Official FlightLine RC 1200mm F8F-1 Bearcat Thread

[Randy H]

Posted in the wrong thread but I took my Bearcat out for a flight and getting ready for the warbird races coming up in our club.

[Coconut]

That looks good, Randy.

[Randy H]

Thx I am going to race in the bronze class and I have the stronger motor and a two bladed prop. It is actually competitive in the bronze class. I got the decals from Callie graphics and this is the plane that won the the national air races in 1964.

[Grossman56]

Looks great Randy, did you do the stock upgrade from MRC?
I'd be interested to see how my Bearcat with a 650kv and a FMS 1400 mm corsair prop compares. The airplane is incredibly fast, there is a big difference between 3/4 and full throttle and its not hard on flight time, lands like a stock bird as well. It's a bit of drilling to mate the motor mount to the firewall and a fair amount of trimming to get the faux radial to fit over it. I use an 85A Mantis ESC as well. Also, one pad of stick on weight in the tail.

Note, I did a repaint using Testors Royal Blue, looks good and then of course Spar Urethane for that waxy shine!

Grossman56

[Randy H]

Hello Grossman56 good to hear from you. yes i did use the stock upgrade with the two blade prop that MRC offers. I have the standard Bearcat with the four bladed prop and you can tell the two blade prop plan is faster. Not sure on the speed because I do not have a way of checking that. As far as handling they are about the same. Love the Bearcat good flyer and rock solid model.

[Grossman56]

It's so great when someone creates the perfect plane, there just isn't anything wrong with the bird no matter what you run for power. Slow flight characteristics remain the same, so she settles in for landing perfectly. I keep hoping that someone comes up with a 6s powered 1.5-2.0 m version. I drool at the thought!

Grossman56

[Randy H]

I totally agree with you. I have two Bearcats and love flying both of them. It would be great to see some of these planes in a 1.5-2m version. It seems for now the emphasis is on edf models and not the prop warbirds but maybe that will change in the near future.

[Grossman56]

Hopefully. I see they have the 'Vulcan' now. Its starting to resemble the car industry, remember when you could identify a car at a glance, now 90% of them look the same.
Ho Hum, another EDF that resembles an Avanti. When what we really want is another 1600 mm WWII fighter!! P51B, F8F-2 (Taller vertical stab), Hawker Hurricane, Me 109 (E preferably), Sea Fury (could upsize the 1200 like the Spitfire), etc. I remember when a little bird told me there was a Bearcat coming out, I jumped for joy, then I was told by the same little bird that it was only a 1200 mm size. I bit the bullet and bought one, replaced the wings and fuse after cracking it up at Muncie (got wet and soaked the electronics, thought it was dry but no) lost that one in the sun, totally my fault, then bought the latest one a few months back, just doesn't seem right not having a Bearcat.


Grossman56

[SanExup]

I agree, a 1.6m Bearcat, an ME109, or an A6M would be cool. Round out the lineup in that size!

[Randy H]

Hello Grossman56, just think of the many color schemes that are available just for the M109 in all versions. I also have an edf BAE Hawk that I fly but I get the most enjoyment out of the war birds. The new Vulcan sport jet is interesting but that market is full of a lot of models and they look the same to me. The new FW190 that came out looks good and can be repainted in many different schemes, its just too expensive. Lets see what the future brings.

[Grossman56]

Speaking of the future, we were talking at the field yesterday and it was pointed out that if you are going to buy an airplane, do it now because the cost of shipping is going up 7x, so you can figure a huge increase in the cost of an airplane and the lack of spare parts, at least at a reasonable price.

[Randy H]

Thanks for the update. I am thinking of going old school for my next project. I built an ME 109 G6 1/6 scale and the FW190 G8 from Sky Shark kits and both flew well and were fun to build. These kits will be available early next year again and I hope to do an ME 109 E or an Aichi Val dive bomber. Kind of next a break from foam models and go back to my roots so to speak. Attached is a picture of the FW 190 with sliding canopy.

[406PIlot]

Speaking of the future, we were talking at the field yesterday and it was pointed out that if you are going to buy an airplane, do it now because the cost of shipping is going up 7x, so you can figure a huge increase in the cost of an airplane and the lack of spare parts, at least at a reasonable price.

