Official FlightLine RC 1200mm F8F-1 Bearcat Thread

[Grossman56]

I know the feeling, my first fuse and wings are decorating the spare parts box now.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

I had that as well, reinforced them with Foam-Tac which is advisable especially if you go with a bigger motor. I have a 650 kv in mine so I'm constantly aware of control surfaces being a little bit over stressed. You can also go with the provided plastic hinges.

Grossman56

[TiredIronGRB]

Welcome to Hobby Squawk Low and Slow, sorry about the BC...great flying plane I have two, a nice one and one I do crazy stuff with ;)

[LOW AND SLOW]

Anyone else notice that their aileron hinges are splitting?

I have had mine for over a year and today flying and after turning to the left the plane did a beautiful victory roll right into the ground. After closer investigation I noticed the right aileron had separated from the plane. Anyway I ordered another one and will re-enforce the ailerons and flaps. Enjoying this forum!!

[TiredIronGRB]

I did not use the junction box. Ran everything straight into my Rx. Wiring has been checked several times. Three different wye's have been tried. Two different power sources have been used for testing - a servo tester powered by a 4.8V NICAD pack, and the normal 4-cell LIPOS. Both sources have worked about the same. Activation failures are intermittent, which would seem to implicate actuator contacts. I did gain some ground with the leg that would not fully retract. I ended up bending the door actuator wire downwards at an angle that exceeds that of the one on the other leg's door. Seems that by making the gear leg contact the wire earlier in the closing cycle it gives the leg more time to force the door over-center and snap closed. If the leg has folded too close to the retracted position before it has pushed the door over-center, it doesn't have enough force to overcome the magnet's resistance.

Sounds like the retract is in a bind, try it with the screws loosened.

[Tsmith]

Hey guys.....Love flying my Bearcat, but with well under an hour on her I am experiencing retract failures. Had to bring her in on one leg once as one gear failed to extend, after many re-tries. A couple more short sessions and that same retract just stopped working, fortunately this time in the down position. Ordered two new retracts. put in a new one and find it doesn't even have enough torque to push the inner door closed! It will extend, but can't push the door closed, hanging up about 30 degrees short of closing all the way. Lots of fussing and adjusting produced the same result. Much to my horror, even as I was fussing with the the new retract the other one started acting up...operating intermittently! This is really disappointing, considering I operate from a rather cushy AstroTurf soccer field. I recent ily gave up flying my 1400mm FMS T-28 because the gear just wouldn't hold up. Now I'm wondering if this great flying plane is going to end up the same way. (and yes, my landings skills are very good) How are you guys faring with durability of these retracts?

I've had a similiar situation where I had to buy a replacement retract because I broke the mount. As you mentioned in your comment, the replacement retract just doesn't have the power of the stock one. MRC has sent me two replacements now and they insist that the replacement is the same one...it's definetly not. I haven't had a chance to fuss with it recently but I'm going to take a video of the retracts operating and there clearly is a big difference in speed and torque. Kind of frustrating.

[Grossman56]

Also, check the anchor screws. Sometimes they have to be backed off a little. I'm vague on the reason, but had the same thing with the Spitty. Found the sweet spot and been fine ever since. CB, can give you a better explanation of why this happens. I just know it does and that's how to fix it.

Grossman56

[Blindflyer]

I did not use the junction box. Ran everything straight into my Rx. Wiring has been checked several times. Three different wye's have been tried. Two different power sources have been used for testing - a servo tester powered by a 4.8V NICAD pack, and the normal 4-cell LIPOS. Both sources have worked about the same. Activation failures are intermittent, which would seem to implicate actuator contacts. I did gain some ground with the leg that would not fully retract. I ended up bending the door actuator wire downwards at an angle that exceeds that of the one on the other leg's door. Seems that by making the gear leg contact the wire earlier in the closing cycle it gives the leg more time to force the door over-center and snap closed. If the leg has folded too close to the retracted position before it has pushed the door over-center, it doesn't have enough force to overcome the magnet's resistance.

