Gary Clark 1 Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Hi All, I thought i would start this thread to let people have a look at the refurb of my SIG Kougar and also let me gain some ideas from the many expert builder on here. This isn't going to be a particularly quick process as I'm also building a 1/4 scale Moth Minor from a Jerry Bates plan but i like having something on the side away from the big scale stuff! I love these forums for people suggesting things so please feel free to step in whenever. Anyway, to the Kougar..... She has already had a couple of liveries so far but the time has come to strip her down, repair the repair and get her back to a new like standard. This is one of the easiest, exciting and enjoyable planes i've had so that's why I'm going ahead with this on a fairly simple aircraft. I recommend anyone to give one of these a go! First question, has anyone any experience stripping tissue and dope?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Sub’d i have a particular interest as I built and flew one in the eighties - bought back from a holiday in Florida. As you say, a great flying plane. I’ve been tempted to buy another .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 It's getting harder to get them in the UK now. I had a chat with the guys at Pegasus models (I was going to be lazy and just buy another one) and apparently the European importer for sig has gone out of business. I always wanted its big cousin the King Kobra but can't get it anywhere just now. Something to look out for i guess.. Ive got the wing stripped, some photos to follow (when i figure out how) Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Think i've figured out the photo thing..Here she is in previous lives My plan is to make a new canopy and turtle deck, glass her, retracts and electric conversion. This will probably mean a removable top deck around the canopy area. Not sure what paint scheme yet but I'm tempted with the Tucano look again or maybe something different but that is future Gary's problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 The Kougar has a good reputation but is it better than ,say, the Bullet which is similar in looks and has a great reputation? I am referring to the original 50 inch Bullet from way back which is now sold by Cloud Models and seems available today. ( The ARTF Bullet from Ripmax is larger ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Hi KC. The Bullet is not a model I am familiar with but after having a look they seem very similar. I also like the look of the bigger Cibre Mk II Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Back in the 1980's knowledgeable pilots reckoned the Crescent Bullet was one of the best .40 size aerobatic models, perhaps more favoured even than the Gangster 52. The Tornado ( now the Calibre I think ) was the larger .60 size sister model. Is it an illusion or does your dark blue with roundels Kougar have the elevator and maybe tailplane further back than the lighter blue version? The overall length of the Kougar is one thing that's quite different to the Bullet which is shorter according to the spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Irrelevant for me KC, my love if the Kougar is pure nostalgia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 The Bullet seems like a great plane then and definitely something I'd like to give a go at some point (alongside my Kougar instead of replacing ). I think the Kougar is one of my favourites because it was the first model I ever built properly so I've always been unwilling to throw it away when it gets old and battered due to nostalgia and its flying qualities. I think it's just an illusion KC, the black/yellow one was just a recovering job rather than a rebuild so everything SHOULD be the same......I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wood Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Good looking Kougars there Gary. The one I built a few years ago for electric is a very smooth flyer - as is the Bullet. The Kougar is a bit bulkier & heavier than the bullet - the balsa in my SIG kit was hard stuff... This one is on 5S Lipo power with a Scorpion motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 Lovely looking aircraft you have there Richard. I do like to see the many variations people have of 1 aircraft type! Made some progress. Wing and Fuse stripped and roughly sanded to clean up the wood a bit. This was the very first aircraft i built around 15 years ago and it seems i was desperate to get as much filler in there as i could! My plan is to strip it all back and replace any damaged area rather than filling them with putty to hide it!! I am planning on building a new tail and horizontal stab instead of stripping them, probably less work. I am also thinking about about changing the turtle deck so that it goes to the sides of the fuse instead of leaving the ledge it had before. I'm making a new canopy anyway so that's not an issue but i'm still undecided. Any thoughts? Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wood Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Cheers Gary. The Kougar was an interesting model to build - the DIY foam wing balsa veneering was quite an enjoyable task after joining up the sheets to make the skins. It looks like you've put in some graft to strip it all back. A turtle deck fully covering the top would be interesting & would probably change the character of the model. The original plastic top was a quick way of making a boxy fuse look quite shapely & me being a tad lazy I'd stick with that. Edited By Richard Wood on 15/10/2019 15:12:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 I also enjoyed the build, especially being my first one. I eventually used a david plane to strip the tissue which actually worked fairly well and didn't damage the wood below. I think i agree with you on the top deck Richard, it would change the character too much and stop it being a Kougar. I'm in the process of striping back all the damaged wood and starting to correct the "less experienced building techniques" so i have a blank canvas to start again. I am putting retracts in this time so will focus on the fuse until they arrive so that i can sort the wing. I'm splitting my time between the Kougar and this... The 110' Moth minor takes up considerably more room on my board than the Kougar! Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I agree, and wouldn’t change the Kougar. The Moth looks interesting, you should post details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 The Moth Minor is a great build and lovely looking plane. It's a Jerry Bates plan and i'm building it with a friend (I'm building the fuse and he's building the wing......what could go wrong!!). It's just nice to get away from the big scale stuff and just do some raw modelling, keeps things more enjoyable in my opinion. I'd be happy to put more pics up if people are interested Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 More pics would be great what’s the motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 It's a Super Tiger 3000 but making a custom muffler for it which is a challenge since iv'e never made one before! I'm just working on the tail end just now but with a 34" horizontal stab, it's pretty much a wing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 nice build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted October 22, 2019 Author Share Posted October 22, 2019 Got a bit of progress on the Kougar done. Made a new tail and cleaned up the fuse a bit more. The turtle deck hasn't survived the change too well but is probably saveable. If not, ill make a foam replacement and since its going to be fibreglassed, it should be tough enough to avoid too much hangar rash. As for power system, i was thinking of something in the region of 900-1000W (based on 150W per lb) with a 13x8ish 3 blade prop. I'm pretty new to the electric world so please pass any ideas forward as this isn't my most comfortable part of the build. I've also got most of the tail for the Moth minor done but my phone ran out of bat when i was in the garage so didn't get any photos tonight. I've pretty much finished the DIY muffler i have made for it (first time i have ever made one of these) so will hopefully give the motor a go with this attached and on the bench and see what happens. What's the worst that can happen...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wood Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Hi Gary, It's a few years since I built it but I used a 5S 4000 Lipo based 900W power system in my Kougar. Scorpion S2 3026-710kV motor (not sure if these excellent motors are are still available). 11x7 prop & 60A ESC. Loads of power with this. There are numerous other options but watch out for ground clearance with a big prop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Sorry guys, its been a busy few weeks and, any time I've had, it's been bloody cold in the garage! I've purchased a heater and tidied the workbench to get back into things. Retracts are on they're way and some peel ply for glassing the tail to save it getting bashed whilst the rest catches up! I must admit though, referring old aircraft is loads of fun and feels like a new plane but with loads of building already done so its quick! Anyone got any interesting projects on the go just now? Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted November 14, 2019 Author Share Posted November 14, 2019 Hi guys, Finally got some more work done on the kougar. The horizontal stab and fin are both done and just require hinges. Made a start on trying to dig out the old undercarriage block from the wing ro get ready to fit retracts. The words I would NOT use to describe how thos went would be words like "well", "smoothly", "cleanly" or "without frustration" as seen below.. The res lines show where the foam got damaged below and needs replacing. This is far from ideal but with the strength of gorilla glue and new skin, I'm sure she'll be strong enough when repaired as I've seen it completely hold together crashed foamies!! My efforts to clean it up gave me this I'll get some new foam cut to fill the damage and get it re-signed before sorting the retracts. The wing will need quite a bit of tidying up but that's the whole point in this project. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Clark 1 Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 Hi all, I've got some more done to the wing and replace the foam but still need to skin it. I've tried to make my own foam cutter with a brushed esc and servo tester but not had a lot of luck so far. I moved onto the fuselage to see how much work is going to need done there........turns out loads! I feel like i'm going to be rebuilding this entire plane rather than refurb! As you can see, getting the fuel tank out meant ripping off the whole bottom of the front end and the firewall was pretty damaged with fuel over the years so that's been cut out now and a replacement made. Next step is fitting the nose retract to see what space i have for a battery and finding out where my battery hatch will be. Lots of figuring out to do. The tail is about to get hinged then glassed so at least that bit is almost complete! Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john davidson 1 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 In order to get the battery further forward it might be best to cut out the old firewall and situate a new one at the proposed motor mount position,extending the fuse and making a battery hatch at the same time.I have converted several of my old glow models and it usually impossible to get a satisfactory cg otherwise . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 For cutting foam out I use a cheap pistol type soldering iron with a U shaped wire 'bit', cuts lumps of foam out quickly and cleanly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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