I have a Kougar not the MK II It says only KOUGAR on the box top, but has the same picture of the two designs, Box is aged and no date codes that I can find. all is in excellent shape, and I would prefer to turn it out as it was produced, and would like to know its era. When was the first kougar's released?

Thanks; Dan Z.

WORNBOOTS
I had a Sig Kougar back in the late 70's. Original kit was foam wings with an ABS turtledeck. I flew it with a K&B 40 and MRC radio. Over 200 flights and it was great. I sold it and wish I had not. The new ones I do not care for. I think this kit was produced in 1976 0r 77 but I don't know when they changed it to the MKII

Das

DAS, Thanks for your reply

And I agree they have been around at least that long. My niche now is to revive some of the early to mid 70's birds in actual scheme. so far no true date on the change to MK series, But they do fly great, and this will be the 3rd one for Me. Its naot a big deal to know but like any documentation, it helps.

Thanks and happy Flyin

I had one in 74 or 75. It was foam wing and abs turtle deck. Had a supertiger 56 on it. Just retired it last year. A really tuff plane and flew flawlessly.

JRH

You sound like you realy enjoyed the Kougar, Do you rember if it was a MK II series? as far asi can tell so far there was no differance. The first one I built was 79-81 and it was a MK, so prior to that time. Somewhere Someeone knows

Thanks: Dan Z.

I believe that Cluade McCullough designed it, maybe he can help you out if can figure a way to contact him, or maybe SIG mfg. has something on it, just a thought. I also had one and loved it, late 70's with a HP .40 PDP, lousy engine, good flying plane!!!!

Dan, I don`t recall any mk ll or mk. It was just a kougar on the box as far as I remember. I had a midair with another 40 size plane one day and we were both flying wide open. I landed the kougar and it had a half inch dent in the left wing a foot or so out from the fuselage, the other plane completely disintagrated. You could also land that plane hot and she would stay right on the ground and roll out just as if it walked in. I never saw a newer one so I don`t have anyway to compare them.

JRH

Thanks, I will target it as a 74 for now, I have some old mags I need to pull out and see if it lists the MK series and how far back.

I appreciate all the replys and stories, they are good flying and stable planes.

Thanks; Dan Z.

Dan, Just had a thought. As far as I know Hazel Sig married Maxxi Hester who back in the sixties and seventies was a big name pilot in the rc circles. Anyway I know he worked for sig down in Montizuma, Ia and he and Hazel lived just south of town. Call information and see if they have a phone number listed and give him a call. If anyone will know he or she will.

OK I may try both suggestions,

But I have another clue I overlookrd until now, I just went thru the kit again and the decal sheets have an 346***AMA on them.

The 2"x3" card that says Sig craftsman kt (packed especially for you by) that comes inside the kit has Hazel J. on it

That would be a big help if the ama# is early 70's and when could you order a kit with custom decals?

The tail # on the decal sheet is 812825 and the box top photo is #812821

Thanks again; Dan Z.

Hi Wornboots,
JRH is correct about the Hazel and Maxey and they do have a fine home at the airfield south of Montezuma. The last I heard was that SIG had sold out to some person from Australia or a nearby neighborhood. Anyway I doubt if you will find out much from the new management about the 70's kits. See if Claude Mc Cullough has a listing in Montezuma. He would be the one to ask. Good luck.
DAS
iage

Dan, After thinking about this for a few days I think 74 and 75 were to early. I built a new house in 74 and 75 and I built the Kougar in my new workshop. So I beleive I mislead you and am sorry for that so I would have to say 76 or 77 instead of 74 and 75. Thats a long time for an old man to remember.

OK, thanks to Mr. Jeff Foley

He has guided Me in the right direction, He worked at Sig in the mid 70's and He had built the kougar during that time. He also provided an address to Claude MCCullough, and I sent a letter out today. I now plan to "nose-name" this kougar after Hazel J. which was the person who packed the kit originally, according to the packing slip.
Mr. Foley also stated that the original may have been silver, I appreciate the info and address.

Also the email to the AMA concerning the number used in the decal has not been answered yet, but it belonged to someone when it was produced.

Thanks to Mr. Foley for the lattest info. Dan Z.

Letter from Claude McCullough rcvd.11/12/02

Mr. McCullough wrote:

My apologies for being so long getting back to you. I have been in the hospital with heart problems and My life got somewhat scrambled.

I'm 80 and don't trust my memory too much but my recollection is that the Kougar came out about 1975 or 76. When I get to feeling better I'll try to dig into my old magazine collection and see if I can find the introductory ad.

One thing I'm certain about is that the MK II had no changes in plan-form and any construction changes were minor, made to make it more logically assembled. The main difference over the original design was a complete new photo illustrated "step by step" assembly book.

I'm afraid I can't remember who Hazel J. was. SIG has about 80 or so employees now and and must of had more than 50 then. Many local housewives and young girls were the packers. Montezuma has a population of around 1200. I can't recall the reason for including an AMA number in the kit, for the model builders at SIG designed the kits but did not work in the kit department.

Jeff Foley worked at SIG for several years, starting as a teen ager. He sure has made His mark in model building.

Thanks for your interest in the Kougar. It has been a steady sell all these years.

Sincerely,

Claude McCullough

P.S. I'm behind times, don't have a computer or E-mail

************************************************** ************************************************** ************************************************** ******

Please see My post in club house " GET WELL SOON" for Claude McCullough. And thanks to Mr. McCullough for the info.

Dan:

I am selling a brand new never started GP's Easy Sport on EBAY at the time but have not had and reasonible quote on this professionally built plane by my club president. I have arthritis and cannot work my hands insids the hooking up the directional gear etc.