[Mad Baron]

I've got 21 flights on mine so far the retracts are holding up well. Do you have good voltage going to them or maybe a bad/broken wire? I would check the wires to the retracts and the distribution box for any problems. Hope this helps.

[Blindflyer]

Hey guys.....Love flying my Bearcat, but with well under an hour on her I am experiencing retract failures. Had to bring her in on one leg once as one gear failed to extend, after many re-tries. A couple more short sessions and that same retract just stopped working, fortunately this time in the down position. Ordered two new retracts. put in a new one and find it doesn't even have enough torque to push the inner door closed! It will extend, but can't push the door closed, hanging up about 30 degrees short of closing all the way. Lots of fussing and adjusting produced the same result. Much to my horror, even as I was fussing with the the new retract the other one started acting up...operating intermittently! This is really disappointing, considering I operate from a rather cushy AstroTurf soccer field. I recently gave up flying my 1400mm FMS T-28 because the gear just wouldn't hold up. Now I'm wondering if this great flying plane is going to end up the same way. (and yes, my landings skills are very good) How are you guys faring with durability of these retracts?

[hotrod23t]

this is my Bearcat great flyer check out sound system at https://youtu.be/gckmuwIbPm4 sounds great

[Mad Baron]

I have no idea why it would show Ohio. I had a problem with my HS account a while back and had Motion reset my account that might be why it shows Ohio.:Confused:

[TomPatton]

The field is in Tullahoma TN we lease the land right just inside USAF base. A lot of open space. My club is the Coffee Airfoilers. Thanks for the good comment on the pic.

OK... I wondered because in your post with the picture says Location Elida Ohio...

[Grossman56]

What kind of adhesive did you use?

Either the stock glue that comes with most kits, Foam-Tac or Gorilla Glue. GG ends to expand so its great for filling cracks, Foam-Tac is awesome but I tend to end up throwing out half the tube because it gets too thick to use. Best to buy it in 1 oz tubes Beacon Foam Filler is a must as well.

Grossman56

[Mad Baron]

The field is in Tullahoma TN we lease the land right just inside USAF base. A lot of open space. My club is the Coffee Airfoilers. Thanks for the good comment on the pic.

[TomPatton]

Here is a pic of my Bearcat at my clubs Model Aviation Day. Good weather and good times!

That's a great picture of your Bearcat. Also a nice looking place to fly, where is your field located?

[radfordc]

Unless you're flying 3D, airplanes don't need near as much elevator throw as most people think. For a warbird in normal flight you need only enough throw to make a nice round loop. You can set up your rate switch so that most flying is done with about 75% of the full amount recommended in the manual. For landing, I like to use even less throw...maybe 60% of the full amount. These reduced throws along with 30-40% expo make for very smooth, scale looking maneuvers.

[Grossman56]

Hey Purdue, don't feel bad, we've all been there. Just for future reference though, when you're ready for the big jump into warbirds. I usually fly mine with 30% expo and on mid rates, which is usually 80-85%. The Bearcat is a sweetheart of a plane to fly so, you'll get there, no doubt of that!!
Keep in touch and don't hesitate to PM me or anyone here when you go to take the leap. In the meantime, get yourself a good trainer like the Pandora and fly the pants off her!!

Grossman56

[purduephigam]

Based on your level of experience the problem could well be "pilot induced oscillation". What happens is you put in a control movement that causes the plane to pitch up; but you over do it a little and the plane pitches up faster, then you try to correct, but again over do it and now the plane is pitching down too fast. Once it starts it gets ugly fast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot-induced_oscillation

https://youtu.be/XHPv0qt03aA

I believe this is exactly what happened, which turned into a pilot-induced crash. Certainly expo should've certainly been programmed to help avoid this, unfortunately I think a downed plane was inevitable, as my eyes were bigger than my skill set. Lesson learned and I will absolutely get better with another beginner plane before even thinking to attempt another warbird. I appreciate all the input, especially with regards to expo as I hadn't even given this any thought prior to the second crash.

[radfordc]

Using reduced throws and lots of exponential will help control PIO. I always use at least 40% expo on all the throws to start with and adjust from there.