ok heres the link ...I hope http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=576476 it worked ,the glue is so not there I would just cut it open like I showed in this thread (at the end of the thread) I cut at a 45* angle and just glued the skin back on after I fixed every thing inside . then just sanded it smooth and recovered the stab . I only removed the bottom skin and it came off easy. the retro stabs im not sure how they are but they have to be better than the first ones ...I hope ???? you will see in the pics what I did to make it even stronger, and I used a "real" unidirectional C/F 3/8" tubes for the spars......the stock ones if you can see weave in the finish ...its not unidirectional ,so read that as weak and easy to snap.
pics of my Rare Bear start at pg #27 .corsair nut is my Son and I bought the F-8F navy bearcat from him and flew it for 4 years at least ...until I killed it by not strapping the batts down right ,went inverted and batts fell out ....doh!
you'll have to add a bunch of weight to C/G this thing so don't worry about putting a servo in the back end ..mine took 10.5 oz. of weight under the heavy G-160 motor and at least 2 lbs of batts (2x4s 5000 mah) in the fuse .even the later bearcats had flutter issues with any type of push rod....that's why the only ones left are one that modded the elev set up , the elev. are just too big and have a lot of power to flex stuff.i would put the C/G just infront of the panel line called out .and most important limit your elev travel to a 3/16" with 35%-45% expo ...for HIGH RATE...mid and low rate much less than 3/16" or you be all over the place...like I said the elev is very powerfull . I added flaps as it lands really nice with them .ill try and get some vid next time we fly it . ive got 4+ years experience of flying this plane ...these things we are talking about must be done or it wont last 4 mins.

Recovering is easy. Ultracote White is a perfect match.

Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the heads up. Hmmmm flaps Air Sally... Nice touch!

Ultracote white. Thanks Cougar. I will order some from the US, along with cf tubes.

Definately will rebuild the tail.

Just out of curiosity... This kit is no longer in production.. Or am I wrong?

Long gone TT no longer makes airplanes either....think it has been @7 years since these went out of production.I was lucky to find the RB.I was looking for the F-8F version but no one had one.

Just got back from the rally. Sure wish I would have had more time on RB to iron out the bugs and get comfortable as there was a lack of that kind of machine. There were some less common, such as my friend Carl's nearly 15' HE 111 and I cannot detract from the oft seen examples, but after many P-51's and P-47's can you not think the flight line screams for the F8?

By the way, there was a huge F-7 sitting in a trailer, (along with the Albatross another of my "Lust List" Grummans). Never came out.:(

At one event the end of last season there was a Ziroli Bearcat with a Moki radial and scale landing gear on the flight line across from me. Oh, the temptation............ You really only need one kidney.

yeah too many P-47's and 51's. if I can get the time I may convert my crashed F-8F to a plug and make a mold. Hope you can get your sorted out

Got the gear repaired and remembered to glue the one wing dowel set. For some reason they were loose.

Family is down so not sure when next able to get flying.

keep us posted ...just saw where another RB NIB was sold on RCG. I think i'll reach out to him ....get him up to speed on these if he needs it.going to try and get some vid of mine next time out .

I'm hoping to try this weekend. Will take vid IF things a bit less stressful. Went back through the instructions and was a bit surprised by the 1/8" elevator deflection specs. Will tone it down on low rate, but it definitely needs more to hold the tail down in grass.

I took my rb out yesterday, first time for a long while but it flew really well, no vices and looked well in the air. I fly off grass so do need lots of up elevator for taxiing and initial part of takeoff. Btw mine is built to the specs in the manual, os91fx, and no other major mods, mechanical retracts etc. I needed only about 3oz of lead in the nose to get cg right. I have to say I am very happy with it and it's still going strong several years on.

Surprising if yours has the stock elevator setup. The specs show only 1/4" Low Rate and 3/8" High Rate travel limits. Pretty small deflections.

