4000 up to 6200 seems to work well with ample flight time. The 3600 seems to be the bear minimum (pun intended :shy:). I'll stick with my 5000 for now and once I'm comfortable with the plane I may experiment with my 3600s.

[Alpha]

Our good friend Callie has been Bear-y busy... she just unveiled several new decal sets for the Bearcat! Check them out at the link below.

http://callie-graphics.com/search.ph...&submit=Search


"Moonlight Affairs" and the Royal Thai Air Force markings really stand out to me.

[borntoolate]

Some great schemes! Callie did a fine job - again!

Bob

[Grossman56]

How thick of a coat or you using? If I apply decals over the Varathane and then have to remove them will it take the paint off or does the Varathane provide a protective layer?

With the foam brush its not exactly thin,although I suppose your could water it down if you wanted to. Remember that its water based anyway so when it drys/evaporates, it's going to be thinner. As for removing decals, well, have some spare paint handy just in case. I've never had a case where I've put a clear coat on and then the decals, but some planes have been great for removing tape from the original paint. When I did Old Crow, I just laid the tape on the paint, uncoated, and painted the invasion stripes on, peeled it up and the silver stock paint stayed on the plane where it belongs!
As a general rule though, paint doesn't really stick well to foam, at least not water based, although I spray bombed the yellow on Pandora 2 and it doesn't stick any better, even though she had multiple layers of Minwax on her surface before hand.

Grossman56

[AkumaZeto]

Has anyone used the 5000mah Admiral in this? Its what I use in the Sea Fury and that balances 50/50 at cg perfect.

[Beeg]

Has anyone used the 5000mah Admiral in this? Its what I use in the Sea Fury and that balances 50/50 at cg perfect.

Yes. I like the way it flies with the 5000's although a bit heavier I like the balance.

[Alpha]

I have flown the Admiral 4s 5000mAh PRO as well, with an EC5-to-Deans adapter on it. I prefer the 4s 4000, but the 5000 works too.

[Grossman56]

I agree with Alpha, although I haven't tried a 5000 in all fairness, but between the 3600's and the 4000 4s, I prefer the 4000.
So, now that I found what I like, and the P40 loves the same battery, I guess I'll just have to get a few more 4000's.
Dare I ask has anyone run the numbers on 5s?

Grossman56

[Beeg]

I agree with Alpha, although I haven't tried a 5000 in all fairness, but between the 3600's and the 4000 4s, I prefer the 4000.
So, now that I found what I like, and the P40 loves the same battery, I guess I'll just have to get a few more 4000's.
Dare I ask has anyone run the numbers on 5s?

Grossman56

With the stock power system you're at the point of diminishing returns with the 5000's due to the weight. Unless you want to plow around the pattern at reduced power but as JetMang as said who wants to float around in a warbird... In one of my Bearcats I'm running an upgraded motor and prop and with the 5000's I get about the same mAh usage as the 4000's due to keeping the hammer down to haul it around. I set my timer on my stock and modified Bearcat at 5min. The way I like to fly the 3600's get drained too far. 4000's are just perfect and the 5000's it's wide open the whole time. Verticals with the 3600's are impressive but I like to keep mine low so I can enjoy them.

[AkumaZeto]

I was just trying to avoid new purchases is all. I have 3000's and 5000's but no 4000.