RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

How big are the supplied main wheels? I hope they are around 4" in diameter.

I have a feeling this plane will need to land pretty fast.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Hi Richard, the mains are 3" stock, I have gone to Sullivan 3-1/2" "Skylites" as I like the solid filled tires over the air type. Less bounce and support weight better.

BR
Kerry S.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Thanks Kerry. So the Sullivan 3-1/2" wheels fit fine inside the wheel wells? I have a pair of Sullivan 3-1/2" Skylites with aluminum hubs that I could use.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Hey APS (and anyone else looking)

Horizon has all the 551RS and the 661 L&R struts for a decent price (less than direct from robart) but the 188vrx (vlaves, tank, and fittings) are almost $20 more than from Tower... The only way to easily find them on the HOrizon site is to use the search, and type in "rob****" replace the * for the robart part number. (horizon sure has a difficult site to browse....they could take some hints from Tower on that)

On another note... Why not go with the 531rs's from robart??? They seem nearly identical to those 551RS [sm=confused.gif]

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

You could go with the 530RS or the 531RS. However, on these, the air cylinders face outward toward the wingtips. You would need to make a cut-out on the rib just outboard of the retract mount area for each air cylinder to clear. The 530RS and the 531RS are more suitable for planes that have wheels that retract outward, such as the Spitfire or ME109. On these planes, the 530RS or the 531RS would be mounted in a standard manner with the air cylinders facing in toward the fuse.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Thanks Richard.... Your advice on the retracts has been most educational for me.

I think that pretty much makes my mind up on what to get...

Looks like 551RS's for the retracts, and 662 L&R's for the struts with 3.25" wheels!!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

My pleasure. I only fly warbirds, and all of my warbirds have retracts. Thus, retracts are no mystery to me whether they are mechanical or pneumatic.

On another note, if you want your air retracts to operate slowly in a scale manner, then you will need to purchase a variable air control valve that would allow you to adjust the retract rate

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

The retract valves I use in my jets have the adjustments built into them, for those that dont, I buy the little metal inserts with a small hole in them so they slow the air down.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Yeah. I saw those restrictors...I might as well pick up a bag of them as well (since it's looking like i'm going all out, no sense in not getting those too!)



Man am I happy that Uncle Sam forked out $250,000 to have the little country airport I fly at re-paved....I was always leary of the huge cracks in the pavement destroying retracts, so I never got a plane that would use them... But now with a freshly paved 3260' x 80' runway... It's just begging for a fast plane with retracts!!

Well....on to different questions for me as I'm sure something will come up as I start to assemble!

Now to figure out the power plant....My pocket is starting to hurt from buying the plane and retracts...So I' might just go with the YS 91AC I've got on hand, and eventually drop in a ys 110 (as it will be a direct drop in) in the future....

But I'm still having a hard time ruleing out the saito 180...It's got drawbacks of being larger, and therefore it going to stick out of the cowl more, but the added power will certainly make up for the loss of efficiency with either a 3 or 4 bladed prop (looks like the Bear might now be sporting 4 blades...will know for sure tomorrow!)... ...unfortunatly there's no way I'm yanking mine out of the funtana, So i'd be having to buy an engine to go that route.....


I think I need to get some citibank stickers to go with the all the other sponsers! [X(]

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

I tried those inline air restrictors before, and they didn't slow down the retracts as much as a variable air valve. Give the air restrictors a shot first since they are much cheaper.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

hey guys, just put a wheel collet over your main air line and tighten it until you get the speed you like best! easiest and cheapest method I know!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

I tried that, but was not impressed by how the set screw ate into the line.. last thing anyone wants is a fuse full of smoke oil

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Just started getting into this ARF tonight and I have the following question-
When assembling the frame sides, the instructions state that the left frame has a shorter slot to give the firewall mount right thrust. I trial fit the pieces in the fuse as shown in the pic. Maybe I'm just not getting something here but isn't the right thrust supposed to make the engine aim to the right of center and not to the left? Is the manual getting it reversed or what?
The pic is taken from the top of the plane.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Frag:

When the instructions reference LEFT and RIGHT, it is with the side frames UPSIDE DOWN. Note pic in manual. LEFT remains LEFT when installed into the fuse as you will be rotaing the assy 180 deg. up-right.