Was wondering if you were wanting to let this nostalgic flyer leave your stable at a fair price or trade for the Great Planes Easy Sport totaly turn key that has never even been started. It has all the little extras that make a good plane "REALLY GREAT"

If not interested maybe you can put me in touch someone who has one thats in excellent flying condition that you would buy if you were in the market for this model

PLEASE KEEP ME IN MIND AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU RUN ACROSS AN ORIGINAL ONE OR ONE OF THE MK II.

Thanks so much again my flying friend.

firstinflight
[email protected]

R. Blankenship, Sr.

The original Kougar was mid to late 75, the ear;ist ads I have found are sept. 75 on.

The one I have is complete except for covering, (I will use the silver and white it was produced in) I plan on keeping this one around for awhile and not interested in trading at this time.

I will look for another completed kit for You, and I will let You know. There are several other rcu members from your area and one of them may have info or a built kit.

Try placing an ad in rc trades forum etc. there may be someone interested in trading the gp.

Welcome to RCU and good luck on your search,

Dan Z.

Its taken awhile but with info rcv'd from Mr. McCullough and going through many old issues of mags it was designed mid 75 and late 75 early 76 when the MK II showed.

The original manual was changed slightly to ease construction, but featured the same photos as the ones today without the MK II of course. The kit stayed the same except for the F' bulkheads and the way they were cut, in order to laminate together and form the firewall.

Never did find out about Hazel J. but as soon as I get the rest of the decals redrawn I will add her name as the nose art.

It was fun doing this one again, and I really enjoyed the letters from Claude McCullough and the pics he sent along with all the searching.

I did opt for a build up of the turtle deck and made my own glass cowl instead of the abs ones, they seemed a little brittle. The decal sheet was an aged golden yellow so I am getting them redrawn on stik tight type film.

************************************

My dad has a 76 77 I belive. He built it right after I was born. It has never been flown. I am thinking of converting it to electric.

I've been told that you can resurrect old, yellowed water-slide decals by taping them to the inside of a window with exposure to the sun. Somehow the sun takes the yellowness away. Not sure how long it takes (wouldn't want to leave them any longer than necessary so as not to fade the colored decal designs ). But it might be better to use the originals to copy and make your own decals on your printer. I've had some bad experiences with some water-slides form old kits. Even though they looked fine, when they were floated in water, they just desentegrated into thousands of nearly microscopic particles.

I built 2 Kougars in the past. Loved the decal set provided in the kit. Sig quit putting them in the kit after I built both of mine but they used to have them for sale as an option.

Pics below show same son holding my two similiar versions but obviously quite a few years apart...

linclogs

Just saw your questions on the Sig Kougar. One change between the original Kougar and the Mark II was that the attachment of the wing was a little different. On the original, the bolts went through the foam and were reinforced by 1/16 ply scabs. On the Mark II the wing had spruce tapered trailing edge stock glued to the wing trailing edge, barely wider than the fuselage and it was through this spruce tapered stock that the wing mounting holes were drilled. The original Kougar was first advertised in RC Modeler in September, 1975. The Mark II was introduced about January, 1980.

[img alt="This thread is over 20 years old, but just came across it tonight and I wanted to add some information.
I found an ad on eBay that was selling the Kougar mark 2 in 1979.
I had one in college it was my favorite flying airplane back then. Webra 40 for power.
Airplane survived a couple of crashes until I flew into a tree in Montana.
Thankfully, I have a brand new one sitting in the box just waiting.



"]https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcuniverse.com-vbulletin/1206x1850/img_7442_e9006a8fd033c01dca376cd885712b7619dc7fa2. jpeg[/img]
This thread is over 20 years old, but just came across it tonight and I wanted to add some information. I found an ad on eBay that was selling the Kougar mark 2 in 1979. I had one in college it was my favorite flying airplane back then. Webra 40 for power. Airplane survived a couple of crashes until I flew into a tree in Montana. Thankfully, I have a brand new one sitting in the box just waiting.

I remember this thread! Although Claude is no longer with us, its great to see his designs are still popular and being talked about. I went to work at Sig in 1976, and the original Kougar had been out at least two or three years. I left in 1978 and did participate in the tooling changes and new instruction book for the Mk II Kougar....so that would make sense if it was released in 1979. Every now and then I toy with the idea of building a double size Kougar as a tribute to Claude.

Jeff Foley
Product Engineer
Sig Mfg. Co 1976-78
Mr. Top Gun 2000,2003

Jeff, that would be a great idea! With the extra wing area retracts would become more plausible.
if you do, please put some kind of thread up so we can all see it!
If RCM was still around that would be a cool cover photo.

The 1st time I saw the Sig Kougar was in Central Hobbies in the early 80s. I wanted one of those so bad. At the time all I could afford was rockets.
finally got one in college. It was so fun to fly!
The one I have now I’m going to try to re-create the exact US Air Force scheme on the box.
I think it’s great that this airplane still has a great following. It’s a meaningful airplane to me and obviously others.

I flew my Kougar for many years, sold it when I was desperate for money, then bought it back years later and continued to wear it out until some idiot stupid-thumbed it into a corn field. I found another NIB kit at a swap meet years ago and will get to it someday. The Kougar was the first plane I started experimenting with center of gravity mods to improve performance. I would sneak the CG back about an 1/8 or so then go and fly it for a month then sneak back some more. I hit that sweet spot eventually when I was able to hang the nose in the air on some slow landings that would make a Kadet Sr. look like it landed hot. Great plane and a quick build. Mine had a Fox 50 then one of the very last of the Fox 45s with the TNII carb in it before the corn ate it.

Carl