Agree about grass ops. Those long legs really drag the tail up.

I'm still debating bringing mine along to the rally. Still working out the programming bugs with the new JR Tx and not really comfortable doing that in front of crowds, nor trying pavement for the first time at an event like this. May have it sitting static, though.

Hi Couger,
yep, stock tail but the second. Erosion they produced with beefed up first two ribs. I have so far seen no problems, note though it is not overpowered, I kept to the recommended motor and I take care not to carry out steep dives with a high energy pull out. I use much bigger movements on the elevator, for taxing and take off lots of up elevator with lots of expo. I can then switch to a lower rate for General flying. It really is a bit of a ***** cat once it's set up to suit you. It stalls, if you can call it a stall, by sort of wafting along descending slowly. However as I said I keep away from severe high energy turns and try to fly in a scale sort of way.
Hope all goes well with yours.
al

got in another flight ...it went well ,but still having issues with getting both gear to come down at the same time ...having to go inverted to get both out ...yikes .gonna try and get some vid next time out.

Are you using std mechanical retracts? I am and it took ages to get them to work well. In fact my last outing I had 4 flights and it was the first time there was no gear problem on any of them. I think I have it set up ok now. Btw, I never take the wings off because of the gear linkages

Sally, I'm assuming Robart units or a copy? Regardless, the same is true for all designs.

if you require inverted to get them to unlock you likely have an issue with the uplock end binding on one or both. I would suspect the mass lever from the long legs and wheels are creating too much load on that end of the slider and preventing it from moving the all-important first few thou.

Unfortunately those long legs also magnify any binding or loading at the wheel end of the legs. You can have the same problem with the trunnions binding in the housings when retracted, most often the result of mount surfaces not perfectly true. The fact you have to flip it inverted to break them loose pretty much confirms you need to release that weight to have the gear cycle, so doubt physical binding is the cause. In fact, a few makes add a spring to help counter the gear weight to aid in pulling them up into the wings, but that works only when the gear is cycling.

One trick would require removal and that can be really annoying with the linkages and such. Once out, splitting the halves will show how the slider locks the trunnion each end. You may have to sand or round off a slight amount to allow them to break loose easier.

Only work on the retract end as it sounds like you do not have any problems getting them to retract.

I worked on enough, but only used mechanical retracts once myself and with the Harvard/Texan they did not survive long. More the fault of the aircraft geometry than anything else and I am currently on the 4th or 5th iteration with servoless, custom trunnions and modded Robart legs. In fact, last Saturday was the second good landing I ever had with it.

Personally, I figured mechanical setups far too much work to rig, required very stiff linkages that would hopefully not flex under load and the likelihood of even a slight misadjustment would have the servo continue to try and complete the action, (sucking on the power system continuously as it did so) was the reason I never used them again. Servoless will shut down in a few seconds of a bind condition.

Regardless of version, best have a healthy or even separate power system for retracts.

Well, we're off to the rally soon. Wife is a bit iffy on room so the Bear may stay home:(:(:(:(

I'm using spring air retracts and robart struts and wheels.they work fine now staticly.so we think we just need to slow down a bit more.

Was wondering... I haven't yet looked at the RB yet, but, how about drop soaking the rear stabs in diluted white glue, and let it drip out? The 'new improved' stabs should get the needed lacking glue, plus hardens the soft balsa without deforming, apart reaching all the nooks and cranies....

That plus MKS glider servo in the tail... Should work like a champ....

Any thoughts? Drop/ Drip soaking the entire stab?

Not sure if white glue would be adequate as I believe it requires clamping of two wood pieces for the best bond. Doubt they are really made for structural gap filling or penetration on their own.

Mind you, I definitely do not have experience with all the different "Wood Glue" products out there. One such is Gorilla Wood Glue, which is a PVA similar to their more popular product I use for hinge installation, (just like CA they require moisture from the air to activate). Also, unlike the white glue of old, once cured that same moisture or wet environment is not supposed to reverse the process, although I have seen some get soft if heavily exposed to water.