When Installed in the fuse, and viewed from the COCKPIT, the LEFT side is LONGER.

Bottom line, make sure that the firwall has down and right thrust angles and you will know you got it as viewed from the COCKPIT.;)

I scrathed my head for a breif time too when I read the instr.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Thanks for the clarification Vampire - I was starting to wonder if I hadn't understood the meaning of 'right thrust' the last few years! (As in no wonder my planes fly like he*l!):D

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

After a great day at the air races, (a little windy) I came home to find my RB!!! As for a report for todays racing..... The planes weren't breaking any records...too much wind ... But Dago red beat the bear .... average speed was something like 468mph... Doesnb't look like any records are going to fall this year as the weather is going to deterioriate tomorrow, and probably rain and snow showers on Sunday... Here some photos!!!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

and 3 more!!!


edit: Added that last one of everything in the box (acctually...scroll down a post to see the box contents)....does it look like anything's missing???? I'll give you a hint...it's made of paper...and contains many pages filled with detailed information [X(]


Ohh well... At least there are some things I can do without them!!:eek:

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

couldn't edit this picture in... all the goodies minus the instructions[:@]


Also upon inspectioin it looks like the elevator is not going to work with robart hinge points. The rudder is a maybe as are the ailerons...I might just go with radio south CA hinges all around. From first impression, the tail wheel assembly looks pretty rugged, the fuselage and cowl are absolutly beautiful, the spinner is huge and looks awsome (Hopefully its pretty balanced), The hardware looks so-so...Probably am going to replace the 2-56 with 4-40 (as I think Vampire did) and Robart control horns. Other than that, the pneumatics mentioned above are on their way, and the powerplant is still up in the air (I really want to put a ys 110 in it but the RB fund is running on critical).

So far the only issue I'm kinda concerned about is engine cooling... Doesn't seem like it's going to get alot of air flow sa that spinner takes up alot of the cowl opening.... Currious to hear about that!!


If anyone is feeling bored and wants to scan the instructions or fax them to me, shoot me a PM!!!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

I cant wait to see some flight vids of this beauty!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

High Sierra, guess what? I have the exact same problem. Bootiful plane but no instructions.

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Just as a group response to everyone who emailed or pm'ed me.......

I had a chance to do a quick fit-check in the Bear yesterday....

The Jett turbo-jett 15cc muffler combined with OS91, Mag91, Jett 1.20 (and probably the TT90) fit very well within the cowl. Only requires about a .5" dia hole for the exhaust tube to exit the bottom of the cowl. Figure on selecting a prop turning in the 11K rpm range for this combination. For the OS/Mag this would be an 13x8 or 14x8 to start with. The Jett BSE120 should probably be happy with a 14x10 in this application. Once we get a few in the air, prop selection can be a bit more refined for speed and overall aircraft performance.

Yes, the OS and Magnum 90 will run well with the 10cc muffler, but at higher rpm (smaller dia prop). But I think in the plane the larger diameter will be helpful.

Bob

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

No love for us ehh cstvec..... I wish they wehre on the internet somewhere...even in a different language.... I could put some work into it this weekend at least!!! Hopefully Ace will fax them on monday!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

I just ran across a Navy Bearcat ARF. It's lightly smaller than TT Rare Bear, but it might be worth looking into: [link]http://www.rc-dymond.com/order_newitems.htm[/link]

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

Thanks Richard, I like that!

RE: ThunderTiger Rare Bear
 

I have one on order. Let's hope it turns out decent.

Who ever comes out with a .60 size or larger F8F Bearcat ARF would make a fortune. Come on people. We don't need another Mudstain or Corsair at the field.