Official FlightLine RC 1600mm F7F-3 Tigercat Thread

[Grossman56]

I usually run mine with 2 x 3600's but have ran her with 2 x 4000's occasionally. I've even run her with a 4000 inboard/low position and a 3600 in the outboard/front position. Since the inboard battery is so close to the CG, it doesn't seem to hurt. Also, I run my batteries in parallel so each battery powers both motors and I have a 'fuel tank' of 7200 with 2x 3600s. Learned this from OV10 as he made a good point about the ugliness of having a battery die on you and suddenly having only one motor. I've taxied mine with one motor and it ain't pleasant so you can imagine the Hell it would put you through in the air.

Grossman56

[Evan D]

It depends on which 2650, 3000 or 4000 as different packs weigh different. I am using those linked below and they fit side by side in the lower battery tray. If you have lighter ones then you may need one on the upper and one on the lower. There is lots of room and multiple places, the plane is very flexible.

Don't worry at all about grass take offs. Big wheels and it has a very light wing loading.


Amazon.com: Socokin 4S 14.8V Lipo Battery 60C 3700mAh with EC5 Connector for RC Airplane RC Helicopter RC Car RC Truck RC Boat UAV Drone FPV(2 Pack): Home Audio & Theater

[slumi]

Thanks Evan D,

the Flightline Tigercat is definitely for me a “must have” in 2021.
Just a question left on lipos.
I have 2x 3000 mAh and 2x 2650 mAh from my Turbo Timber.
I start from grass.
Which lipos would you recommend? Is 2x 4000 mAh not too heavy for grass take off ?!
Sorry about all these questions !?!
Basically the Flightline Tigercat is in the price range of Eflite’s Turbo Timber.

[Evan D]

I have a A3 in mine and it's behind the wing under the turtle deck. That's also where I have my receiver and a servo expander to get more travel on my FPV pan servo. There is a ton of extra room in this plane. The whole belly area under the wing is a great place for things.

The wing interconnections are not an issue but check them now and then to make sure they are seated.

[slumi]

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 ?

[slumi]

Hi Dennis

[Denniswpb]

I've been using Admiral receivers for the past few years as well as other members in my club. Have never had an issue once with them, where others have with different brands. Just a few days ago guy lost his beautiful P-51 with a Spektrum receiver. Lost all control for no apparent reason. Not the first time with Spektrum receivers. As for me, I totally trust the Admiral's
I'm with you though... I don't have a single airplane that "needs" stabilization, but the wind does gust and gets choppy with all the trees around the field, so it's nice to turn on or off with the flick of a switch.

[slumi]

Heard from all sides that the Flightline Tigercat flies pretty well, no gyro needed.
As we have in our region constantly wind gusts 20+ mph, I favor a good stabilizer.
As previously mentioned, the Admiral stabilizer has some issues. I favor the Eagletree Guardian with a 100% reliability and it’s overwhelming 3D mode. But you need this stabilizer plus a separate receiver. The ultimate question is , where to put this stuff. Eagletree Guardian needs to be installed horizontally.
If anyone has done it (maybe with HobbyEagle A3) please show with pictures.

I heard also some issues with wing connectors. I would need to dismount the wings on transport.

[Denniswpb]

Northern Tool behind the Honda dealership. 😁

[Evan D]

Dave Lyle BLVD here we go! OOps, I guess it's on Cherry rd... What's the one on Lyle?

[Denniswpb]

Drilling the stripped grub screw with a left hand drill bit will often bring the screw out by itself.

https://www.harborfreight.com/screw-...0aAmq3EALw_wcB

Hmmm.. Guess who's taking a run to Harbor Freight tomorrow? Thanks!

[radfordc]

I upgraded landing gear, but man, what a beoch to get the grub screws out of the landing gear retracts!! Here is wat I did to get 4 of the 6 stripped grub screws out: Even heating the grub screws with a soldering iron and using WD-40, they still stripped. I had to take a 1/16" drill bit and drill the down the center of the grub screws then use a 3/32" drill bit and carefully drill down the center again. Next use a #2 screw extractor to back out the remaining shell of the grub screw. Using that process, they then came out easy.

Drilling the stripped grub screw with a left hand drill bit will often bring the screw out by itself.

https://www.harborfreight.com/screw-extractor-and-left-hand-drill-bit-combo-set-10-pc-61981.html?cid=paid_google|||61981&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7yCBhDJARIsAMWFScP_bVcSTpoCvKg7IiIaiA1k_a8-SdvTyyn2Mu67UcH51rYsjdp9oC0aAmq3EALw_wcB

[Evan D]

SO many people have reported issues with that receiver its scary... Uncommanded movements.

