FLRC Tigercat gear issues?

[TonyGagJr]

I just got a notice that the upgrade landing gear is back in stock for the Tigercat. Does anyone know if they fixed the issue with the nosegear not retracting all the way?

Thanks,
Tony

[Warbird Addict]

Hi Tony,

I immediately ordered the set when I got the in-stock notification email. I'm very disappointed to report my set has the original issue of the nose tire protruding too far forward and interfering with the doors closing. Contacted Motion last week - they responded (acknowledged, really) but have not given me any sort of an answer regarding what they plan to do. I'll post back here when I hear from them. As a side note, I was looking at the oleo nose gear strut. Wonder if fabricating a new (longer) linkage that connects the strut to the top of the stirrup would resolve the issue without sacrificing any travel. Anybody thought of this as an alternative?

Best,
Ken

[TiredIronGRB]

I would have liked to worked on these before they went primetime.

[OV10]

Here's the real deal guys..........more scale looking and it actually retracts without hanging up.
Unfortunately most do not follow this forum close enough and missed when I posted this thread 7 weeks ago.
https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc...de-alternative

[TiredIronGRB]

I like the stock strut the best but I really like designing stuff like this.

[Warbird Addict]

Hi Charlie,

I saw your thread the day you posted it, but it's not an ideal solution for my application as I require shock-absorbing struts for both mains as well. I'd need the full set regardless. The nose struts in the new batch should not have this defect as Motion has known of it for several months. The Goshawk strut has been out of stock since shortly after your post, even if I'd been inclined to spend the $30 or so extra to go that route. I do appreciate your research that went into finding a nearly drop-in alternative, however. I'm still thinking the upgrade nose strut can be fixed with a longer linkage to bring the wheel and tire back farther with the suspension topped out. I may try making a linkage with some spare aluminum bar stock if Motion doesn't take care of the issue soon.

Anybody bought a set from the second batch that has a revised and functional nose gear? Motion indicated to me mine may have "slipped through QC."

Best,
Ken

[TonyGagJr]

Thanks for the update. That is extremely disappointing that the gear still have the same issue. I emailed Motion before I placed my order when I received the in stock notification. They assured me the issue had been resolved. I have heard everyone rave about Motion's customer service but apparently they are not any better than the majority of companies. I will call them this week and see what they say.

[OV10]

Thanks for the update. That is extremely disappointing that the gear still have the same issue. I emailed Motion before I placed my order when I received the in stock notification. They assured me the issue had been resolved. I have heard everyone rave about Motion's customer service but apparently they are not any better than the majority of companies. I will call them this week and see what they say.

Myself and literally hundreds of others would emphatically disagree with your assumption........They are the best in the industry bar none so give them the opportunity to prove you wrong. ;)

[TonyGagJr]

I gave them that opportunity by asking if the gear problem was taken care of, apparently it was not.

[Alpha]

Hi TonyGagJr, we apologize for this confusion. I'm not certain which of the CS Team you spoke with, but as of mid January the nose strut HAS been redesigned, that information is true and could be what they were thinking of when asked. However, production lead times as they are, in addition to the Chinese New Year gap, the nose struts that have been received among our recent Freewing shipments are not the new "V2" ones. There is typically a ~6-8 week gap between production and arrival, and a complete batch of "V2" sets is being completed soon. Once completed, we will be air-freighting V2 sets which include a nose strut that doesn't need to be drilled, and updating the website with that inventory and the old V1s set aside. In the meantime, for anyone who has found that their nose strut is in fact still the old version, and does not want to modify it, please contact our CS Team and create a Service Ticket to receive a free replacement V2 nose strut from that air-freighted batch. You may of course also request a prepaid return label for a complete refund for the entire set SKU#FLW3021088 per our warranty policy. We stand behind our products and services! Of that, I can assure you! We're not perfect and sometimes mistakes are made, but I believe the true measure of a company's service is what they do in those times to rectify those mistakes and return a SKU to a transparent and consistent level of dependability as described.

