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Andy,

I was in your shoe's this time last year. The BVM Bobcat was my choice with a P-70 and the prolink struts for grass field operation. I will always look back on that experance and smile more than any RC aircraft I have ever Built or have flown. I just installed a P-80SE on my Bobcat so am looking forward to flying it with more power.

Each time I work on my Bobcat I see more and more of the Great Work BVM has done with this aircraft I can say I will Always have A BOBCAT in My hanger no Question About it.

Pat Martin
Wasilla Alaska

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[/link][link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKnE3mSHc5U[/link]

[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A33xLscU_I[/link]

[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyacMRTFRxo[/link]

BVM Bobcat P-70 Temp 20 Degrees. Also make a good hand warmer.


Pat Martin

Wasilla Alaska

geh3

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ALSO.. consider a BOOMERANG probably the Sprint or the Elan.... awsome flier and lands like a dream.....

NightSwan

gooseF22

I will weigh in here. I have owned two jets, the Elan and the Rookie 2.

The Elan flies very well, it is easy to land and handles extremely well. I flew both with a super sport 18lb thrust. Its an excellent first jet and probably the best trainer out there. I selected it because I had not been flying quite 2 years when I went to jets. As for the rookie, I was intimidated at first by it, but in the end, if its set up right, it is just as easy to fly and is a little faster, but slows down to the same speeds as the elan for the most part.

My rookie has 75 degree canards for landing and a little up mix. Nothing more. I also tried a little up thrust and it didn't matter because the flare is where people have trouble. My rookie will sit back on the wheels when its empty if tipped up. I think getting the CG back is the trick. I bought this plane from another guy who couldn't land it. Turns out it was nose heavy. I got my setup from Ben Burden, and Sean Saddler, Ghost Rider who have hundreds of flights on theirs. All say to balance it, rock it back on the wheels and balance it till it just barely sits back and when full, just eases down.

I did not find it difficult to land once we got it set up

If you are going with a rookie, get an experienced guy to set up for you and work off the buddy cord until you have landed a few times. Keep the power in until you are about 15 feet and then ease it back.. On takeoff hold 1/2 back and it will take off just fine. I have the canard set for 5 degrees travel. thats it. It is fun..

I decided to sell the elan because its just not fast enough (100 flights ) later and I want the better speed of the rookie, its just a funny looking bird, but it flies darn good. Keep it light as you can.

I think the plane rocks with a 120 class motor. With a 90N motor its fast but lacks that vertical punch and top end speed, but its still fun. I plan to upgrade it to a Wren 130 in time. It will accelerate going up with that motor.

tobba

Sounds like some good advice on the Rookie.

I have built one and flown it a few times - had some fun on landing. About to get back into it and don't think I have the most out of the setup to help landings. I'm now about to head to the shed to do your rocking test on the mains. Are you running trailing legs on your Rookie? Not keen to push the CG to far back... At the moment I don't have the canards setup as air brakes - just using the underside airbrake. Do the carnards at 75 degrees change the angle of attack much when deployed? I have also heard people setup ailerons with 10mm up deflection in landing mode - any experience here?

Thanks for your information. Muchly appreciated.

gooseF22

My legs are the Behotec. with the trailing links I would think it would come down just a bit faster. I have heard guys say you cannot get the CG too far aft. I dont know for sure.. not enough flights ... the canards are very effective, but they take alot of fine tuning... Yes it will pitch up and settle. If you are fast it will climb, if slow, falls, so when its right, the thing locks in almost level attitude on a glide slope. KEEP the POWER IN if you use the canards until you find the sweet spot.. It required 15% down elevator. One thing I did first is to increase the angle from 75 ro 80 or so, to kill some of the lift component, but remember the angle of attack still makes nose lift a bit. I am afraid to use crow on this bird. Most of the guys In know, glue the elevators and ailerons in the back togegher and make a true delta.. I am fixing to rewire mine to a 9 channel which will Y cord each side same as gluing them.. I dont have a belly speed brake.

If you have trailing link, it will land better because it is less suseptable to bouncing.. Ghost rider swears by the trailing link nose gear as the secret to landing it well. I only have about 15 flights on it.

