Hobby Lobby Firecat

Model Airplane News, Apr 2002 by Bunze, Vic

SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL: Firecat

DISTRIBUTOR: Hobby Lobby Intl.

TYPE: sport / fun-fly aerobatic electric

WINGSPAN: 34 in.

WING AREA: 360 sq. in.

READY-TO-FLY WEIGHT: 32 oz.

WING LOADING: 12.8 oz., sq. ft.

LENGTH: 34 in

RADIO REQ'D: 4-channel vv. 5 servos (elevator, rudder, throttle,

RADIO USED: JR 10X transmitter a JR R600 receiver w/5 Hitec HS-60 servos and a Jeti JES303P ESC

MOTOR REQ'D: Speed 500 or Jeti Phasor 15/4 brushless

MOTOR USED: Jeti Phasor 15/4 brushless

BATTERY USED: 7-cell, 2000mAh Ni-Cd

PROP: Graupner 10x4 Super

PRICE: $159

FEATURES: built up of balsa and ply: covered in transparent Mylar film: landing gear. wheels, plastic cowl, pre-trimmed canopy and all of the necessary hardware are included

COMMENTS: the Firecat performs like a glow powered acrobat with the quiet, no-mess convenience of an electric airplane. I have flown my Firecat from a baseball field, and though it s a bit fast for a park flyer. it definitely doesn't require a full flying field I enjoy this plane a lot and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting electric aerobatic plane.

HITS

* Excellent workmanship.

* Lightweight construction.

* Easily built.

* Highly maneuverable and aerobatic.

MISSES

* No provisions to hold the wing in place.

* Instructions aren't clear.

The Hobby Lobby Firecat is a beautiful model with a snappy performance that rivals that of a glow-powered aircraft. It's nicely constructed of balsa and ply, which produces a lightweight, yet sturdy, frame. it also comes expert covered with a stunning, cherry-red, transparent Mylar film. The Firecat has a pleasing appearance with generous control surfaces for the dualaileron servos and rear-mounted elevator and rudder servos.

The motor mount comes installed, and the motor is bolted directly on the nose ring with two M3 bolts. The kit also includes landing gear, wheels, a transparent plastic cowl, a trimmed canopy and all of the necessary hardware. You simply supply the radio gear, motor, speed control and battery.

ASSEMBLY

The Firecat is very easy to assemble and prepare for flight; it can be put together in just a few hours. Although the instructions are a bit brief and somewhat loosely translated, assembly should pose little difficulty to an experienced builder.

I started with the wing. Because the hinge slots are precisely cut, hinging the ailerons with the supplied hinges was simple. Next, I installed two Hitec HS-60 servos and attached the control horns to the ailerons. I snaked 12-inch extensions for the aileron servos from the wing center-section cutout to the servo connectors.

A bottom hatch, bolted to ply pates at the leading and trailing edges of the fuselage, secures the wing. This hatch covers the wing's entire underside at the fuselage junction and completes the wing's fairing to the fuselage. It also allows access to the battery pack, which is installed in the wing's center cutout section. The battery pack can be slid forward and backward to adjust the center of gravity (CG). Once the CG was determined, I used foam blocks to fix the foward/aft location of the battery in its channel.

There is no provision to lock the wing in to place along the span axis. The wing is free to shift sideways, and consequently, the ailerons could bind against the side of the fuselage. To prevent this, I added a simple dowel key at the wing's leading edge and drilled a corresponding 1/4-inch hole in the forward fuselage bulkhead. I also added two 1/8 inch dowels to the wing's trailing edge to hold it in place.

The Firecat comes with a lite-ply mounting plate to mount the tail-group servos in the rear of the fuselage. I cut away the covering material over the fuselage section that was to receive the mounting plate and used the excess material to cover it. Then I cemented the plate into place, flush with the fuselage sides. This arrangement provides very short and positive pushrod connections. I connected the rear servos to the receiver with 12-inch servo extensions.

The next step is to join the elevator halves with a U-shape joiner wire; the ends of the halves contain brass tubes to mate with the vertical arms of the "U." Insert the wire into the elevator slot on the fuselage, then insert the horizontal stabilizer into the slot and mate it with the brass-- tube bearing on the base of the wire. This assembly goes together quickly and fits perfectly. Bolt the control horns onto the elevator halves with k-inch, 2-56 socket-- head bolts. The installation of the hinges and fitting of the control rods is fairly straightforward and should go easily.

I mounted the recommended Jeti Phasor 15/4 brushless motor to the nose ring with two M3 bolts. The motor has three connectors that plug into the three connectors of the ESC. I used Deans Ultra plugs; these connect the battery to the ESC. The order is not important, but if the motor runs backwards, any two of the three wires should be reversed. The ESC and the battery's tail are in the fuselage's front compartment-just behind the firewall. Mount the on/off switch on the front side of the fuselage in the hatch compartment; simply remove the balsa hatch cover to access this compartment.