For anyone who did want to try modifying their V2 nose strut, there are different methods customers have documented in the F7F thread, using a dremel, drill, and tap. However, we prefer to just send everyone a V2 nose strut that is truly Drop In, as originally intended! So please, contact us. To date we've received less than ten service tickets on the original shipment.


We'll be posting a Tech Note on the website to this effect shortly.

[Warbird Addict]

HI Alpha,

Thanks for the update. I've been in contact with Wayne in the support ticket system since the middle of last week, but haven't yet received a substantive response regarding what he plans to do. Basically just standby, we're discussing it internally has been the response. Thanks for your thoughtful and well-considered reply. I hope to hear from Wayne soon to make this issue a thing of the past. The Tigercat is a wonderful aircraft in nearly every respect, and will be undoubtedly be the best in my nascent fleet once it has functional shock-absorbing gear.

Best,
Ken

[Alpha]

Hi Ken,
Thank YOU! I have spoken with Wayne's manager and we do see your ticket is open and active. You'll receive a V2 nose strut and be notified when it is shipped. We'll be posting public updates as well when the struts are en route to us, and when they're en route to customers like you, to continue to spread the word that everyone who purchased the V1 suspension set is eligible for a free replacement V2 nose strut, whether they want it or not :)

[TonyGagJr]

Thank you Alpha. Appreciate the honesty!! I have been emailing Michael at CS. I will take my Tigercat out of the box and see if I have the V1 or V2 nosestrut.

[Alpha]

Hi TonyGagJr, transparency is our default policy when clearing up matters like this. There are lots of wheels to turn in our supply chain to right a wrong, but we turn them gladly and as quickly as possible in situations like this because deviations from the norm (that is, Dependability and Efficiency) keep us up at night! I see that the CS Team has your service ticket active as well, so you'll be among the recipient group!

[ryramZ]

Thank you Alpha. Appreciate the honesty!! I have been emailing Michael at CS. I will take my Tigercat out of the box and see if I have the V1 or V2 nosestrut.

Just let us know Tony. Chances are you have V1. Simply place the upgraded strut next to the stock fixed strut and look at the geometry. You will either see that the angles match or they don't. That's a good indicator.

[Grossman56]

Somewhere in China sits some raw foam that will eventually be transformed into my Tigercat!
Can't wait for them to come back in stock!!
(But I will!!)

Grossman56

[Warbird Addict]

Hi Alpha,

Thanks again for the reply regarding the struts. It's much appreciated and I look forward to a factory-revised design. Some of you may have noticed that in earlier posts on this thread, I mentioned wondering if extending the linkage that connects the strut body to the top of the yoke/stirrup that houses the axle/tire would alleviate this issue. I've seen another fix that Brandon Moon mentioned, but I didn't have the parts on-hand for doing that myself at the moment. I had a bit of extra time this evening so I took it upon myself to crudely fabricate an extended linkage as a proof-of-concept. Did the best I could eyeballing it with some calipers and figured moving the two holes in that linkage farther apart by .150" center-to-center would get it pretty close to the geometry of the stock, non-shock-absorbing strut. Long story short, I got some .250" thick aluminum bar stock I had on hand, cut a piece out with a hack saw, and filed it down to the thickness of the stock linkage, about .155." As I said, I then added .150" to the center-to-center distance when I drilled the two new holes (.080" diameter). I've uploaded pictures of the result. Please pardon the crude finishing as this was a proof-of-concept prototype and I did it quickly with a hacksaw, conical carbide cutter in an angle die grinder, and a mill-bastard file. You can see the end result. The geometry matches the stock strut nearly exactly. In the picture where you see my hand, I'm holding the revised strut directly on top of the stock strut with the two lined up, and the camera directly overhead to eliminate parallax. Not much difference! You can also see the subsequent example installed in the aircraft. Gear extends and retracts just like the stock strut -- the doors don't grab the tire! As you can see, however, the doors just barely contact the tire and this leaves a very slight gap. If I were to make a "V2" revision, I'd extend the center-to-center distance of the holes on the linkage to +.175" or +.200" over stock, and I believe it would be flawless. I still look forward to receiving the factory-revised V2 strut, however! I'm going to hold Motion to it!

Best,

Ken