Since you have the belly brake, set the canards up separately on the flap switch, so you can try it and take it off if it isn't right and land normally. It will slow to a crawl when it gets wired in... Its so slow in the flare it spooks me, and sometimes makes it hard for me to land.. Its just a funny looking site with the canards flat plated to you.

rock it back with 1/4 tank and see where it is.. if it slams down quickly, It might be noseheavy..

good luck..

ThomasP

.

NightSwan

I have the CG as far back as was possible. If I tilt the rookie back, it only slowly settles back on the nose-wheel.
Not much weight on the nosewheel at all. (only disadvantage is it doesn't steer very well on the ground with the low loading)

I only fly with the airbrake, tried the canards as well but was not necessary. Trailing gear. Landing with some power on. Even without wind, I only need 30-40 metres for landing. It does keep floating, but if you just fly it in, there's no problem at all. Never had a bounce.

Great trainer/all-round fun plane, especially with the P120SE in it

Hans

gooseF22

thats the way it should be.. wish I could say the same. I think the behotec gear dont work as well for me. Maybe I will shop around for a used set of gear from an elan, flash... or something like that.. I know they drop in.. If not, I know todd and sandor sell replacement struts set up for the C-36 gear mounts..

The other problem I have is with the overtravel on/off brake valve. I cannot get it to keep from skidding and sliding, resulting in side loads on the struts. I have broken the gear mounts out 4 times lately. I just finished beefing them up so we will see. I think my frustration is really just landing it well.. the plane is a joy to fly. Im flying it with a super sport at 18 lb, and even though its not as fast as the P120 based birds, it will do just pretty good. Im guessing around 170mph. THe advantage is I can keep it light.

A buddy loaned me an adjustable flow valve for the brakes to smooth the application. If that does't work, then I will buy a smooth stop, (my personal favorite)..

The rookie is about to go to the back up role and Im stealing the motor for a flash, so being late in the year, it may not fly again until after it enters the paint barn..

I still like the plane, but it took some growing pains..
I put flat carbon strips on bottom of verticals, and added to the nose gear mount to raise nose. It flys off easier.. the strips protect the tails in the event of a gear up landing. (recently happened) had a stuck gear due to a wire tie binding.. A guy came up to me and said, I put hinge tape on my struts for brake line...(good idea....end of problem).

The thing I like about it overall is that it has a good speed range. Havent even explored the thrust vectoring yet, or really the canard flight and high alpha flight.. Need a box of turbines

cassiemitch

When the canard is switched to its landing angle is the servo speed slowed down to move to this setting or is it full speed to that setting ?  Is the canard fixed in that position for landing or does it have movement as well with the elevator ? I was going to have the canard switched to its setting on the same switch as the airbrake , te speed brake servo is slowed down for slow lowering so it makes no flying changes . I have a set of 14mz for flight

gooseF22

Fast, it will keep it from ballooning big.

keep it fixed at 75 deg as a speedbrake. If you go 90 it wont work... its a delicate balance.

If you have the airbrake, thats enough, skip using the canard as a brake and use it to fly. keep the movement small though. 5-10 degrees. get some help from an experienced rookie flyer. That plane will eat your lunch if its not set up right. for landing you need alot of elevator too.

Try to level it off about 2 feet in the air before touching down and then hold it off and let it settle in. if it begins the rookie bounce, either go around or fly it away and get it set and hold it off.

alot of guys told me that a trailing link nose gear is the key to have.

Bottom line for me: I wrecked it and my confidence with it. I had to start over because my confidence was so shot from trying to fly that thing because I could never get it set up right. Flies great. hard to land well. If you get it down, then you can fly anything from there including scale. the guy I sold it to rebuilt and and flies the crap out of it. he has had 4 rookies and loves them...so good luck... you may find it perfect for you. it ate my lunch.. its kind of a love hate thing.

I went back to a boomerang for awhile to get 100 flight before resuming more complex birds... I have a Kingcat and a flash which I havent flown much since then. so take the time to get some help from a person who knows the rookie. Its easy to apply a correction in the wrong way.

