Slowjohn

What about that record snowfall and "White Christmas" we had several years back here on the Gulf Coast?

BTW, nice build there Twinman. Hopefully I can get up there to see it fly in person soon. Your only a couple hours North of me. It'd be nice to visit some of the Real LHS's as we don't have anything like that down here anymore and haven't had for many many years.

Standing By,
Slowjohn


R.I.P.
Bill R.
We Miss You Down Here!

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

SINGLE ENGINE FLIGHT...........AND IT IS STILL FLYABLE!!
Flight number 12...getting too cocky!! I admit it..Split S turns now standard..high speed "Straffing RUNS"..Great...too many!!
Fuel getting low..little inverted flight...Ok OK up HIGH and down dive, but pulled out high......SOMETHING WRONG!! seriously out of trim..rudder needed badly...Glad I use a LOT OF RUDDER THROW...wish that screaming two stroke would shut up!!....Buddy comes up and thinks it is funny that I am sweating and comments,,you know you have lost one engine??? Mental note,,,four strokes are quiet!!
Now seriously...it held altitude and flew the pattern with aileron and heavy rudder, No real panic problems or major loss of control...Light wing loading is a good thing!!
Ok,,now I Know what is going on..(Mental note,,need to wear my hearing aid with four strokes)..now power on remaining engine was full power, but it will fly. Now line up for the landing,,heavy rudder and little aileron. At this point I should note that I really like the flaps and easy slow landing...WITH BOTH ENGINE RUNNING!! Level flight beginning the final turn...Click in full flaps as usual...NOT GOOD IDEA!!! The plane began to roll away from the running engine!! No panic but much more aileron..OK OK<hand shaking... Quit asking!!! Come around and go to idle in down direction,,no more rolling. It would seem that full flaps with both engine turning and pulling and producing thrust over the wing......Is a good thing!!! One engine at almost full power and THEN hit the flap...Hmmm Seems to produce a LOT of lift on that side of the airplane..tries to roll...causes sweating and shaking hands on the pilot..Brought it to idle and normal flight and landing resumes. I really like the landing.
Summary...single engine, big rudder, light wing loading,,,no problem. High power on ONE ENGINE and full flaps..NOT GOOD THING!!
My two cents,, set up the approach and glide angle,,then hit the flaps or do not use.
ANY ONE GOT A TRAINER WITH LA 40 for sale???? This is killing me!!
Twinman

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

Holy Crap! That kind of stuff can make you blow out a fresh pair of Depends. [X(]
You made me nervous just reading about it!

Just another good reason why sometimes it's better that we fly them from the ground....

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

Concerning your Depends..The big thing is that it IS VERY CONTROLLABLE,,but...I am into warning others of......uh..........those nasty little surprises.. Ha Ha
Twinman

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

Well, I figured out the cowl attachment.... I ordered a couple of cheap Top Flite Corsair cowls (about $13 apiece) and mounted them to the firewall with balsa blocks, with the back of the cowl flush against the leading edge. Very quick, easy, and inexpensive improvement.

I attached the nacelles to the wings, stuck the wings into the fuse to eyeball the set up. The cowls now extend further out than the original smaller cowls, and I figured extending the engine mounts out to the new cowl opening would help eliminate the need for nose weight?

Anyway, I slid in the tail planes to check out the new overall results... **** MARIA!!!! The tail is twisted!!!! The horizontal stab is almost 2" off, and the vertical stab is about an inch off at the top.[:@] All this just re-enforces my belief that there are no ARFs, they're all just RTBs ....Ready to BASH!!!!

Maybe it's a sign that I should go ahead with my original idea of raising the wing and horizontal stab 3/4"....

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

Chilipecker
Ready to bash?????!!!!...I agree,,finished mine.
See below..my story and sticking to it. Would talk to Niel on the twist,,mine was not.
Good Luck
Beat this bash!!!
Twinman

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

By the way...here are more "scale" close ups...hope they help.
Twinman

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

Hey Twinman,
Thanks for the photos! Is that you standing by your plane? I would suggest you get at least 30 of your buds to hold it for you when you run up the engines...LOL!

And, OH YEAH, I am going to BASH IT!!! I bought it on the electronic bay, so I'm sure the guy who sold it figured out the twist problem and just decided he would unload it on some unsuspecting fool...I look forward to running into him one fine day.

Sooooo, since I have to do surgery on the tail section, my plan is to raise both the main wings and horizontal stab up by at least 3/4". Plan to cut the existing wing spar slots up to the top rail of the fuselage, and then move the stab up an equal distance. I figure it will make the whole plane look better to get the wings up higher on the fuse and closer to scale so the engine nacelles don't hang down below the fuse.

Anyway, I haven't lost the faith! I still think this thing is a hell of a deal for $300, and will look pretty damn impressive on the fly....and from what you've reported on the flight characteristics, I know I'm going to be glad I bought one.

