Official FlightLine RC 1600mm F7F-3 Tigercat Thread

[Grossman56]

Props are back on and she's ready for the weather to smarten up.
BTW, anyone notice that the screws that hold the prop blades to the hub come right through the the back of the hub plate and can cause the prop to sit misaligned?
I took the Dremel tool and shaved them off of mine, then filed them down, a PITA!!

Grossman56

[rifleman_btx]

Ack! I'm still waiting to pick one up! Lol

[desertdrifter7]

According to Ryan at Motionrc, using the Admiral 3000 batteries the CG came in perfect without issue. I had to move my batteries aft significantly to get it balanced. Is there anyone else that has had problems with balancing the plane? What is the optimal CG for this plane?

[spec450]

Using the Turnigy Nano-Tech 4000's, mine balanced perfect with the lower battery all the way forward (because its too big and hits the receiver to go any further back), and the upper battery half way off the tray over the top of the lower battery. Not to mention 7 minute flight times with good throttle control.

[Grossman56]

Hey DD, could be the difference between the new style and old style Admiral batteries. I fly with 2x3600 PRO's bottom all the way forward and the top lines up with the front of the hatch cover, flies great!

Grossman56

[Andysdad]

I have the Flightline F7F Tigercat with DOA main retracts (one literally smoked). MotionRC support said that they would send replacements but were out of stock. I ordered an "in stock" pair from the F7F parts page and these, too were DOA. The nose gear retract works, so 1 out of 3 ain't all bad.

Has anybody else run into main retracts problems? What was the "fix"?

I'd appreciate any help. :-)

[rifleman_btx]

Dynam has an f7f??? Did I miss something?

[Grossman56]

I have the Flightline F7F Tigercat with DOA main retracts (one literally smoked). MotionRC support said that they would send replacements but were out of stock. I ordered an "in stock" pair from the F7F parts page and these, too were DOA. The nose gear retract works, so 1 out of 3 ain't all bad.

Has anybody else run into main retracts problems? What was the "fix"?

I'd appreciate any help. :-)

Now that's harsh!
Have you run the retracts through a servo tester? I'm thinking the cause may be the way you have it plugged in to board, possibly the board itself.
Check to make sure the plugs that come off the board are correct. The brown wire should be at the front end of the plane and then they plug into the receiver, the brown wire should be the closest to the top of the receiver.

Grossman56

[Andysdad]

Now that's harsh!
Have you run the retracts through a servo tester? I'm thinking the cause may be the way you have it plugged in to board, possibly the board itself.
Check to make sure the plugs that come off the board are correct. The brown wire should be at the front end of the plane and then they plug into the receiver, the brown wire should be the closest to the top of the receiver.

Grossman56

I removed the retracts from the aircraft and hooked them up to a servo tester (polarities verified) and no action. Other retract units (the F7F nose gear for one) work fine on the servo tester AND using the F7F wiring. I'm thinking that I should just find a compatible actuator and go from there.

[Tom]

Andysdad, I know Martin sent you another new set. Do me a favor, please test the new retracts on the servo tester before you install in the plane. We also tested these before we sent them but I'd recommend testing again for your piece of mind. Once they are known good, install them in the plane. If they go bad again, you likely have a control board problem and we need to replace that.

[rifleman_btx]

All it takes is one unintended solder drip in the circuitry of the board and that could blow the whole works.

[spec450]

I went through 3 aileron servos before I realized the problem was in the board. I’d say it’s defin the board. At least you’ll have lots of retracts now! Lol

[Grossman56]

The concensus on both forum sites is 70 with gear up

Am I wrong on this, maybe its been stated before, but I see the Tigercat as being a high winged aircraft, so I'm balancing it right side up, what the consensus on this??

Grossman56

[PlaneDoc]

Hi guys, what are you using for flap travel and do you need any elevator mix? I just finished putting the silver one together and I'm almost ready to set the travels once I get a receiver.

[themudduck]

Am I wrong on this, maybe its been stated before, but I see the Tigercat as being a high winged aircraft, so I'm balancing it right side up, what the consensus on this??

Grossman56

I balance mine right side up, seemed to work fine.

When the gear comes up, it goes a bit tail heavy so you might want to balance it slightly nose heavy with the gear down.


Flap settings.. well here's what RCGeek recommended waaaaay back at the beginning of this thread.

Flaps - 7/8" mid flap, 1-3/4" full flap with 10% down elevator mix (equates to 3/16" at full flap)

[OV10]

Am I wrong on this, maybe its been stated before, but I see the Tigercat as being a high winged aircraft, so I'm balancing it right side up, what the consensus on this??

Grossman56

It's actually a mid/shoulder mount which usually gets balanced right side up.
You've been flying this for awhile........why are you balancing again :Confused:
As always Dan, aft retracting gear get balanced with gear up (we've talked enough about that EH ;))

[Grossman56]

I was checking the CG after installing the replacement retracts and the new motors. Nailed it at 70mm sitting right side up with gear up. Batteries were slightly aft of the old position.

Grossman56. I've always looked at her as being a shoulder, to high wing A/C, just curious on the consensus. Now with the gear down, she gets pretty nose heavy, but nothing out of the ordinary. Been having a bit of a rough time out of the gate this year, so just making sure I have all the facts.
Just got her back together after having to replace the front gear retract pin, have the paint touched up and just have to redo the pearl and clear under the nose.
Next step is to run both ESC's and Batteries in parallel.
As an update, the motor upgrade is definitely worth it!!

Grossman56

[The RC Geek]

Hey guys, here's a little story I wanted to share. About 2 months ago I had the privilege of meeting Bob Forbes who was a pilot for TBM Inc. (the company that operated the F7F Tigercat Fire Bombers). He had a Flightline Tigercat that he had had custom finished by Bob Vanderveen in the airplane that he used to fly and in fact flew at the Reno air races. He asked if I'd help him get the model ready and flown for him. So, this past weekend we got 3 flights on the model for him and it was an absolute pleasure for me to do so and is a day that I will remember for a very long time. I also sat with him and he shared a little about his experiences on video which I'll have uploaded next week along with an article I wrote. I love the Fire Bomber Tigercats and this model was beautifully finished and flew amazing! Such a cool model with a great story behind it.


Chris

[The RC Geek]

Here are a few pictures from the day also.

[Sky Wolf]

Love that scheme Chris. Thanks for sharing the video.