Where did you hear this about the shipping?

I'd really love to see the bearcat in a 15-1700mm version with a 6s setup. I dream of RARE BEAR!

[Daryl]

I agree, a 1.6m Bearcat, an ME109, or an A6M would be cool. Round out the lineup in that size!

This...and also a 5 blade Sea Fury in this range ftw

[Grossman56]

The President of our club was talking about it. Apparently, they don't return shipping containers either because of the cost, so he says, just quoting the boss. We're looking for a smaller shipping container for the field, the guys down in Riverton built an observation deck on theirs, cool idea.
I agree, the Hawker Sea Fury with a five blade?? Awesome. I see F.I just came out with a bigger RV-8, but God the cost!! $1600 big ones and no servos or motor. Flies nice, so does my RV-8 at one third of the cost with servos and motor.

Grossman56

[ochoaoctavio89@icloud.com]

Such a great airplane!!
Can't wait for the 1600 mm version, (hint hint)

Grossman56

I would agree all they have to do is scale it up and make it better not sure if they can make it better haven't gotten one (yet)

[Jerryz18]

Mine doesn't balloon with flaps. It actually did a loop. Can you tell me what percentage of down elevator did you use?

[WrightBrosRC]

This is my config. Results may vary...

[Grossman56]

Well, it's winter in Wyoming, so since all my planned repairs are done, I started looking at some wrecks. I have two F8F wrecks and one F7F. Funny how time changes your perspective. I totaled my first F8F at Muncie years ago and bought a new set of wings and fuse then transferred all the guts from the wreck to the new. No biggie, we've all done it. Then last year I lost Bearcat 2 in the sun and let's just say it isn't very pretty. Sold an airplane last Spring so purchased Bearcat 3, installed the 650Kv and 85A Mantis ESC from Bearcat 2 into it and all is well.
Started checking over Bearcat 1 fuse and wings because, frankly, I was bored. The wings are in surprisingly good shape, I'd popped the retracts out and the repair was a little rough but not bad. The nose of the fuse is slightly wrinkled but intact with a slight chip on the nose ring. "A project!" cried I!

Bearcat 1 (she will fly again!)


Bearcat 2 Horizontal stab and canopy will come from her, may she rest in peace.


Bearcat 3



Now the question is what to do for power? I'll go digging to see what I have lying around. I do have a complete prop, motor and ESC from Bearcat 3 that has never been used so that's a possibility.
Hard to believe this plane (picture #1) went down at Nefi in 2017 and five years later, she just may take to the skies again.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Bearcat One, now rechristened as Bit's and Pieces is being rebuilt as we speak.
Here she sits after a trial fitting of all the major parts:



Now, the wings are rebuilt from the original, I cut and applied Flite Metal in the shape of the wing panel where the landing gear attaches to add aluminum strength, then primed the wings with Krylon Foam Primer. Painted the wings black then used the same blue I had mixed for the Pitts. A pretty accurate match. The tail section was original to both Bearcat one and two, one of the elevators was knocked off, now reglued to the stab using Foam Tac.



As you can see, the fuse is in the process of being filled, I tried the steamer to loosen the foam and it did help a bit but there is still some work to be done. There is a slight amount of damage to the nose ring as you can see at about 2 o'clock, but the picture makes it stand out more than in real life. The wheels are from Bearcat three as I have Dave Browns on her. The motor is from La Patrona. A 3948 kv 750. I haven't run the numbers on it yet, but I'm thinking a Mantis 85a ESC should work. The prop is the original Bearcat one prop before I converted it to the 1400 mm FMS Corsair prop. This will do for now, with the possibility of converting it to the Corsair prop in the future. The nice thing about this motor is that the dummy radial should fit easier than with the 650 kv, haven't tried it yet, so we'll see.



The glossy tail section was on the wreck of Bearcat two, here it is all together again with the tail wheel and linkage hooked up to the rudder. there is a plate that goes over the linkage and damned if I didn't find a brand new plate buried inside the fuse of Bearcat two, still in its bag.



The fuse will get the Primer, black and blue repaint as well and for once, I won't use the Blue Angels decals but the basic Naval markings, just to be different and 'cause I want to
Stay tuned!

Grossman56