I think the canard bird is harder to fly than the old rookie/roo.

cassiemitch

I have trailing link arms and this is my 2nd rookie the 1st i had it flew great but i had issues when landing it , that was a few years ago now , it came in way to fast but i know i came in way to hot and not lifting the nose . I ve bought another one that was already flying but his setup very confusing and he only flew a couple of times . it has a 120 sx engine

ahmed_p51

Hi All

I have a new rookie flying with P 80 SE she geos ok but i didnt make the break setup with canards yet i mean i didnt try it yet , i fly it like 5 times but i have al itter problem on streeing wheil take off on high speed it goes right and left as if there is no control anyway experiance this problem??

Ahmed

hotspot 01

Have around 26 flights on a new second hand rookie now over 100 flights on this type from a hotspot Rookie mk1 and now the rookie 2. My rookie has the atj 120 ti in it and I have derated it to 11kg still alot for the rookie. I use the canards for brakes and all the gear in the jet is placed around the front of the tank area.

ahmed_p51

have you experiance any problem on take off????

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

BVM BobCat all the way !! this plane will rip around with some serious speed and pull Gs like few others can hold up to ... and slows down super nice, and is very grass capable .. [8D] I really Miss mine, and its been a toss up between getting another one for a daily flier or a Flash ( which flies more straight and true like a pattern plane )


~V~


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZaF40PzAKs

basimpsn

My Feedback: (5)

I received a RTF hotspot last year but i'm not sure if i want to fly it or sell it. Any input on how well it flys? Can is do knife edge due to its weird rudder angle.

gooseF22

I found the rookie hard to land with the canard setup as brakes. If I ever got another one (which I wont), I would put the belly brake on it.

If you are setting it up, make sure its not nose heavy or you are along for the bucking bronco..

the plane almost ruined me.. never again...

Other guys love em though.. go figure

My humble opinion is that the Elan is the best first jet. It can fly on almost any motor. I miss that jet badly 4 years later.. it was like getting in your old chevy and cruisin.. I was stupid to sell it. I have a Nano now as well as a flash and Kingcat.

The BVM Kingcat that I fly now, and I flew a friends bobcat fly like a dream, but for a first jet, if you go that way, buy a used one. large outlay for first jet. Alot of guys cut their teeth on the bobcat. It will haul the mail with a small motor.

The Elan was actually alot of money too but...it was great to cut your teeth on.

Another option is the Nano, it will fly on a smaller motor and flies like my 90 size pattern bird but faster and slows to about 20mph.

If you just want a beater, there are are about 4 or 5 options.. IF you want a good combo of speed, and agility, they the price goes up... so for me I had to determine my entry price and go from there...

gooseF22

its just fast as heck... I saw alot of guys struggle to land it...same as the rookie....

basimpsn

My Feedback: (5)

Good enugh

gooseF22

Actually its Faster than anything I have seen except for the firebird.

hotspot 01

I won't buy another as Im looking at the reaction X to replace it but the rookies have been a cheap different way of getting into turbines but time moves on and alot better airframes can be had though at a higher price.

BaldEagel

In my opinion the Rookie just takes a different mind set when landing, you can't land it like a Boomerang, what I have found works is front canard down about 80degs underbelly brake down 90degs power on about 20% and the nose high bring the bird in from off the patch and power it to the runway with the throttle, once in your landing position close the throttle and hold off with elevator (elevon in this case) until it settles onto the ground, its even easier with the thrust vector on.

No better airfame available for the price.

Mike

Jack28

My Feedback: (19)

I would definetely look into another jet as a first jet, I had a Flash as a second jet it flew awesome, Landed awesome too. My third jet was a Rookie, Not a good experience for landing on a short field. I have a short field with trees on one end, so you must come in over the trees and drop in, This is where the landing speed will bite you. The rookie was fast , flew great , but the landings at my field were tough, I got into the kangeroo bounce and busted the nose off two times, It was really hard for me to judge that exact speed for landing, I ended up selling it. I got a Boomerang Elan next and it is an awesome Jet, It has no problem landing at my field, and has become my favorite everyday flyer. I have over 160 flights on her , what a great flying , dependable jet. Take a look at one you will love it. I also would recommend a Bobcat, I have one of these also , beautiful well built jet, and its really clean and fast, but will slow to a crawl for landing.