Official FlightLine RC 1600mm F7F-3 Tigercat Thread

[Grossman56]

Keeping in mind that this is where I started:



After many hours and lots of cups of cold coffee:



The starboard wing looks pretty good! So today was the big test, will it all fit together now....

So, I'm debating on the next step. I should make sure all the systems are working which would involve assembling the airplane, binding it and testing. Or I go on faith that all is well, .

Realizing that disassembly would shortly follow.....

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

Now, a lot of the flaws will be covered with the multiple layers of clear and wet sanding and it will be getting another coat of pearl as well (maybe more than one) but so far, I'm amazed at how well its going.
Goes to show you what can be done.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Now, a lot of the flaws will be covered with the multiple layers of clear and wet sanding and it will be getting another coat of pearl as well (maybe more than one) but so far, I'm amazed at how well its going.
Goes to show you what can be done.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Coming along great, Dan! Personally, if it was me, I'd take a servo tester just to check each servo is working correctly before getting too far down the road for the rebuild. If you need to use one, I have one you can borrow.

Cheers

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Yep, I have one and will check everything out, but its the connection boxes in the wing and the fuse that concerns me.
BTW, here's a video on laminating a foam airplane, has anyone tried this??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOqkUmWkrmI

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

Started in on the portside wing, got the new gear door installed and a little filling where needed. This side is not as bad as the other, the major surgery is the end of the nacelle. I cut a piece of foam down to approximate size with lots of room for error and glued it on, let the glue dry and did some filling at the joint.



Lots of sanding coming my way.

[jetfool]

Good progress Dan. I have a scrap box of foam and another of scrap balsa for my wood planes. Never know when a rebuild might be needed.
Keep on Truck'in
Best Regards, Rex

[Grossman56]

Exactly. Where I made my mistake is throwing out the old nacelles, the noses were gone but the tails were perfect,

[Grossman56]

Actually, it went extremely easy, in about ten minutes I went from this...


To this...


So, now I'll give it a couple of coats of Varathane to harden it up and fine sand it, also fill in the slight damage and it should be good!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Nice job, Dan!

Cheers

davegee

[Grossman56]

Did some filling this evening and now let her dry for another night. Time consuming.....

[Grossman56]

Got the forward fuse looking fairly good so I assembled the beast last night and started testing the electronics. Everything seems to work except the nose gear doesn't retract. I unplugged it from the board and used the servo tester to check it out. It worked fine so I'm wondering whether it's in the circuit board. Everything else checks out, have to readjust the flap positions but so far that's the only problem.



The tail is painted with the silver grey paint, but no pearl on it yet, see the difference.


A little work to be done on the seam but minor.

Threw the motors and props on for the fun of it.



Looking good so far



Still a fair amount of work, but the major concerns have been addressed. The only question is whether I REALLY want to fly this thing after all this??



Grossman56

(Dangerous Dan)

[jetfool]

Sure you do Dan. Probably fly better than new. Rex

[Grossman56]

Problem solved, some old guy had the plugs for the rudder, nose gear and nose gear steering in wrong, ground plug on the wrong end. Miraculously, when I corrected that, everything worked fine!!
About to start a weird week, work tomorrow, then two days off as the wife goes in for surgery on her colon. Thankfully, it wasn't cancer, but it was one cell away from it. We both got our Christmas presents early..
BTW, anyone who is on Medicare, check out plan G. It covers everything that Medicare doesn't. After, cancer, brain aneurysm, fluid buildup around her heart, diverticulitis, Colonoscopy and thats just off the top of my head, ask me how I know.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[jetfool]

Grossman56,
Those old guys can be troublesome. Glad you figured that old guy out; LOL
Best of luck to your wife in healing.
I will check out the plan G. So far our supplement has covered everything
Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Problem solved, some old guy had the plugs for the rudder, nose gear and nose gear steering in wrong, ground plug on the wrong end. Miraculously, when I corrected that, everything worked fine!!
About to start a weird week, work tomorrow, then two days off as the wife goes in for surgery on her colon. Thankfully, it wasn't cancer, but it was one cell away from it. We both got our Christmas presents early..
BTW, anyone who is on Medicare, check out plan G. It covers everything that Medicare doesn't. After, cancer, brain aneurysm, fluid buildup around her heart, diverticulitis, Colonoscopy and thats just off the top of my head, ask me how I know.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

I have had plan G since I went on Medicare several years ago. It is well worth the price, to me and my wife! There are a lot of different insurance companies offering it so you can contrast and compare the service and the monthly premiums to see what fits you best.

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Three coats of Minwax on her so far.




Starting to get some 'shine' on her
Three coats down and three to go, then wet sanding with 600 grit and a few more coats. Do it 'til she's done. Decals are on their way and will be applied after the sanding is complete, then a couple more coats of Minwax or Spar Varathane if I can get my hands on more.
I was really hoping to see a V2 Tigercat, but nothing so far. Upgrading to the 760kv motors was not a big deal, you just need to include the motor mounts and redrill the holes. Then I used E6000 on the screws to lock them on. Stock ESC's and the B25 prop system, the blades are the same as the stock Tigercat. I did order the B25 prop shafts as well.
Now she'll perform much better. You know how the stock motors would get you through a sloppy loop and the overall airplane performance was more like a presentation bird, at least up here at 5000 feet.
No so with the 760kv's (FMS).

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[jetfool]

Grossman,
Your clear coats are looking great. Gonna need dark sunglasses when you fly in the thin air Wy. sunshine.
Happy New Year, Rex

[Grossman56]

Thanks! Got a fourth coat on it tonight, once up to six coats, I'll wet and it. Can't wait to see it in the sunlight with all that pearl it should really be something. There's some slight variations in some of the panel's colors, which is really cool!! She'll stand out more than ever!
Here's some pics of the real La Patrona:



And mine:




OOPs, after all these years, I see I screwed up on the numbers, I'll get it right this time. No wonder she didn't fly right!

I know Dave was curious about the real one. One thing I'm going to try to duplicate is the chrome panels at the exhaust ports and I'm wondering if there isn't a way to recreate the landing gear more accurately aka the FMS version. I thought about adding the second cockpit, but there is nothing but wiring right there and wouldn't look so good.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

Here she is all ready for wet sanding. I set her aside for the moment to start in on the pilots. The Big Guy for me and Rex's pilot for the P47.



She's not too pleased as she's been the hangar queen for quite some time

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Here she is all ready for wet sanding. I set her aside for the moment to start in on the pilots. The Big Guy for me and Rex's pilot for the P47.



She's not too pleased as she's been the hangar queen for quite some time

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Great job, Danger! I'll be happy to bring my camera out to take some pics of it when you fly it again!

Cheers

davegee