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This profile fun-fly is typical of the type except that is very large in comparison. The kit includes airfoil-sectioned aluminum landing gear, see-through plastic canopy, molded 3-D cowling, pre-cut balsa parts, full size plans, and complete illustrated instructions. Most other profile fun fly planes are much smaller. The overall design is good but Global's implementation falls short of expectations. There are only a few pieces of hardware included but this is okay since most people want to decide the type of hardware to be used. The hardware that is supplied is junk. For instance, the tail wheel wire cannot accept a tail wheel wider than a quarter inch and still have room for a wheel collar. A new tail wheel wire should be made to eliminate this problem. The wood that is supplied is heavy and stiff although most of it is straight. The instructions claim the plane will weigh approximately 4.5 pounds. This particular BearCat weighs 5.5 pounds without the cowl, a full pound heavier than advertised. If the cowl had been used, the model would have been about 6 pounds. That is heavy for a fun fly. The good news is that even at 5.5 pounds the wing loading is only 14.25 oz/sq. ft. Being a very big fun fly it still has light wing loading. The CG was located as described on the plans. This resulted in the plane being uncontrollable. The engine was moved forward so that the CG was on the spar and a second attempt to fly the model was made. This location is a little forward and will be moved back after a better feel for the plane is gained. Flying the BearCat is a blast. Even though it is heavy, it will fly very slowly. The control throws that are specified are far too low and it doesn't maneuver as well as a trainer with these settings. With the throws set to the maximum and using 50% exponential it flies stable but can do good almost any maneuver. An 11x5 Master Airscrew prop was used with an OS-46FX for power rather than speed. With this combination, it is possible to stop and hang on the prop then advance the throttle and go vertical out of sight. Rolls are axial at any rate desired. Inside and outside loops may be tight or big. Addition of flaperons caused loops to be bigger, not tighter, so they are neither necessary nor desirable. Crazy 8's and Cuban 8's can be made with little effort at less than 1/2 throttle. Inverted flight requires only a slight amount of down elevator and is very easy. There is a lot of negative pitch coupling with the rudder but this is easily compensated. Knife edge flight is easy but the negative pitch coupling from the rudder must be taken into account. The model will even do knife edge loops. Snap rolls are fantastic. Outside snap rolls have been done which resulted in an inverted flat spin that actually increases altitude a little. The BearCat looks cool, has light wing loading, and is a pretty good design. It is very fun to fly and gets lot's of attention at the field. It is the biggest of the .40 size fun-fly planes. Since it is this big, it has some advantages; stability, easy to see, light wing loading. Being as big and heavy as it is it needs a powerful .46 and it is hard to transport in a small car. Global could do a lot better with overall quality, especially of the wood and hardware. It's only a $50 dollar kit so there is little room for complaints. It may be wise to spend the extra $30 and get a Morris Hobbies Profile which are better engineered and made of better quality wood and hardware. |
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