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

Sure man...that's mine,,30 buds??? Uh..yeah,,,but the vertical test is going to be tough.
My story and sticking to it.
Good Luck,
Twinman

av8r4aa

My Feedback: (82)

Hey Twinman,
What was the weight of your plane?

I own a G and P Tigercat with 2 OS 46 engines.
mine was 13 lbs. Flys well.

Thx.

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

14# 3 oz. Two Magnum 90's and 3 blade props. No problems.
Twinman

kochj

So let me get this strait...
You did or didn't use the corsair cowls??
and this plane is or isn't set up for retracts/////??????

Thanks
Justin

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

YES////!!!!! It is set up for retracts......comes with the hardwood rails pre-installed with pre-drilled holes, the gear doors come ready to be hinged, there's even a cut out for the loop in the wire strut, if you choose to go with them.

I don't think Twinman has converted to the larger Corsair cowls yet, but I'm using them (standard Top Flite) , along with some other minor changes.

kochj

So do you feel that this plane is worth the price?

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

I strongly suggest you take the time to go back to page 1 and read back through this thread if you're serious about buying one.

I think it's a deal for the $300 I paid for it. Is it a $900 Kondor Tigercat? No way! But bottom line for me is price and flight characteristics!

Twinman built his straight from the box and says his flies great, which is a huge plus. I'm just trying to do as little as possible to give mine an acceptable scale look to satisfy my own taste.

I believe with minimal cost and effort this Tigercat can look awesome, fly great, and will be singing like my favorite bird... cheap, cheap!

kochj

I really hope it isn't a KMP tigercat..... I have not heard vary good things about it.....
Is that better????

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

From a Tigercat to a B-25? Well, to each his own. Of course, Ziroli also makes an excellent B-25, which you can build for less than the cost of the T/F ARF (or Hangar 9, or KMP)... but seeing as how this is a Tigercat thread, I'll just say Good Luck to you with whatever you decide on.

Speaking of the Tigercat, I cut the slots on my fuselage to raise the main wing up 3/4" and I am really liking what it does for the looks. I'm in the process of raising my horizontal stab up the same height. Then I plan on fairing the fuse into vertical stab so it doesn't appear to set on top of the fuse.

With the addition of the larger cowls, raising the wings and fairing the tail section, I think I'll have what I'm after in the way of scale appearance. Really not much effort so far.....now I'm thinking of ripping off the plastic iron on covering and going with glass, panel lines and a Gloss Sea Blue paint job!

av8r4aa

My Feedback: (82)

Need to see some pictures of the mods!

kochj

Sorry,
It's that ADDHD thing you know? I skip around a lot!

hookemut

My Feedback: (3)

The Tigercat nose wheel, strut, and closure skin retract aft as an assembly, please see the shot taken at Duxford.
hookemut

twinman

My Feedback: (2)

Go to post 106 above for close up of nose gear.. Tucson Air Museum
Twinman

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

OK, first I've got to tell you 3/4" seems to be the magic number for modifications...build up the nacelles 3/4" behind the cowl, raise the main spars up 3/4", raise the horizontal stab up 3/4".........

What I'm doing here is trying to give the flying surfaces a more scale appearance in relation to the fuselage. As received from the box, the main wing and horizontal stab sets too low on the fuse, and since I'm adding larger cowls, I have to build up the nacelles, which will in turn be closer to the ground, so the wing has to go up so the nacelles don't hang down below the fuselage.


Let's start with the main wing.

I cut the spar slots up to the ply cap rail. Very simple to do, raises the main wing up by 3/4". I will have to add ply to the cross fuse brace so the holes in the spar will have an anchor and drill new holes through the side of the fuse for the wing captive bolts.

This raises the wing up past the removable section behind the cockpit and now the wing sets in a really good position that is very close to the real plane.

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

Next, the stab.

I have to raise the horizontal stab up by 3/4" to keep the same ratio as the main wing. I cut the fuse straight up from where the stab slides in and then built up a balsa base by 3/4". Now the stab sits up even with the top of the fuse, as the real plane.

Then, I cut the bottom of the vertical stab as shown to clear the stab and fit in it's slot on top of the fuse.

hellcat56

My Feedback: (21)

18.5
Enya 120 4 stroke
14/7 three bladed prop
Rom Air retracts

Flies great
Take off--landing are a dream
Haven't got the gear doors on yet
or the tank drop yet
But I will
Lawrence

Chilipecker

My Feedback: (37)

Great Job on your Tigercat! I can imagine it has plenty of power with the 120's, and I'm sure it sounds great too.

Did you add anything else, like extra batteries, etc.? Twinman said his came out at 13lbs using 90 4 strokes... just wondering why there is such a weight difference???