Official FlightLine RC 1200mm F8F-1 Bearcat Thread

[Randy H]

Hello Grossman56 good to hear from you. yes i did use the stock upgrade with the two blade prop that MRC offers. I have the standard Bearcat with the four bladed prop and you can tell the two blade prop plan is faster. Not sure on the speed because I do not have a way of checking that. As far as handling they are about the same. Love the Bearcat good flyer and rock solid model.

[Grossman56]

It's so great when someone creates the perfect plane, there just isn't anything wrong with the bird no matter what you run for power. Slow flight characteristics remain the same, so she settles in for landing perfectly. I keep hoping that someone comes up with a 6s powered 1.5-2.0 m version. I drool at the thought!

Grossman56

[Randy H]

I totally agree with you. I have two Bearcats and love flying both of them. It would be great to see some of these planes in a 1.5-2m version. It seems for now the emphasis is on edf models and not the prop warbirds but maybe that will change in the near future.

[Grossman56]

Hopefully. I see they have the 'Vulcan' now. Its starting to resemble the car industry, remember when you could identify a car at a glance, now 90% of them look the same.
Ho Hum, another EDF that resembles an Avanti. When what we really want is another 1600 mm WWII fighter!! P51B, F8F-2 (Taller vertical stab), Hawker Hurricane, Me 109 (E preferably), Sea Fury (could upsize the 1200 like the Spitfire), etc. I remember when a little bird told me there was a Bearcat coming out, I jumped for joy, then I was told by the same little bird that it was only a 1200 mm size. I bit the bullet and bought one, replaced the wings and fuse after cracking it up at Muncie (got wet and soaked the electronics, thought it was dry but no) lost that one in the sun, totally my fault, then bought the latest one a few months back, just doesn't seem right not having a Bearcat.


Grossman56

[SanExup]

I agree, a 1.6m Bearcat, an ME109, or an A6M would be cool. Round out the lineup in that size!

[Randy H]

Hello Grossman56, just think of the many color schemes that are available just for the M109 in all versions. I also have an edf BAE Hawk that I fly but I get the most enjoyment out of the war birds. The new Vulcan sport jet is interesting but that market is full of a lot of models and they look the same to me. The new FW190 that came out looks good and can be repainted in many different schemes, its just too expensive. Lets see what the future brings.

[Grossman56]

Speaking of the future, we were talking at the field yesterday and it was pointed out that if you are going to buy an airplane, do it now because the cost of shipping is going up 7x, so you can figure a huge increase in the cost of an airplane and the lack of spare parts, at least at a reasonable price.

[Randy H]

Thanks for the update. I am thinking of going old school for my next project. I built an ME 109 G6 1/6 scale and the FW190 G8 from Sky Shark kits and both flew well and were fun to build. These kits will be available early next year again and I hope to do an ME 109 E or an Aichi Val dive bomber. Kind of next a break from foam models and go back to my roots so to speak. Attached is a picture of the FW 190 with sliding canopy.

[406PIlot]

Speaking of the future, we were talking at the field yesterday and it was pointed out that if you are going to buy an airplane, do it now because the cost of shipping is going up 7x, so you can figure a huge increase in the cost of an airplane and the lack of spare parts, at least at a reasonable price.

Where did you hear this about the shipping?

I'd really love to see the bearcat in a 15-1700mm version with a 6s setup. I dream of RARE BEAR!

[Daryl]

I agree, a 1.6m Bearcat, an ME109, or an A6M would be cool. Round out the lineup in that size!

This...and also a 5 blade Sea Fury in this range ftw

[Grossman56]

The President of our club was talking about it. Apparently, they don't return shipping containers either because of the cost, so he says, just quoting the boss. We're looking for a smaller shipping container for the field, the guys down in Riverton built an observation deck on theirs, cool idea.
I agree, the Hawker Sea Fury with a five blade?? Awesome. I see F.I just came out with a bigger RV-8, but God the cost!! $1600 big ones and no servos or motor. Flies nice, so does my RV-8 at one third of the cost with servos and motor.

Grossman56

[ochoaoctavio89@icloud.com]

Such a great airplane!!
Can't wait for the 1600 mm version, (hint hint)

Grossman56

I would agree all they have to do is scale it up and make it better not sure if they can make it better haven't gotten one (yet)

[Jerryz18]

Mine doesn't balloon with flaps. It actually did a loop. Can you tell me what percentage of down elevator did you use?

[WrightBrosRC]

This is my config. Results may vary...