Congrats on the maiden

[Denniswpb]

Dennis, I don't use Admiral receivers or AS3X type stabilization on the Tigercat, so no, it was/is not the receiver or stabilization gain. Still don't know what the issue is, but the Assan AG61 has taken care of the steering for me. Wish I could take a picture to show you but this little device is installed on the floor of the fuselage below the Fuselage Control Module (FCM). Sorry - not taking it all apart again for a picture. Briefly, I removed the connectors on the FCM for Gear and Nose Steering (see page 6 of the F7F manual) plugged those into the AG61 and plugged the connections (they are labeled) from the AG61 into the respective slot on the FCM. The challenge was where to mount this little device. I thought I could just add some connector extensions - oh NO - apparently it does not like extensions. Tried it with extensions and it would not work, took the extensions off and it works perfectly. I finally installed it on the floor of the fuselage pretty much directly beneath the FCM. Running the wiring was a little challenging. I removed the lower battery tray to get to the location easier, got everything secured eventually with double sided tape and re-installed the lower battery tray (it's just four screws), powered everything up, bench tested, then taxi tested, then flight tested and it works great. Still don't know what causes the steering problem without this little gyro correcting it, maybe someday...but for now, I am happy using gyro assisted steering for take offs and landings :)

I flew mine for the first time yesterday. I exclusively use the Admiral 6-channel receivers with stabilization on my bigger planes which can be turned on or off with the flip of a switch. I turned up the gain slightly more on the rudder to help it stay straight on takeoff roll, and she went down the runway straight as an arrow. If you haven't tried one of these receivers, they are great!!

[Denniswpb]

Thanks Charlie, that's good to know. I'll be extra careful when I replace both prop hubs to not overtighten the screws. I've also heard that if lock-tite gets on plastic it will deteriorate the plastic and I notice that a little blue Lock-Tite got on the flange when inserting the screw. I'll use the FoamTac this time!!

[OV10]

I've read where a few people have lost their Tigercat when this happened in flight and I sure as hell don't want that to happen!! I just ordered 2 more of the hubs, but I'm wondering if this is an inherent issue with these hubs and if there is an alternative. I would certainly pay more for a better hub design.

A couple of folks out of thousands that have flown this wonderful cat without issue is not an inherent issue.
I had 200+ flights on without issues before it was lost along with 25+ other planes to the garage incinerator incident.
I would put a very good guess that the issue is just a simple matter of over zealous tightening practices by gorilla handed owners.
Can't count the times I've witnessed folks reefin down a metal screw against a plastic flange and causing undetected stress fractures in the plastic.
Those screws only need to be snug, not torqued, If your worried about it loosening up, use a dab of FoamTac on the screw flange.
That's all I ever do.
Best Regards,

[Denniswpb]

Prop Hub Issue. I took the Tigercat to the field today and flew it for the first time. All went pretty well as expected and it only needed a few clicks of right aileron to get it flying straight. I got it 3 mistakes high and flipped on the Admiral receiver stabilization mode, and it worked perfect as usual! Made a nice landing and then when turning to taxi back, the left prop flew off... WTF!! After inspection, the screw was still in the motor shaft. What happened was the flange broke inside the prop hub which allowed the prop to just come right off over the screw.

I've read where a few people have lost their Tigercat when this happened in flight and I sure as hell don't want that to happen!! I just ordered 2 more of the hubs, but I'm wondering if this is an inherent issue with these hubs and if there is an alternative. I would certainly pay more for a better hub design.

[Larry D]

Great job on the restoration Dennis! I recently ran into a grub screw issue on my new P-38 when trying to change out the wheels. Thanks for the "this is what I did", it will help me tremendously. enjoy your "new" Cat. A wonderful aircraft. I have enjoyed mine a lot.

[Denniswpb]

I recently picked up a Tigercat that was in pretty good condition. I decided to remove the existing decals and sand the entire plane down and fill in any minor dings. I then used a HVLP touch up spray gun and resprayed the plane. Put new graphics on it from Callie and then put 3 coats of clear over it.

I upgraded landing gear, but man, what a beoch to get the grub screws out of the landing gear retracts!! Here is wat I did to get 4 of the 6 stripped grub screws out: Even heating the grub screws with a soldering iron and using WD-40, they still stripped. I had to take a 1/16" drill bit and drill the down the center of the grub screws then use a 3/32" drill bit and carefully drill down the center again. Next use a #2 screw extractor to back out the remaining shell of the grub screw. Using that process, they then came out easy.

[OV10]

I haven't tried changing it, I've been flying it tips-out from the get-go, but I remember much earlier in this thread someone from Motion said that this model was designed this way on purpose. They said that they found that the model seemed to fly better with the backwards rotation but I don't remember what the reasoning was. Again, I don't know because I've never tried flying this model with the "tips-in" rotation! So please let us know, give us a report on whether it feels any different.

As I said to Puregreen7 in post#2082, this bird flies great in any of the 3 prop rotation configurations