Official FlightLine RC 1600mm F7F-3 Tigercat Thread

[406PIlot]

It's always better to be safe than sorry with a model you care about. Satellites are a cheap piece of mind for sure. Nuts-n-Volts isn't wrong.

[nuts-n-volts]

I'll recommend that whatever Rx you use, do use satellites as well. Big battery packs can hide the signal for a split second. Although most Receivers will pick it up in an instant, there are times when it takes a split second longer. A satellite (or more) is cheap insurance and redundancy. Small 3s jobs are one thing, but as we have moved into higher powered planes, it becomes more of a requirement if you want to have a safe flight. Just from what I've experienced and seen.

[Blacky's Boy]

I'd seriously rethink the LemonRx. I WAS a tried and true LemonRx fan up until last year. I had 3 different models fail in the same spot at the field. All were using LemonRx receivers. From what I hear online (and please take this with a grain of salt!), there was a run of bad LemonRx receivers in the past year or two.

When I switched to a Spektrum rx with Telemetry I got warnings that the signal strength dropped off in that section of the field (our Bermuda Triangle). But the difference was that the planes with the Spektrum Receivers didn't loose control like those with the LemonRx.

[Denniswpb]

Took the T-Cat out for a flight 2 weeks ago and everything was going perfect, until it didn't... I was on downwind turning left base to do a flyover the runway and then drop the gear and flaps. I tried to turn left base, and it would not respond, then she made a graceful right roll into the tall grass. I had no control of it on the way down and I'm beginning to think we have a "Bermuda Triangle" in that corner of our field.

Overall, I was surprised to see it would be repairable with a new fuselage, nose gear doors, props, and hubs. I had to glue a crack in each wing and repair some slightly crinkled foam on the front of the nacelles. I decided just to scuff sand the entire plane down and respray it along with the new fuselage and then reorder the Callie Graphics. I'm going to replace the Admiral receiver with a Lemon receiver and a satellite and hopefully that will provide better redundancy reception. Just for S&Gs, I had Jeff at Horizon check out my NX10 while at Joe Nall since he had all his equipment and it tested perfect.

I'm considering upgrading the motors to the FlightLine 3648-880Kv Brushless Motor that's listed in the UPGRADE tab on MotionRC. The Powerpack they recommend includes these motors, but has 2-blade props, which would look stupid on a Tigercat. Has anyone upgraded to these motors and use a 3-blade prop??

If anyone wants to re-spray their Tigercat, the photo below shows the paint I used from Lowe's. Mix 6 oz. of paint with 1.5 oz. of water and 1.5 oz. of Flotrol Latex Paint Conditioner. I sprayed it with a Harbor Freight HVLP touchup spray gun at 35 psi with a 1.8 tip and it sprays absolutely flawless!! I also spray 2 coats of water based satin polyacrylic over it once the paint dried overnight. You can use this same formula with any color of paint for any other planes you have.

[SanExup]

Of course! That sounds like a lot of fun! Dang I wish I lived closer to an rc airfield.

I used to combat with slope gliders when I lived on the coast, that was fun. But fpv combat, that sounds like the ultimate.

[Evan D]

The gap in the trees is a pipeline and we fly it very regularly. We do combat with Apprentices on FPV that have streamers on them 12' of string and 12' of streamer. We use that pipeline for evasive maneuvers as well as flying around and between trees... We have "rules" about the plane, has to be a stock Apprentice and a simple fixed camera. One person has three cameras on his so he can look behind him while flying and one to record HD for playing back "kills". They are a lot of fun when you get four or five in the air at once. We all have different color streamers.

[SanExup]

That's so badass! So cool to see that jet landing from the cockpit while sitting on the taxiway. And the other planes in the pattern while flying. The video quality is amazing, is that what you're seeing real time in flight? Do you have any temptation to dip down in that tree corridor that parallels the runway? I am not daring you to, I'm just curious. You must know the Tigercat well, you've got those touch and goes wired! So cool!

[Evan D]

Flights from this weekend. Raw footage so forward to the better parts... (1) Tiger Cat 5 July 2021 - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJINlLLLNr4

[Dawoo4491]

New F7F fromFlightline. Can't get port side inboard flap to respond correctly. Plug ground is correct but can't coordinate with the other flaps.

[scooter genie]

I just ordered my first before the price increase. Got it last week. Man, what a gorgeous bird.

