Official FlightLine RC 1600mm F7F-3 Tigercat Thread

[Grossman56]

Great Thanks for the advise, best way to. wire the batteries in parallel is to just bridge them together?

See post 1310 I bought two plugs, one joins the batteries in parallel and the other splits the single output plug in two for the two ESC's. I've been using that method for years.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

And so it begins...
Parts came today, I did an initial lay out..


Then got down to work


Fuse and nacelle were coated with Krylon Foam Primer. I used the old battery hatch cover as a paint block and stuffed the hatch with paper. As you can see, there are no L/G doors on either the fuse or the nacelle, so I'll have to do another order. Also, the hatch cover is too distorted to use so a new one of those as well.


The beast assembled and the wiring harness all reinstalled as well as the receiver. I opted to go with the original motors and forgot about the ESC adaptors. Guess I had removed all but two and after a time of trying to figure out why one connection would work but not the others, duh, the brain kicked in.
Gear down and motors turning in the correct direction. The port side prop was wobbling so I pulled it and realized I'd forgotten about the screws that stick out from the back of the hub. Out with the Dremel tool and knocked those down, works like a charm.
So far, everything checks out, all control surfaces are working, I only had a slight adjustment on one flap.


So once again there's a Tiger in the basement. I have a spare La Patrona decal and Callie is making me a new set of fuse Stars and Bars.
Tomorrow, I'll giver her a coat of 'silver' paint I had made up for her originally I believe it was called silver birch, but don't quote me. Then several coats of Pearl then the Spar Varathane if I can find any. Then she'll be back to her old self!!


YAY!!!!!!!!!

Grossman56

[jetfool]

Great rebuild going on here Grossman. Going to be watching you bring her back to life. Rex

[Grossman56]

Oh BTW, I just found a picture of the wreck, here's where I started...

The forward fuse and the one nacelle got me where I am so far, the wing was actually in two foam pieces but the spare was good, so with a little glue they were good to go, or as my buddy Harry used to say, "They've been through the shop!"
Grossman56

[davegee]

I'm impressed with your rebuild, Dan! Looking forward to seeing it fly and photographing it in flight this spring!

Keep up the good work.

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Thanks Dave, got the base paint on this morning (over the primer). It's amazing how far you can go with that $5 sample can! I did the original paint job, then a spare nacelle, then the wings again and now the third nacelle and the forward fuse and still have over 3/4 of the can left. I really like that Clark and Kensington paint from Ace!

The pictures clearly show the difference in the color that the Pearl and the clear coat make.


And once again, FlightLine has put a battery strap in that is WAY too short for a 3600 4S. I had the same problem with the last Bearcat.

Fortunately, I found one of the original Tigercat straps and installed it

What's with that??

Anyway, spent some time routing wires and she's pretty good now. The hatch and the gear doors are on their way, I made the mistake of thinking the were included. WRONG!
So once they're here and installed, I can finish the painting and get to the Pearl coats and clear coats.
Boy after all this she'd better fly like her old self!


Grossman56

[davegee]

Thanks Dave, got the base paint on this morning (over the primer). It's amazing how far you can go with that $5 sample can! I did the original paint job, then a spare nacelle, then the wings again and now the third nacelle and the forward fuse and still have over 3/4 of the can left. I really like that Clark and Kensington paint from Ace!

The pictures clearly show the difference in the color that the Pearl and the clear coat make.


And once again, FlightLine has put a battery strap in that is WAY too short for a 3600 4S. I had the same problem with the last Bearcat.

Fortunately, I found one of the original Tigercat straps and installed it

What's with that??

Anyway, spent some time routing wires and she's pretty good now. The hatch and the gear doors are on their way, I made the mistake of thinking the were included. WRONG!
So once they're here and installed, I can finish the painting and get to the Pearl coats and clear coats.
Boy after all this she'd better fly like her old self!


Grossman56

Yes, I have used some of that Clark and Kensington paint from Ace and it works really well. Lately, I've been going to Sherwin Williams and having them mix my paints for me to match factory applied colors. Damn, are they good!!

Cheers

davegee

[Grossman56]

I've got some from them as well, they're right around the corner from me and one of my neighbors works there. I might have to give them a try next time I need paint. Actually, Spar Urethane has been hard to find lately, I wonder if they have their own version Hmmm

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

I ended up going with a longer strap in the bottom bay as well. Anyone who has had the pleasure of installing a battery in a Tigercat would appreciate the advantage of a longer strap that sits vertically in the hatch, so much easier

Grossman56

[davegee]

I've got some from them as well, they're right around the corner from me and one of my neighbors works there. I might have to give them a try next time I need paint. Actually, Spar Urethane has been hard to find lately, I wonder if they have their own version Hmmm

Grossman56

The manager, his name escapes me at the moment, is totally into doing an absolutely perfect job in matching. The Ace people are great and try very hard, but the SW folks take about two or three extra steps to nail the exact sheen and shade of the color I need. My first time was doing some touchup work on my B-2 Spirit. I really could not tell where I had painted, using an airbrush!

