Hello all,
After almost one season of flying my Tiger now under my belt, I thought I would write a few words on its performance and flight characteristics. Most of you will remember that this was my third Tiger 60, so I do have something to compare the modifications that I made against. While the "original" stock built Tiger is a real *****cat and is about as gentle a flier as you can get, it did have its limitations.
Let me start with the engine. The DLE20 is a perfect match for the Tiger, it by no means is overkill, so if your considering using or going gas I would have to give it two thumbs up! I will say that my DLE out of the box was a bit difficult to tune right, but once broken in it runs great. I would like to remove the carb this winter and make sure that the reed valve assembly is perfectly flat and seating correctly. I would also like to replace and upgrade the stock ring if I can find a replacement ring now that the Bowman ring is no longer available.
Removing most of the dihedral from the wing made a huge difference in the flying characteristics of this plane. The plane rolls so much better and precise. The downside to this modification is that it does reduce the way the original Tiger flew in terms of it being for a beginner. So be forewarned, but all in all this is one of the best mods that I made to this plane... Even with all of the modifications made to the tail (which I like), it has a difficult time in sustaining a knife edge flight. The plane will knife edge, but will start to drop in altitude.
I enjoy the two piece wings that I made and transportation and set-up is a breeze at the flying field. I like to see the look on the faces of fellow fliers as I'm prepping my plane for flight, they will usually comment "I didn't think the Tiger had slide on wings"! Another modification that has worked great is where and how I placed the fuel tank. Refueling the tank is a snap when you can see the tank through the canopy. I don't think that I have ever leaked a drop of fuel through the vent line as a result!
Anyway, I thought I would give you my results. If you're considering building that Tiger, I can tell you it took me three tries to get it right, she's a great flier.
Happy flying!!!
VJ