Quite a few months ago I asked for advice here about modifying a Tiger for dual aileron servos and taildragger configuration. Last month, it finally flew!!!!

I was hoping to get it airborne before cold weather hit, but alas, it wasn't so. I did make it before Christmas though. OK it really was too cold to fly!!!! But I couldn't resist! I just got in one flight, and it wasn't all that great due to the low temps and high winds, but no damage or anything (except for a slightly bent gear while taxiing back). I did run into trouble on the ground. First, my normally reliable TT 46 Pro refuses to even fire! Glow plug was fine, glow driver voltage ok (but had to run off my 12v cell........my standalone glow starter died even though it was fine at the house......presumably the combined result of the low temps and being low on charge perhaps). Actually the electric starter would barely turn the cold engine over. I finally got it warmed up and running. OK, takeoff time! Ooops, plane noses over when attempting to taxi.........grrrrr. A second attempt yielded similar results. Seems my main gear were not angled forward enough. So I shut everything down, removed the main gear, and bent them both forward a bit. Of course, by the time I did this, the engine was cold again, requiring attention. :/ Once I got it running, I found my gear adjustments had taken care of the nose-over problem, yay! Takeoff was pretty decent (definitely easier to handle than the Cub!), climbout was sprightly. Now to do some maneuvers.......WHOA! This plane is snappy! I knew the CG moved back a bit, but I decided to leave it this way for more agile performance. It definitely made a difference! Of course, the high winds made the plane a bit of a handful anyway, but I do think the aft CG has increased performance notably. It also seemed a bit faster, which is to be expected with the aft CG and no nosegear, but part of the impression may have been due to the fact that I had gotten used to the Cub.

I landed waaaaaay hot, bouncing a few times, then as I taxied back I hit a bump and nosed over, bending one gear back a bit. The landing/taxi process pretty well banished any fears I'd had regarding the structural integrity of the new landing gear installation.

One of my reasons for going to dual aileron servos was to reduce slop/flex in the aileron linkages. The plane used to exhibit a rather nasty flutter noise and control sluggishness at high speed, I'd assumed it was the ailerons. Though I only got one flight in, of approximately 10 minutes, I didn't notice any more flutter problems. And I pushed the plane fairly hard. I also experimented with the flaperon stuff.........interesting, dunno if I'll use it much.

A few of the triangular pieces of trim came off, which concerns me (most of these only came off after I'd sprayed Windex on the surface and cleaned it with a paper towel, but still......). I used the Windex method to apply them, then sealed the edges with the iron (after the Windex had set for over 24 hours). Hopefully they were just "flukes" (one was definitely a silly goof.......the plastic backing was still on it!).

I figured leaving the CG back a bit would enhance performance, but I really didn't think a Tiger could be this wild and crazy! I was just hangin' on the whole time! Once I get "reacquainted" with the plane and get used to the snappier performance I should be able to seriously wring it out. In the mean time I may move the CG forward again. Insane agility is nice, but so is smooth, solid sport flying. I must say its current flight behavior suits the hectic theme of the plane's trim and my flying style well.

Anyway, it's too cold to fly here for a while now, so the Tiger is now once again safely tucked away for the winter. Looking forward to flying it this summer!!!!!

Included some pics...........note this is before the first flight, so the gear may look like they're bent a little too aft. Also note the canopy isn't tinted........I'd planned on doing this but never got around to it. I actually like the way it looks clear, but tinted would be cool too, I might try that later on.

Incidentally, I didn't build this plane. Someone who seriously knew what they were doing put this thing together and as I understand it, got about 9 flights out of it before selling it to my dad about 8 years ago, who gave it to me as a birthday gift. I flew it off and on until summer of '04 when I grounded it for restoration and modifications. I'm sure glad to have been able to keep this machine flying, and especially glad it still flies after experiencing my meager building skills. :P

Thanks much to all here who posted ideas/advice/pics on the gear and aileron mods!

-Matt Bailey