My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

rsv1cox Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:02 am

The first time I ever saw a Bearcat F8F was at an airshow at the Naval Base at Quonset Point Rhode Island. "Corky" Fornof and his Dad were flying identical Bearcats in an exhibition when suddenly his Dad's just fell out of the air in full view of the spectators.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=9643

My wife and I watched in horror as black smoke erupted from the wreckage. The airshow was halted immediately and I remember the slow silent procession of cars leaving the base.

Many years later roddie presented his reproduced "Rare Bear" and I recalled the incident. Prompted me to buy (ebay) Cox's electric example. Then another, then another. Flew one (open box) anticipating many exciting "touch-and-goes" off my driveway. Got one touch and goes then a touch and stay. Not thrilling. Woefully underpowered.

Ceiling hanger and friends.

My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing. P1014995

My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing. P1014996

Then this morning I got to the last pages of Air Classics magazine and found this:

My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing. P1014997

Last paragraph, if you can't read it -

I saw my first Bearcat during that period at the opening of Idlewild Airport in 1949, which we attended. We flew and demonstrated model airplanes during breaks in the full-scale flying events.

I hope that they were not Cox's Bearcats.

rdw777 Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:34 am

I remember seeing those in the local Woolworth store… Maybe early 80’s…Later would see little blurbs in the magazines about them reporting your same experience, Much underpowered…. I think Cox was trying to market ahead based on popularity of gas powered models…. A little early for the electric tech of the day….Gotta give them credit for trying…. A neat piece of Cox history!!

**944_Jim** Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:46 am

I had the Mustang. The first few flights were dramatic...especially as I was flying this flyweight outdoors. Then I flew it in the school gym. It was a lot more confidence-inspiring without all the wind-driven altitude changes. I doubt the internal battery could handle beyond 20 charges before failing to recharge entirely too soon, and I was too young to study NiCad battery technology to understand why or how to best maintain the battery. Nor did I have the spare money to buy more 6-volt spring top lantern batteries. I seem to remember they were easier to find than fuel, but not a whole lot cheaper.

Here we're are forty-five years later, and I'm on the fence about building a small CL job around E-power. My #2 boy has a computer-controlled Lith Ion battery charger...so I'm slowly learning about batteries, timers and motors. SH has a good thread regarding one of the Iduino controllers. It has been educational to say the least.

Hmmm...I wonder if a Guillows' 500 or 900 series could make a good E-job for backyard flying on 20 foot lines. Given the newest technologies, this may be a good time to faithlessly reproduce a "Cox" Mustang.

Sadly, too many ideas, not enough time.

roddie Mon Feb 20, 2023 3:36 pm

rsv1cox wrote:The first time I ever saw a Bearcat F8F was at an airshow at the Naval Base at Quonset Point Rhode Island. "Corky" Fornof and his Dad were flying identical Bearcats in an exhibition when suddenly his Dad's just fell out of the air in full view of the spectators.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=9643

My wife and I watched in horror as black smoke erupted from the wreckage. The airshow was halted immediately and I remember the slow silent procession of cars leaving the base.

Damn... that's tragic for sure. I would not expect a wing-spar to fail.. but it obviously can happen if there's enough G-loading. Apparently there was..

rdw777 Mon Feb 20, 2023 5:41 pm

Jim, I have the 905 Mustang….. It would probably be sweetheart for a backyard CL as you describe….. If you ever pull the trigger on a project like that Micro Flyer Radio has the goodies to make it work…. http://www.microflierradio.com/control-line.html The owner’s phone # is published on the home page and he could help out with equipment choices… I’ve talked to him several times, Very friendly and knowledgeable….

roddie Mon Feb 20, 2023 6:30 pm

We visited this subject-model a while back.. and maybe it's time to re-visit again. Shocked

A "current" (no pun intended..) brushless motor/timer/LiPo combo would fly that Cox E-Bearcat the way it was meant to fly. It would require a retro-fit mount for the brushless motor.. and mounting the flight battery on the new CG... but you'd be pretty much ready to fly after finding a spot to mount the timer.. which would likely be external; possibly on the belly of the aircraft.

Hey Robert, I'll "PM" you regarding this..

rsv1cox Tue Feb 21, 2023 7:16 am

roddie wrote:We visited this subject-model a while back.. and maybe it's time to re-visit again. A "current" (no pun intended..) brushless motor/timer/LiPo combo would fly that Cox E-Bearcat the way it was meant to fly. It would require a retro-fit mount for the brushless motor.. and mounting the flight battery on the new CG... but you'd be pretty much ready to fly after finding a spot to mount the timer.. which would likely be external; possibly on the belly of the aircraft.