I strongly suspect a basic "White Glue" or a contact cement are used, at least in R/B and other ARF products I've had across the table. Not a rigid bond and VERY little penetration of the wood at all. Both are counter to our requirements. Your other problem would come from any existing glue, even if separated, as it would prevent new adhesive from access at the bond line, directly where you need it.

I have heard of a few different ideas, but personally would not try them unless I had some method of contouring the stabs. Mixing standard Gorilla Glue with water will over-activate and make it expand like the spray insulation you get at the hardware or building supply, (also another option that has been tried). It fills the entire internal volume AND bonds the parts together. Unfortunately that expansion will continue unchecked and inflate the stabs like balloons unless there is something to prevent separation.

I would at that point pretty much decide that cutting at least the lower surface away to check and correct any errors would be far less trouble and increase my confidence. When I did mine I opted for FLOX, (Flocked Cotton) mixed with epoxy to fill the gaps as it makes a structural bond.

As mentioned previously, I found Ultra Cote is a perfect match and all I have used for years for its superior contouring and covering characteristics so it was relatively easy to do even the entire wings. Elevators and stabs use exactly the same technique.

Signo I have to agree with cougar on this.you could get away with just taking the bottom of the stabs covering off,and cut into the skin at a angle to remove the lower skin inspect and reglue the ribs to the skin.I added some wood at the root and extended the length of the spar one more bay outboard with a plywood rib doubler and replaced the weak stock C/F spar with a real unidirectional C/F spar I bought from CST."the composite store.com".the servo in the tail is a must do also.I also removed 1/4" of the TE of the elev.to reduce the area of the elev.I stripped sanded the TE then recovered them.

Thanks Cougar and AirSally. Yeh, I will just take the plunge and open her up. Just need to be awfully careful, balsa is practically not available locally. That's the bummer, and ultra Côte white... EBay must help out here!

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2114871

Good thing I am practising covering after some 20odd years away from the hobby !!!http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2114872

try to post vid https://youtu.be/v8mzytQfbtE

Nice flyer, although it makes me feel even dumber for not installing flaps when I had the wings apart.:o

signofinfinity, different coverings require different heat levels and techniques. Ultra Cote is by far the easiest to use and has the best conforming and bonding properties of any I've used.

The key is to tape the edges first to get rid of wrinkles and then bond those with low heat, working slowly while holding tension to form around contours such as wingtips. Once ALL the edges are done go back with a heat gun on the higher setting. You will be shocked at first as it actually expands, softens and looks like a wet bed sheet.......right up until it sets drum taught.

Unsealed wood surfaces such as balsa will breathe enough to let gasses from heating the adhesive to escape. Still, follow along with a towel to ensure good bonding until it cools.

With the normal overlap you should not have a problem with bubbles as they can exit at the edges. If a heavier overlap is required, such as the 77 decal on the left wing, a multi-roll poker is a good investment.

with out the flaps it would be a bear to land LOL it really slows it down and having to carry power really helps with pitch authority. then you just land it like a real war bird ......with a bit of power on right to the ground.

Had the Bear up for a couple flights today and think I have the programming gremlins almost all gone. Needed some trim and found my tailwheel had turned on the trunnion, but all round very controllable and comfortable. Only things of note are not much speed difference in the air between half and full throttle, (may have to set the throttle curve). Seems to honk along pretty steadily. May look faster with the gear up. Not sure if that is the case.

Second was that although there needs to be minimal elevator in flight, I ran out just before the wheels touched down for the last landing. Had switched to High-Rate just in case. May need a tad more tavel set on H/R.

Even with the cowl off this plane does NOT like to slow down.

First landing had it over on its back. Second was fine until throttle up to turn round. Then it was "Alley Oop" and on the spinner. Would likely be fine on tarmac.