I'd check them out if you live pretty close by. They might be able to help you with your requests.

davegee

[Grossman56]

Got my spare parts yesterday and I see that the mast isn't included with the hatch cover. Hard to believe, but when I went back to check the MRC website, I find it comes with a separate plastic parts package (includes the gun barrels and the fuse gun tubes, both useless to me as the tubes are already in the new fuse and I'm not using the barrels) priced at over $7! Plus the $15 shipping fee puts it at over $22 for a sliver of plastic. Used to be that parts like that came with the main part, guns with wings like the Bearcat did for instance. MRC really needs to look at what they're doing here. One of the things that really turned me off in the past was when I needed a new gear door for my Freewing P-51, I had to buy a complete gear door set, I have more clam shell doors and tailwheel doors than three of us could use in a life time. Would seem that they're using the same mindset for FlightLine now.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Got the gear doors on and painted today. It was interesting in that the nose gear door set didn't come with the tiny screws that hold the gear pivot point and spring or the gear doors in place. I had to old ones which was good. The Main door that I replaced needs a little filing to close flush with the old gear door, no big deal, I remember doing that with the original ones as well. I pushed the mast glue point and all, out through the bottom of the original hatch and took the Dremel tool to it. Got the mast cut out and now installed in the new hatch. So it's like a ghost, I haven't seen her in two and a half years, pretty cool though.



I'll let everything dry up then start in on the Pearl coats. There's a myriad of things to be gone over and checked and rechecked as this isn't a kit build but a rebuild from a major crash that I don't plan in repeating if at all possible Let's not forget where this project started from....



Grossman56

[Elbee]

Grossman56, OUCH!!! She's lookin' good now, Brother. Best, LB

[jetfool]

Nice rebuild.
Rex

[Grossman56]

Another coat of Minwax on the bottom, La Patrona decal placed and Minwaxed over.
I was looking at the pics of the original build way back in April of 2017 and realized just how long I've been in this hobby, coming up 9 years!
She was flown a few times at the home field before we headed for Nefi in 2017 our second trip from Wyoming to Indiana. Also taken was my original Bearcat which I lost while there, we had a bout of rain and she got wet, I believe it got into the receiver or the gyro because she was an amazing flyer up until then. Anyway, she sat in the junk box until I finally dragged it out and decided to make a project of her. Bearcat 2 was lost in the sun and was actually a new fuse and Bearcat 1 parts, so I now have Bearcat 1 back together and La Patrona well on her way. I came across this picture of the two of them when La Patrona was at about the same point as she is now and thought I'd duplicate it.

Bearcat 1 and La Patrona in April of 2017...


And the two of them six years later...



Some guys just get lucky! That Dang Bearcat has all the original parts except the stock motor and ESC (which I have in a drawer) including the prop.

Grossman56

[jetfool]

Some airplanes just like to hang around and frustrate us until we rebuild them. They seem to fly better too. I'm still flying planes that are 20+ years old That I bring all the pieces home from the field in a bag, then years later rebuild them. A[n't this hobby great!
Rex

PS My garage will tell you I never throw them away. LOL

[Grossman56]

Well guys, she got rolled out to the back deck for her official unveiling after going 'through the shop'.

She turned out great and is almost ready to fly again, ground tests and inspections to come soon.



Sorry, no kitties in these ones, no one volunteered to come out!

Grossman56

[boomer108]

You do nice work Gman!

[jetfool]

Outstanding rebuild.! Gonna fly awesome Grossman. This is one at the top of my list. Rex

[Grossman56]

It's actually an easy flying airplane. With stock power, it's not bad, but I just enjoy watching her buzz around the pattern. She rolls fine and will do a loop when coaxed into it. With the power system I had in it it was a lot stronger of a performer, but having something go wrong centered around the prop/ motor area, I'm wondering if the prop let loose. It was pretty hard to tell as she failed at about fifty feet in the air and then hit the ground. Charlie Brown ran LX B 25 props on his if I recall correctly and that may be the way to go. In the meantime, I'll run stock and apply some Foam-Tac to the screws that hold the props on once I'm ready to 'permanently' mount the props.
Besides, when I want to go full on aerobatics, I have a number of other airplanes that do it better so what the heck!
Just nice to have her in the hangar again. Grumman is well represented with two Bearcats and the Tigercat.

Grossman56