[Mad Baron]

I pulled the trigger and ordered another Tigercat before the price increase. I'll put this one in storage until the one I have wears out.

[Mad Baron]

I would check the spinners to make sure they are not cracked. I had a similar problem with my Tcat and it turned out that the spinner had a hairline crack in it caused the buzzing at a higher throttle. Here are the pics of my spinner that I had the hairline crack.

[Grossman56]

I had one nacelle to motor mount plastic piece (firewall) work its way lose from the foam in the nacelle. You could lift the motor up and down even though the motor mount was screwed securely to the firewall. I tried to glue it back on to the foam, but no permanent success so I ordered an new nacelle. Danged if the new one didn't do the same thing. I ended up cutting off the plastic ring at the front of the nacelle, foam and all, using a saw, which gave me full access to the slot which the firewall is mounted. This time I used epoxy to secure it in, then glued the ring back on. That was a couple of years ago and its being good since then. It only happened on the one side, the other has been fine even through the motor changes, go figure. One of these days I'll have to do the same with the spare nacelle but so far there's been no need to.

Grossman56

[OV10]

Hello Gilatrout
I had an occasion on the FMS 1400 P-40B where the motor mount screws to the X mount came loose and caused the similar issue whereas the metal motor back against the metal X mount caused the buzzing.
One of the screws had actually vibrated all the way out and got captured to the outside case of the motor by the internal case magnets.
The buzzing became more loud as the screws worked their way out to the point that the motor could then be wiggled and give away it's telltale problem. :smirk:

[Gilatrout]

I'm thinking I need to replace my dear old Tigercat.

I took her out and on the ground she purrs like a kitten, but up in the air she sounds like an out of tune chain saw. Gear up or down, it doesn't make a difference.

The props are balanced and the spinners spin true. There are no control surfaces with excessive play. I can't figure it out

It only happens in flight. Severe buzzing and vibration. On the ground in wheels or in a cradle, she sounds normal.

In flight, the plane behaves as superbly as it always has. Any ideas?

So until I figure it out, my dear old friend is grounded.

[Grossman56]

I did the same with mine as stated before, I've taxied with one motor and that was bad enough, now the 'one big fuel tank' is the way I went.
Each to their own as far a gyros go. I have several airplanes with A3L's, the Spitfire has an A3 and the RV-8 has an Aura 8, but the Tigercat has no gyro as I really didn't feel she needed it, she's so stable. My standing joke is "look at that Gyro work" and the guys at the club ask, "do you have a gyro in that plane?" to which I answer "no, but she sure acts like she does" as you can see her doing her own corrections. Extremely stable, which was a pleasant surprise when I first flew her, what 4 years ago?? Wow time flies.


Grossman56

[slumi]

Thanks Denniswpb,

looking at the photo, there seems to be a lot of space.

[Denniswpb]

Hi Denniswpb,

sorry my previous text got lost.
Thanks for your reply. Do you use Admiral Stabilizer plus ?
I am looking for a gyro with reliable 3D mode.

Could you tell me (or show pictures) where you place the receiver, since the Flightline Tigercat is very narrow and there’s not much space left.

Second question was still with the wing connectors. Are they reliable when you reinstall the wings each time after transport ?

I'm sorry for the late response... I just saw your question. Here is a picture of where I have my Admiral 6ch receiver with stabilization positioned. I have the stabilization set to on/off with a switch on my transmitter. I'm able to put the Tigercat in the back of my truck bed without removing the wings, but it's reliable to remove and reattach the wings. One thing I did was connect the batteries in parallel by making a parallel harness . Now both batteries are connected together and is like having one big "fuel tank" that is feeding both motors at the same time. It's a good protection in case one battery depletes faster than the other. Now it's just like one big battery.

[Evan D]

If it won't extend it's usually because the pin between the strut and mechanism is bent. You can straighten it or remove the strut and steering arm and maybe turn the pin 180 and reassemble. If it's not retracting that's usually dirt or water in the retract unit.

[Gilatrout]

I spent yesterday checkIng my tigercat out. It was like seeing an old friend again. Love that plane. Got to the field and nose retract wouldn't operate. Sigh.

Nod I have the problem of figuring out how to spend $75 more to save $5 shipping.

This is one plane that if I ever lose it will be immediately replaced. Beautiful flying twin.