308jockey

Afternoon everyone,

And a wet afternoon it is. I was at the Perry show this weekend and had two interesting things happen. First, I got to meet Greg Doe and enjoyed meeting someone I've only ever spoken to online. Later in the day I was wandering around and found someone with some very nice racers that just caught my eye. One was a glass fuselage and sheeted and glassed wing, and tail. It had a K&B race engine and pipe installed. Honestly he was basically giving it away. Very good looking plane so now it's at my house. Apparently it is a Polecat. I've heard of those but I'm not well versed in racing planes beyond Q500. I'm guessing it's an older model based on the K&B engine but what class would it have flown in, F1? I have another glass kit, a Miss RJ, that I'll be finishing up this spring and the engine for that came from Greg but I wonder if these planes have any unpleasant flying characteristics. I hardly expect Kadet performance and would expect both to land at a higher speed than anything else I normally fly but if not F1 then what class would the PoleCat have raced in? The lines on this plane are very nice and I'll only fly it on rare occasion but would like to know more about it. Thanks.

Rick H.

GREG DOE

The model Pollcat is a Formula 1, although there was a couple of .15 size Quarter Midget as well. The full scale Pollcat was a variation of the Shoestring. Your model is most likely the Bob Violet version that was kitted by Jell Berkton. There is a possibility that it could be the Dave Layman version? If you could post a picture we might be able to figure out which one it is. I didn't see it at Perry, but I'll ask if anyone I know saw it, and knows what it is. They two models are VERY similar. Those engines were very loud with that straight pipe. Both the racers you have are great flying airplanes in the air, but they can be a challenge to land, because they take longer to slow down. The only way to get experience landing these airplanes is to fly them. Try to fly them at the largest field you can get too. Paved is better then grass, because if you are less then perfect landing, the small thin wheels can dig in to the grass, and you can cart wheel the airplane. The K&B runs wide open, with a fuel pinch off to kill the engine, so there are no "go arounds" There aren't any carburetors that will work on on your K&B. Also the engine must have crankcase pressure to run. Look at the fuel system, and it might be unfamiliar to you? The Miss RJ is capable of speeds around 130mph. The Polecat will approach 180mph if everything is right. When we raced F1 we ran high nitro fuel (60%) For what you want to do,15% should be fine. Needling these engines can be a challenge. Test run it just to see how to adjust it. Set it just a little rich. I inherited a Polecat, but I haven't flown it yet. In the day I built and flew several of them, and posted my best personal time with one.

308jockey

I think I am attaching a photo of the plane here. I fly at a very large field with more than enough room to land basically anything from a Kadet to a full size 172 with no obstacles so I hopefully will be able to get this and the RJ onto the runway safely. As for fuel, I do have 45 and 60% boat fuels on hand and if you think it is prudent I can add some oil to that. I already did so to the 60% when I blew up two K&B boat motors and it was simply low on oil. I don't want to try and find parts for this engine. Anyway I'm looking forward to getting this one finished and airborne this spring. It won't fly often but every once in a while a fast plane just hits the spot.

GREG DOE

Rick, My son, Tom talked to the seller at Perry. He was told that your airplane was a "marriage" of a Violet wing, and a Jerry Small fuselage. The front intake engine would not have been used in F1 as we raced it in the day. Also Tom was told that the engine is a Super Tigre, but from what little I can see in your picture, it might not be a K&B? I would run the 45% nitro fuel, and make sure the oil content is 18% to 20%. Most of my assumptions about the engine were wrong, because I incorrectly assumed it was set up the way we raced F1.I see in the picture the engine is a front intake, it has a carburetor, so if you can get it to idle reliably that will make it easier to land. Super Tigre carburetors are some of the best, so you should get it to idle reliably, if in fact it's a Tigre? It looks like the fill on the engine cowl needs to be sanded down before it is separated from the fuselage. When you get the cowl off you will be able to identify what it is.From what little I can see, it might have a Nelson muffler on it?

gltruett

My Feedback: (23)

The engine is a K&B 4050 with the pipe supplied by K&B. They are ABC engines based on the old 4011 but have much better performance. I would just use 15% nitro fuel with 18-20% oil, the risk of using high nitro fuel is not worth the reward in my opinion. http://www.mecoa.com/kb/40/4050.htm

GREG DOE

Thanks for clearing up the questions about the engine.