Radar guns are tricky for accurate readings on R/C planes. First and most obvious is the relatively small target to try and lock onto. The plane needs to be as close to the ground as the pilot dares to fly to get the best head on reading possible. Because of this the plane is usually coming right at the person aiming the gun which requires a lot of trust in the pilot. I've been the person holding the gun a few times and it ain't the easiest or safest thing to do. You can also get a reading with the plane flying away from you but that's usually even harder to lock on after it zips by. The few times that I've done this I really didn't know the pilot that well (his radar gun) which was a little unnerving and probably made it more difficult. I'd have to say that an onboard electronics unit with a pitot tube is probably the most accurate method for recording true airspeed and even then it needs to be done on a relatively calm day. The problem with these of course is no easy way to switch it from plane to plane.

I looked at the pitot tube unit and it really is for a single plane. The radar gun that I bought is a bushnell and will pick up an object 1900 ft. away. I used it today with some neighbor kids throwing baseball and it works great. We will see how it works with the planes and I will be disappointed if it doesn't work as the company described. It a no risk buy because the company said to send it back if it doesn't work with the planes. What I intend on doing is having a friend take a picture of the readout and I will post the picture. The screen on the gun is a large digital readout so it should show up good on the pics. thanks for the comments and I'll keep everyone posted.

moto-x,
You are correct about rudder input at speed but knife edge might induce some flexing of that 4-40 rod. I installed a 4-40 at first and was able to flex it by pushing on the slave rudder with the servo powered up so I decided to go carbon fiber. You may be OK, I just didn't like what I seen with mine on the bench. Good luck on the maiden, let us know how it goes.

Hi I poasted earlyer that I got the rpm up to 28000 now I have rechecked it it is 18000 sory for the missinformation

Flew the Bobcats today and here is a pic of the fasest speed. Will take more again this weekend.

Whats up with the phone numbers for NitroPlanes....Both have been disconneted....are they still open.

Meekskin,
What was the setup on the plane that took the honors?

Website's still up.

Thanks for the corrected info, definitely not a DF engine. This plane is loud with just about any normal 2-stroke, loudest of all of my planes for sure. Probably the combination of a pusher and the prop being so close to the trailing edge of the wing.

The set up for the 108 mph is Supertigre 61, stock muffler, robart retracts, JR radio., he also had a run of 102 mph. didn't get mine because my engine went lean and then some engine problems so will try again this weekend. The other plane which has the same setup as mine was having some gear problems so no speed check there. These NitroPlanes Bobcat will go faster and I'm expecting 115 mph from mine. This is a level pass so the speed is good for flat out speed. I will post more when we fly this weekend

They answered for me, and John's around dealing with customer service issues too.

Does anyone know the brand of paint and color name or the grey and orange Bobcat 52...I need to touch up the fuse and would like to match the color as close as possible.

Don't know about the paint but I had some Monocote yellow that is an exact match with the covering. Hope you did not have a mishap.

Bill

Check this link: [link=http://www.monokote.com/lustrekote/lustrekote.html]CLICK ME![/link]

I am building another bobcat (retract ver.) My old one has a tower 75 but it sounds like the OS 55 or supertiger is the way to go. Would I get more speed from the OS or supertiger than my Tower 75. So can a normal prop work if you put number foward or pusher prop the way to go. I use a 11x7 on the Tower

I found this so wanted to share. Here is a link to the big brother of the bobcat 52. The Falcon 120 pusher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyuNn...eature=related

Look good in the air

You must use a pusher prop and I would go with the supertigre 61 Check out my post on the speed.

meekskin I did see you post.

As already mentioned, you must use a pusher prop on any of the above engines. Sounds like the SuperTigre is a good engine but it weighs about a half pound more than the OS .55AX. That's a lot of extra weight for a very minimal gain in power. If you're watching your pennies the SuperTigre is about 50 bucks cheaper than the OS .55.

HI THERE
I HAVE THE BOBCAT 52 PURCHASED IN UK. AND MY INSTRUTIONS GIVE THE C,G.
10.3 INCHES FROM THE L.E.OF THE WING
AT THIS IT FLYS GREAT WITH NEWTRUAL ELEVATOR.

I LIVE IN THE SOUTH OF SPAIN AND WE DO NOT HAVE GRASS OR TARMAC
THE SITES HERE ARE HARD GRAVAL WITH SOME SMALL STONES ETC.

THIS IS NO PROPLEM WITH A NORMAL PLANE, BUT WITH THE PUSHER THE
PROP SUCKS UP STONES AND DAMAGES THE PROP AND THE UNDESIDE
OF ONE WING.

I AM GOING TO MAKE THE LANDING GEAR 2 INCHES LONGER AND END
UP WITH 3.5 INCHES CLEAR OF THE PROP.

I DONOT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO, ANYONE ANY IDEARS.

=============== JOHN --------------------------

What I did was put packing tape along the trailing edge of the fuse....and along the bottom of the booms....not much else to do....

Which SuperTigre?

I find that if the engine size is the same the T.H. engine tends to produce more power than the SuperTigre, although the ST is no slouch.

going to stay with the TH 75 as it has been great so far. I will look for a nice tune pipe hope to get more RPM with the 11x7 prop. Last time I check I was 13000 RPM

Two more inches on the wire gear might not hold up too well for landings as they will be much more prone to bending and will also put more stress on the gear blocks. It sounds like it might be the wheels that are kicking up gravel and then the prop sucks them into its path. Don't know what size your wheels are but maybe try larger diameter tires as this will raise the plane a little more off the ground but more importantly will also slow down the wheel speed. Try 3 inch foam tires and maybe the wheel speed will slow down enough to avoid kicking up stones. Just a thought.

Well I am almost finished with the Bob Cat and the all up weight is going to be an ounce or so short of 7 pounds.

I moved the mains forward but it still takes over a pound on the stabilizer to rotate. The mains are still 3 1/4" behind the CG which seems wrong. It seems wrong headed for the ground incidence (wheel height) to control the speed of lift off.

On the first few flights I like to lift off late. When headed for the high grass I might want to lift off a bit early.

Bill