Official FlightLine RC 1600mm F7F-3 Tigercat Thread

[nuts-n-volts]

OMG! What are you doing to my cat!

[Grossman56]

The wife took some pictures of OV10 (Charlie Brown's) Tigercat with the spare cockpit,



Ryan Ramsay's in the foreground and me and La Patron in the back.
Sadly, two of these birds are no longer with us, I'm not sure about Ryan's.

Grossman56

[OV10]

Grossman56

Dan, Hard to believe that event was 5 years ago already and yes, the original and only -2D drone controller Tigercat modeled was consumed in the infamous fleet reduction incinerator event (garage fire) a year later.
Thanx for digging that pic out of the Di archives.
But as you know the phoenix arose from the ashes as the bigger Cat (FMS) fashion in Jan2020.

PS.... Gilatrout , the Flightline 1200 Bearcat canopy is the correct way to go as it looks you are doing. That is exactly what I used for both birds, full one on the FMS and cut down version on the FL.
And for those that may care about the history, the Navy actually used the Bearcat canopy when they modded the Tigercat into the drone -2D bird.

[Grossman56]

She's a Beaut' CB! Speaking of five years ago, check out "Bits and Pieces" on the Official Flightline Bearcat thread. Remember the Bearcat I lost the previous year? Well, she will see air time again this season.

Grossman56

[Denniswpb]

Does anyone have issues with the prop hubs breaking where the screw head tightens? No matter how careful I seem to be when tightening the props, I find the prop hub breaks internally which allows the prop to slide off the prop adapter. I just put a new one on today and this time put a light coat of epoxy over the area that always breaks. We'll see if that holds up better. Hate that just a small piece of plastic inside the hub is all that holds the prop on!

[Gilatrout]

Check to make sure the screws holding the props on don't poke through the hub. If they do, grind them flat with a Dremel or something then add the adapter. The screw heads poking though can be just enough to create a gap in the adapter.to allow the main screw to pull through the plastic.

[Gilatrout]

I was really hoping I could get this ready in time for the contest, but life intervened. I do like how it came out. I still have some minor work to do.

[Grossman56]

Gilatrout, it looks great, you'll bring a tear to Charlie Brown's(OV-10) eye.

Grossman56

[OV10]

Gilatrout Gman was almost correct...... no tear but rather a big gleaming grin - WELL DONE.
You are as far as I've seen are only the second one ( I was first ) to actually do the -2D drone controller Tigercat with rear operator and not take the lackluster effort by just painting the bird the gold/blue color scheme

[Gilatrout]

Gilatrout Gman was almost correct...... no tear but rather a big gleaming grin - WELL DONE.
You are as far as I've seen are only the second one ( I was first ) to actually do the -2D drone controller Tigercat with rear operator and not take the lackluster effort by just painting the bird the gold/blue color scheme

Thank you.

It got a lot of attention at the field yesterday. Not many knew about the drone control version.

The second cockpit was more of a challenge than I thought. Well, that was mostly my fault. I made my task much more difficult by building up the canopy with random cuts of foam instead of identical strips on each side. I still have a bit of work to do before I'm satisfied, but it was a near perfect day for it to get outside.

I also challenged myself to try and paint on most of the markings. That technique is still developing. Basically I cut paint masks out of cellophane on my cricut machine. I ended up using a mix of the original decals and paint.

I've made a crude 3d printable mock-up of the drone. I may someday refine it for static display. Probably not, but it is there in the back of my mind scratching away.

Anyway, this is my second Tigercat conversion. My Avatar is the first one. I do love flying this plane.

I need to find someone with fabric skills to make wing bags now.

[Dequesne Patrice]

Hello, does anyone have a good solution so that the original sticker kits do not peel off the first flight?

[rifleman_btx]

Clear coat it

[nuts-n-volts]

Or have Callie Graphics re-do them. Her stuff is excellent.

[Grossman56]

Hello, does anyone have a good solution so that the original sticker kits do not peel off the first flight?

Clear coat ! Depending on what sort of finish you want to end up with, start with a gloss coat as it tends to seal them on better, if you want a gloss finish, try 3 or 4 coats, or until it looks like its glossy with no patches. For a matte finish, you can coat over the gloss until you get the desired result.

This is what I use, the gloss can looks the same. For a matte finish, I went the 'blue' colored can. My rule of thumb is for the glossiest effect, use a brush, for the dullest, use a spray gun.
Glossy:



Matte:



Grossman56

[Dequesne Patrice]

I have already tried the matte varnish, several layers with airbrush with the result on the photo so before. Maybe not a good varnish? The transparent transfer sticks more on the fuselage than the lettering, impossible to put the Marine lettering! I cut out of a cheap DIY roll and holds it well, a shame not to be able to use the original delivered kits ...

[Grossman56]

I struggled with applying the decals as well, they don't want to stick onto the surface of the airplane if the decals are old. I had to line up each decal and slowly peel back the transfer materil at almost a 180 degree, get a finger nail onto the decal itself and hold it while slowly working the backing off. It's a pain!

Grossman56

[Merry Boozer RC]

I used a Hobby Iron to get mine to stick way better. the trick is get it to where its hot enough to make the foam bubble just a little where it shrinks after it cools for a few seconds after the heat iron goes over the sticker.

[Pauly]

The wife took some pictures of OV10 (Charlie Brown's) Tigercat with the spare cockpit,



Ryan Ramsay's in the foreground and me and La Patron in the back.
Sadly, two of these birds are no longer with us, I'm not sure about Ryan's.

Grossman56

I have to the one that Ryan had. I'm guessing this is a old picture.

[Grossman56]

Yes, it was at Nefi in 2017. AMA field in Muncie, airplane heaven.

Grossman56

[CzechSix]

Hello and thank you for welcoming me into the group! Fortune smiled on me today and I found one of these at a yard sale - I recognized the tail feathers as I was driving past and couldn't believe my eyes. I don't have much history on this one, the guy said it belonged to his wife's dad. It was a little beat up, filthy and some parts missing, but all in all it looked serviceable and it was dirt cheap! After fitting it into my truck (barely) and getting it home I reconnected all the electronics, and literally everything works. The engines spooled up nicely and the gear, flaps, steering and flight surfaces all function, and it has the upgraded landing gear. And I even found a functional Spektrum receiver and a random car part rattling around loose inside, score!

Looks like someone belly landed it at some point so I need to do some dent repair, fix gear doors and repaint, but that's all stuff I enjoy doing. This is going to be fun!