As the weather gets better here in the Pacific Northwest, I am getting lots of flight time on the Miss Kitty prototype that I introduced “last time”. All the info on that new design is still posted right here, lower down on this page. In addition, I have been going out at every opportunity to put time on the new little BabyKitten. While this model does not have the “big plane” presence of her elder sister, she is just plain fun to take out flying. I have actually made “flying break” trips to the club field a few miles from home with the Baby, a transmitter and a couple of charged packs in the back of my wife Teryl’s little Saturn…no big planes, no tools, just a couple of low key flights around the field and then back to my home office and computer feeling much better about life.

Click on the PLANS tab above for more details and a lot of construction photos.

MISS KITTY IS HERE

A LAST MINUTE CHANGE…Late last summer I had the MISS KITTY prototype covered and sealed, just about ready for final priming and color finish in what I had planned to be a traditional ‘30’s race plane color scheme. I put the project aside for a few days to get ready for the ’01 Scale Masters and then… September 11 happened. When the impact of that day’s events began to sink in, I realized that I would feel better about my new airplane if she could in some way symbolize the determination and perseverance of all aeromodelers, Americans and our International friends alike. So it happened that my new airplane became a Pseudo Pursuit ship in the colors she would have worn in the US Army Air Corps of the mid ‘30’s. I hope you like her “in uniform”.

Over the past several months many modelers have been asking me about the Miss Kitty project, wondering when they would get to see my final version prototype of the airplane flying. For a variety of reasons, the busy summer contest season of 2001 among them, it has taken me longer than expected to refine the design and finish the prototype airplane to the level of finesse that I envisioned in the beginning.

Now it is done…I have both the “standard” fixed gear and the retract gear versions of the design in the air and the plans are ready to release to you. This design is going to provide a lot of modelers with a very satisfying plans-built project…it may well be the airplane that in your hands will silence the wisecracks of the local “gas guys” once and for all. Here’s the background…

Soon after I began flying the second and third copies of my TigerKitten prototype, testing a series of different motor - battery - prop combinations, I realized that a larger version of the airplane would be a great idea. In 1993 I published the resulting TigerCat design in Model Aviation Magazine. This was a six foot, Astro 40 powered variation on the 'Kitten. Over several subsequent years my experience flying both the large and small versions of the basic design and suggestions from other modelers who had built both of them have led to a refinement of the original concept. At my suggestion, several modelers have tested some of my ideas by building "short wing TigerCats". These experiments resulted in faster, more maneuverable airplanes that retain the comfortable handling characteristics of both the 'Kitten and the original long - wing 'Cat.

I have combined the results all of this experience into what is for now the ultimate expression of the vision I had in 1989 of an electric powered airplane for which no excuses would ever need to be made. Miss Kitty retains the easy access to the motor battery of the 'Kitten along with the smoother handling and impressive presence of the larger TigerCat. The new design includes provision for an easy to build two piece wing for easy transportation, even as checked airline baggage, and adds flaperon capability for modelers using computer radios, for excellent small field performance. You can even add elevator - flap coupling for enhanced aerobatic performance. In addition to all this I have developed an alternate wing with retractable main landing gear - this is interchangeable with the "standard" wing so you can build both and fly the one best suited the field you are using.

In order to maintain the same external wing profile and straightforward construction as the fixed gear version and use an off-the-shelf, standard geometry retract landing gear (a ROBART Model 605 pneumatic system), I had to limit the size wheel used. For this reason the retractable gear version of Miss Kitty is not a good rough field model. If you have access to a well manicured grass strip or a paved runway, the retract-equipped wing will work well for you. With a touch of toe-in in the axles and the very wide wheel spacing, the RLG version of the airplane tracks like it’s on rails, even on pavement. For soft or rough surfaces, I suggest that you fly the fixed gear version with somewhat larger wheels placed slightly further forward. In either case if you balance and trim the airplane properly she will reward you with silky-smooth hands - off stability when you want it as well as aggressive aerobatic capability when you choose to turn it loose. My prototype model as you see it in the photos uses a MaxCim 13D brushless motor on an MEC SuperBox at a 4.1 to 1 ratio, running on 20 Panasonic 3000 mAh NiMH cells in MEC PowerTubes and turning a Master Airscrew 12x10 “Electric” prop at 7500 RPM. The RLG version weighs just a hair over 8 pounds; with the (one piece) fixed gear wing in place it is about ¾ pound lighter.

If ever there were an airplane to impress the die-hard glow engine fliers that electric power has arrived, this is it! Super performance using today's high performance Cobalt or brushless motors, the ability to use many of those trick functions of your computer radio, the retractable main gear that is detailed on a supplemental plan sheet, and "I wanna' touch it" Golden Age good looks are all part of the package with Miss Kitty. The entire covering and finish process on my airplane is based on STITS LITE products as distributed by Chip Mull’s F&M Enterprises…I am now using Stits covering and finishing materials exclusively on my airplanes.

I have introduced something new with the release of this design. As I do not anticipate being able to produce a laser cut semi kit in the foreseeable future, I have introduced the “PatternPack” supplement sheet. This is a full size layout of every pattern cut part, grouped and arranged to attach to standard sizes of balsa and plywood with contact cement, glue stick, or another adhesive of your choice, and cut out with total accuracy and no need whatever to transfer patterns. This eliminates one of the traditional headaches of plans building without the expense of buying a laser cut parts package.

MISS KITTY builders are welcome to download any or all of the photos presented on this page as an aid to building from my plans.

TigerKitten stuff…

The TigerKitten is alive and well, and I continue to hear from modelers all over the world who have built this design and fallen in love with it, or who are becoming seriously involved in aeromodeling and look forward to build a ‘Kitten themselves. I have included a couple of photos of one of my original models. This was actually the second ‘Kitten built and first flew in 1990. This is the same airplane that appeared in the Ace R/C kit ads in RCM and other magazines. It has now been retired and hangs in a place of honor in my shop.

I have discovered that since I stopped flying my ‘Kittens actively to concentrate on scale competition, other modelers have been experimenting with a next generation of TigerKittens and been installing brushless motors in their airplanes. I have heard quite a few reports of the excellent performance that results, but until a few weeks ago I had not had the chance to see a brushless ‘Kitten perform. Then Glen Peden of Alberta, Canada brought his airplane to a fly-in near Vancouver, WA and showed me what it would do. Glen uses an Aveox 1406/2Y matched to an Astro “05” Superbox at 3.69 to 1 (the gearbox is slightly modified to fit the Aveox and is available pre-matched from Kirk Massey’s New Creations R/C).

Glen was running 10 RC2000 NiCd’s and an APC 13x6.5 electric prop, and his vertical performance was spectacular. I had never before seen a TigerKitten actually hang on the prop…now I have. You can imagine what the “glow guys” watching from the sidelines were saying….

With all that said, I should remind you that I have TigerKitten plans and fiberglass cowls-and-wheelpants available right here at FlightImages. I have improved the plans by adding a “PatternPack” complete parts template sheet, just as with the MISS KITTY. To encourage you to build one or both of these designs in the event you have been considering it and need a bit of encouragement, I’m offering a “two-fer” deal. Go to the PLANS page and you will see the option to purchase both a TigerKitten and a MISS KITTY plan set for $10.00 off the combined price. Check it out…!

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