"Finally" is right!

The little Thunder Tiger Bearcat RTF foamie I'd purchased at the AMA Expo about three years ago finally flew its first successful flights. The original gearbox, brushed motor and four-blade scale prop didn't have nearly enough power to even get it off the ground. That radio and electrics were given to an other RCG member.

From there, I went to brushless power...and it crashed on takeoff due to poorly taped ailerons from the factory. Minor crash, so I purchased a new cowl, repaired the fuselage, installed CA hinges on the ailerons and elevator (it's a three-channel) and touched up the paint. Ready to fly once more.

The motor was a no-name generic of uncertain Kv rating...and I managed to burn it out in flight due to too much propeller, although it flew very well despite being incredibly touchy due to my use of a simple sport radio. It happened rather fast and I didn't have time to shut it down and bring it in. Lesson learned.

An inexpensive brushless outrunner from a subsequent AMA Expo was next...and when the landing gear caught on grass as I was ready to take off, the motor shaft was sheared off!

What to do, thought I. Then, I had an idea.

I had an almost new Turnigy 1050Kv Park 450 outrunner and an APC 8x6E prop on hand from another project. The motor is larger than the ones I'd been using and I thought I'd try it out before shortening the E-flite stick mount since it stuck out a bit too far for my taste. I plugged it...Continue Reading