Hey Robert, I'll "PM" you regarding this..

**944_Jim** Tue Feb 21, 2023 7:44 pm

Robert,
I checked your link...Woozers! I feel like a kid in the candy store with a pocket full of money...well, a bit of money. I'll need a bit of time to chew on this freshly revealed site.
Thanks much!

PS You have a PM inbound in few minutes.

Roddie,
You're right. I feel like this discussion revolved around one of the other E-planes. Wasn't it just about 10 months ago? It is probably why posting about my Mustang felt like Deja-Vu.

rsv1cox Wed Feb 22, 2023 7:48 am

rdw777 wrote:Jim, I have the 905 Mustang….. It would probably be sweetheart for a backyard CL as you describe….. If you ever pull the trigger on a project like that Micro Flyer Radio has the goodies to make it work…. http://www.microflierradio.com/control-line.html The owner’s phone # is published on the home page and he could help out with equipment choices… I’ve talked to him several times, Very friendly and knowledgeable….

Very popular kit. Checked ebay, many for sale. Like the FW-190 Quillows offered two, one 17" W/S another 25". Are you going to build your's?

My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing. 905_op10

rdw777 Wed Feb 22, 2023 8:55 am

Glad you liked the website Jim, It really is neat and Mr. Leichty is always ready to help sort thru best equipment for the job…..

Hi Bob, I bought the Mustang when Hobby Lobby craft stores were selling Guillows kits, Sadly, they don’t sell them anymore…., It’s one of those kits that’s been on the back burner but yes, I do intend to build it one of these days….Maybe this fall…. Whenever I do I want to dress it up just like the Cox CL version….. Have some pleasant memories of that one as a kid…..I have some nice green Esaki tissue and something that could work for the checkerboard on the wings….The kit’s stars and bars….

rsv1cox Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:39 am

rdw777 wrote:Glad you liked the website Jim, It really is neat and Mr. Leichty is always ready to help sort thru best equipment for the job…..

Hi Bob, I bought the Mustang when Hobby Lobby craft stores were selling Guillows kits, Sadly, they don’t sell them anymore…., It’s one of those kits that’s been on the back burner but yes, I do intend to build it one of these days….Maybe this fall…. Whenever I do I want to dress it up just like the Cox CL version….. Have some pleasant memories of that one as a kid…..I have some nice green Esaki tissue and something that could work for the checkerboard on the wings….The kit’s stars and bars….

There is one on ebay now with the Hobby Lobby sticker intact.

Like the FW-190, I bought one of each. Cheapest ones, others I made an offer which was accepted. Seldom do I pay full asking price for any ebay purchase.

402 - Doesn't seem to have the C/L option of the FW-190

My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing. S-l16023

and 905

My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing. 905_eb10

**944_Jim** Wed Feb 22, 2023 6:28 pm

The bigger kits have notes regarding CL. The smaller 500/900 kits say "tether and a Tee Dee .010." Think Round-the-Pole, er, Person. Guillows has an offshoot site with conversions by builders. They are typically electric. Looking at YouTube, the little guys fly really well. But there is no reasonable way my eyes could keep up with a little pocket rocket unless it it is slinging around me 25 feet away.

Since I started my Typhoon with .049 product engine and Lil Jumping Bean wing, I've been enthralled with the idea of using my Jason_WI backplated .020 PeeWee for a few of these. They would fly fine in my backyard...hopefully on 20 foot lines (give or take). It would make flying a lot more convenient to just step out back and fling one around.

rdw777 Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:29 am

Very nice acquisition Bob….From my understanding the 900 series are some of the better flyers for rubber free flight…. I’m sure that will translate well to CL or RC with a little reinforcement here and there and appropriate modifications….. I haven’t built a kit in a long time so looking forward to building the Mustang one of these days….One little side note on my kit….It was missing one of the sheets of wood with parts…. I called Guillows and and explained the situation and they sent the sheet right away free of charge…. Good service…. Always fun to pull the stuff out of the box and look it over….. Love the box art too….

Robert

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My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

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Re: My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

Re: My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

Re: My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

Re: My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

Re: My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.

Re: My experiences with the Cox Electric Bearcat and the real thing.