[Grossman56]

Well, it's winter in Wyoming, so since all my planned repairs are done, I started looking at some wrecks. I have two F8F wrecks and one F7F. Funny how time changes your perspective. I totaled my first F8F at Muncie years ago and bought a new set of wings and fuse then transferred all the guts from the wreck to the new. No biggie, we've all done it. Then last year I lost Bearcat 2 in the sun and let's just say it isn't very pretty. Sold an airplane last Spring so purchased Bearcat 3, installed the 650Kv and 85A Mantis ESC from Bearcat 2 into it and all is well.
Started checking over Bearcat 1 fuse and wings because, frankly, I was bored. The wings are in surprisingly good shape, I'd popped the retracts out and the repair was a little rough but not bad. The nose of the fuse is slightly wrinkled but intact with a slight chip on the nose ring. "A project!" cried I!

Bearcat 1 (she will fly again!)


Bearcat 2 Horizontal stab and canopy will come from her, may she rest in peace.


Bearcat 3



Now the question is what to do for power? I'll go digging to see what I have lying around. I do have a complete prop, motor and ESC from Bearcat 3 that has never been used so that's a possibility.
Hard to believe this plane (picture #1) went down at Nefi in 2017 and five years later, she just may take to the skies again.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Bearcat One, now rechristened as Bit's and Pieces is being rebuilt as we speak.
Here she sits after a trial fitting of all the major parts:



Now, the wings are rebuilt from the original, I cut and applied Flite Metal in the shape of the wing panel where the landing gear attaches to add aluminum strength, then primed the wings with Krylon Foam Primer. Painted the wings black then used the same blue I had mixed for the Pitts. A pretty accurate match. The tail section was original to both Bearcat one and two, one of the elevators was knocked off, now reglued to the stab using Foam Tac.



As you can see, the fuse is in the process of being filled, I tried the steamer to loosen the foam and it did help a bit but there is still some work to be done. There is a slight amount of damage to the nose ring as you can see at about 2 o'clock, but the picture makes it stand out more than in real life. The wheels are from Bearcat three as I have Dave Browns on her. The motor is from La Patrona. A 3948 kv 750. I haven't run the numbers on it yet, but I'm thinking a Mantis 85a ESC should work. The prop is the original Bearcat one prop before I converted it to the 1400 mm FMS Corsair prop. This will do for now, with the possibility of converting it to the Corsair prop in the future. The nice thing about this motor is that the dummy radial should fit easier than with the 650 kv, haven't tried it yet, so we'll see.



The glossy tail section was on the wreck of Bearcat two, here it is all together again with the tail wheel and linkage hooked up to the rudder. there is a plate that goes over the linkage and damned if I didn't find a brand new plate buried inside the fuse of Bearcat two, still in its bag.



The fuse will get the Primer, black and blue repaint as well and for once, I won't use the Blue Angels decals but the basic Naval markings, just to be different and 'cause I want to
Stay tuned!

Grossman56

[OV10]

Would be absolute standup if FL would do a 1600 version of the Bear as well as the Hellcat too since it was such a turning force of the Pacific battle.
Dan, I know you would be like number 1 or 2 in the preorder line for a Bear of that size knowing how many times you have indeared the many 1200's.

[Grossman56]

Yes, I would, but now you see the prices! The 1200 mm Bearcat released at $199.00 and now is up to $279. The last one I got was obviously old stock, the decals wouldn't even stick to the plane. Yet it's shelf value increased. Still, can you imagine a 1600 mm 6s Bearcat (Or Hellcat for that matter) with actual scale landing gear and a folding tailwheel?
Ahhhh, I'm still holding out for a P51B as well.

Grossman56

[rifleman_btx]

Yes, I would, but now you see the prices! The 1200 mm Bearcat released at $199.00 and now is up to $279. The last one I got was obviously old stock, the decals wouldn't even stick to the plane. Yet it's shelf value increased. Still, can you imagine a 1600 mm 6s Bearcat (Or Hellcat for that matter) with actual scale landing gear and a folding tailwheel?
Ahhhh, I'm still holding out for a P51B as well.

Grossman56

Yes please to a 1600mm Bearcat!

[Grossman56]

Bits and Pieces update.
She's assembled and painted, all systems are working.
I used the receiver from La Patrona and had the blue box sitting in storage, all worked well.


Still have some work to do, The battery deck has to be manufactured and installed, I'll use the one out of the other Bearcat for a template. Note to self. Make a pattern of all pieces that can't be bought.
I found that making everything blue really added to the authentic look, apparently, from what I've seen and heard in videos, Grumman painted them blue and slapped them out.

Grossman56