F8F Bear Cat EP ARF

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Certified Buyer Rated

Feb 14, 2015

nice price fly s great with 21

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Customer Rated

Jun 29, 2013

Just to add to Gregs reviews, I have now built three of these (my mates were so impressed they bought them as well). Being small, the cg is critical. The proper spot is immediately aft of the main wing spar. All of the kits I've built have used the Turnigy 3548 1100kv motor
(part: D3548-41100), 2200 3s 25c battery, 10x6 or 9x6 prop. You quite rightly stated that there are some parts which need to be trimmed (canopy, belly pan etc). I use a cutting disc on my Dremel and glue them with contact glue. The cowl is held on with small screws (servo screws are good) If you look inside the fuse behind the firewall at the 2 and 10 0'clock positions, you'll see 2 small ply pieces where the screws go into. Back to the cg, 2 or 3 mm either way will see it out of balance so its got to be right. The main factor will be the motor up front. With the motor I mentioned, the standard motor mount is not really suitable as the motor is too far forward so I just made my own. I guess you could also buy some stand offs the right length. All three of the Bear Cats I've built have balanced perfectly without any extra weight. They fly great on half throttle and go like a bat out of hell on full throttle. One last thing, this is a small plane so keep the control surface throws equally small. Low rates should see about 4mm on the ailerons and about 6mm on elevator. The elevator should also be

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Customer Rated

Jun 27, 2013

My Gear:
3 HS65 Metal Gear Digital Servos
Turnigy D3530/14 1100KV Brushless Outrunner Motor
Hobbyking SS Series 40-50A ESC
Castle 10 amp BEC
APC 10x5 Prop
Thunder Power 11.1v

Ordering:
Took 15 days from the time of order to delivery. The motor, ordered on the same day, arrived just three days after I ordered it. The plane was listed as in stock. This is HIGHLY AGGRIVATING as I paid with Paypal and was hoping it would be here before Fathers Day weekend.

Build:
The plastic parts absolutely need to be reinforced with glass and resin. Very cheap cowl, under belly, and canopy do not assemble this plane until you reinforce these parts. The Fin and Stab do not line up. They were off by 6 degrees and in my haste made a rookie build mistake where I already cut away monokote, applied CA and slotted together before I realized it. So it flies a little off but trimmed it up.

Other Flaws:
Buy a set of real wheels, at least 2.5 inches, if you fly grass fields. The landing gear are horribly inadequate. I am going to spend at least three hours cutting away the stock wood and reinforcing the gear. I swear that ARF makers have never flown what they design as in every ARF I have ever had, the gear were the weakest point of the build. The remainder of the plane is good quality balsa. One more note, use a generous amount of epoxy and smear that all over the motor

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Customer Rated

Apr 26, 2013

I just bought this plane, I know its a cheap one but it still should have all parts included. I had a wing bolt that was the wrong size and clevises that did not fit control wires. The wing servo hits the battery tray and the engine mount goes together poorly. As a previous person said, plane is not ARF, there is at least 10 hours work to put this together, instructions are poor so the build would suit an experienced builder. COG in the book is totally wrong, I took it for a maiden at what the book said and nearly smashed it, second time around I added weight to the nose so that it balanced out at 69mm which was the first 3rd of the wind chord and it was still tail heavy, second flight was a smash. This was a waste of my time and effort, 10 hours building a plane just to smash because the instructions were wrong and I had to guess COG. Don't waste your time.

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Certified Buyer Rated

Apr 21, 2013

Recieved 3 days ago looks amazing but does take some work to get it right how u want it my has come in at 950g au leaving wheels off so u gotta beef up the under belly pan no big deal will tesy fly in next few days

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Customer Rated

Dec 23, 2012

This model is not the best value compared to other planes. On the pro side, it looks pretty, has a good amount of room for electronics, and is balsa kit. Though, cons list is must longer: The plastic parts are very thin and not trimmed at the factory. For example, you have to cut and trim the curves of the canopy yourself. Plus, the trim lines on the canopy are not what you actually need to follow. Also cons, the balsa and wood quality are not the best, the covering on mine was peeling in places, the paint is cracking and peeling off the plastic, and fit and finish overall are not that great. Most critically, the landing gear design is the old GWS style where a single piece of heavy wire is inserted into the wing in such a way that the gear support wire would rip the wing in half on a rough landing. I did not use the included gear and instead fabricated my own. In total, I spent nearly 20 build hours on this plane due to all the problems I had to fix in addition to sssembly.

In summary, this plane is OK, but I personally feel that there are much better models out there for the price bracket.

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Customer Rated

Dec 13, 2012

This balsa KIT is of a very good quality. Built for an experience builder no problem.
Just when building be shure to place motor (motor mount)as for forward in order to get CG right for this plane.
I use 3 servo's , ailerons,rudder and elevator.
BC3536-1000Kv brushless motor and a 50A ESC.
3S2200-25C lipo

no test flight yet due too weather.

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Customer Rated

Nov 08, 2012

Ehhhh...this model is OK. 35" makes this appealing to the parkflyer and a plastic underbelly that is adhered to the bottom of the wing will take a bit of a beating during grass landings but an EPO plane is still more resilient. Horizontal stab did not line up so i had to carve out rear fuselage to get it level. Reinforce the cowl if you want it to last. Nice touch- push rod tubes are installed but not adequately glued.

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Customer Rated

Sep 12, 2012

Bin aus Qualitts- und Verarbeitungsgrnden bei Hobbyking von Glasfiber auf Holz umgestiegen. Spontan die Null gewhlt!! An sich ist das Holz relativ gut verleimt aber der Rest. Der Bauplan ist so schlecht aufgestellt. Die Fotos wurden scheinbar im Keller gemacht, keine vernnftige Reihenfolge. Der Flieger ist ganz schlecht beklebt, die Folie lst sich ohne mein Zutun. Die Haube ist lackiert, der Lack platzt ab. Nach der Befestigung der Tragflchen,( die Arretierung vom Rumpf zur Flche, wurden einfach unterschiedliche Gren, was den Durchmesser von Schraube zu Mutter betrifft)kommt der Bauch. Dieser wird ohne Zuschnitt direkt aus der Form schlecht lackiert an den Kunden versendet. Beim Zuschnitt dieser Form aufpassen. Lack platzt schnell ab und die Form reist sehr schnell. Jetzt zum Erstflug. Vertraut bitte nicht dem Bauplan, bringt eure Erfahrung mit ein. Der Flieger kann nur mit sehr viel Erfahrung geflogen werden. Sehr unruhig und sehr stressig zu fliegen. Zweitflug:Schwerpunkt neu, Tragflchenhaltung modifiziert, dennoch schwer zu fliegen. Hobbyking lsst nach, das sagen mir auch Fliegerkollegen.

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Customer Rated

Aug 26, 2012

Ich habe zwei F6F gekauft und mit meinem Freund in Ruhe gebaut, vermessen und ausgewogen. Die erste Bear Cat flog 20 Sekunden, relativ unkontrollierbar. Die zweite schaffte etwa 60 Sekunden, obwohl wir alle Einstellungen neu justiert wurden und wir auf das unkontrollierbare Flugbild eingestellt waren. Bei der Analyse fiel uns auf, dass dieses Modell eine positive EWD hat und aus dem Baukasten heraus nicht fliegen kann. Alle Maangaben im Bauplan sind falsch berechnet! Aufpassen!