Tiger 2 by Carl Goldberg

[Ian]

Hi Everyone!

November is here and having flown my last flights for the season, I am happy to share with you all my build log of my next airplane: The Tiger 2 by Carl Goldberg.

Quick background: I tend to be a little "old school" in my interests with RC-flying because I originally learned to fly back in the mid-80s. Back then, the airplanes I learned to adore were the airplanes with long-tail moments, dorsal fins, the classic precision aerobatic airplanes. The Tiger 2 fits my list of a pattern aerobatic trainer and old school nostalgia perfectly. There will be some modifications I will integrate to this project.

Last night I framed up the fin and rudder. My first modification: an increase to the rudder area. With a slightly wider rudder, I am looking forward to better rudder authority for knife edge flights, while minimizing any drag effects from too large surfaces.

So far so good, will post my next log the next weekend. Catch you all later!

[Kevin Rochon]

Ian you're going to have fun with that plane. Myself I built the Tiger 60, it was an easy built. I built it with the same scheme with the hockey stick design in red the only thing I added was Robart strut cover to give it a more scale look. Also I put a .90 4 stroke on it.

It is a great flyer, great for learning aerobatic as it is a precise flyer. A lot of member had the ARF version a while back.

So good luck with it.

[Ian]

Ian you're going to have fun with that plane. Myself I built the Tiger 60, it was an easy built. I built it with the same scheme with the hockey stick design in red the only thing I added was Robart strut cover to give it a more scale look. Also I put a .90 4 stroke on it.

It is a great flyer, great for learning aerobatic as it is a precise flyer. A lot of member had the ARF version a while back.

So good luck with it.

Thank you Kevin, I am certainly looking forward to flying this airplane next season!

I believe I may have seen you towards the end of this flying season; my apologies if I did not get to introduce myself. I look forward to showing you this airplane when it's ready and have our salutations!

[briankizner]

Love the Goldberg Tiger. Perhaps my favourite plane of the many I’ve owned over the years was a small .20 version I built from a kit and flew in the early Nineties. When, after a few years of flying and rebuilding, it finally met its demise, I was terribly disappointed to find that the .20 model was discontinued (I believe it was called the Junior Tiger) . I also had a .40 ARF version a few years later. The .20 kit I built before ARFs took over was easy to build and was an excellent flier. They were as easy to take off and land as any trainers but could also do almost any aerobatics you’d want. Good looking planes as well.

[Ian]

Love the Goldberg Tiger. Perhaps my favourite plane of the many I’ve owned over the years was a small .20 version I built from a kit and flew in the early Nineties. When, after a few years of flying and rebuilding, it finally met its demise, I was terribly disappointed to find that the .20 model was discontinued (I believe it was called the Junior Tiger) . I also had a .40 ARF version a few years later. The .20 kit I built before ARFs took over was easy to build and was an excellent flier. They were as easy to take off and land as any trainers but could also do almost any aerobatics you’d want. Good looking planes as well.

Hi Brian... My 4 channel trainer back in '87 was a Carl Goldberg Eaglet 50. Like many Goldberg kits, it was also easy to assemble... too easy in fact that my former flying colleagues called these kits ARF :D.

Btw... Hangar9/horizon hobby brought back the Goldberg tiger, but it's a big airplane... 30cc size. If they make a 10cc size, that would be interesting. Cheers!

[Xavier]

I loved my Tiger back in 1998 and I learned a lot with it (the yellow one below). I regreted selling it. Last year, I found a used one and installed the same motor I was using 20 years ago. It flew as well I remember. Almost as easy to fly as the Eagle trainer of the same manufacturer but better at rolls and inverted flying. Knife edge is not great because of the small fuse so it has to be done at high speed.
It's more gentle than the full aerobatic airplanes obviously thanks to the big wing and load wing loading.

[Ian]

I loved my Tiger back in 1998 and I learned a lot with it (the yellow one below). I regreted selling it. Last year, I found a used one and installed the same motor I was using 20 years ago. It flew as well I remember. Almost as easy to fly as the Eagle trainer of the same manufacturer but better at rolls and inverted flying. Knife edge is not great because of the small fuse so it has to be done at high speed.
It's more gentle than the full aerobatic airplanes obviously thanks to the big wing and load wing loading.

Thank you for your comments Xavier.... if I'm not mistaken, that looks like a Tiger 1 (aka Sky Tiger)? Beautiful airplane, I hope it is still flying well. Thank you as well for your comments on its limitations to knife edge attitude. If I can keep it steady for a few seconds to do a 4-point roll, I will be happy. Cheers!

[mitea_dan]

Félicitations. Je désir un…

[Krish]

As some of you may be aware, I soloed back in 1971 or 72! Dave Patrick who designed the Tiger series was a Montrealer back then! He lived in St. Anne de Belview near the locks and the house he rented then is still there as I passed there and saw it recently. He loved to fly RC and he and I used to fly along a road which was part of the College before McGill took over. A particular memory of flying with him was interesting. In winter, we use to fly from inside our cars on 72Mhz, with the antenna sticking out a small crack in the window after take off and used the Windshield as our window of flying area. In those days I was still working at Udisco repairing Radio gear. My last contact with him was about 5-6 years ago. He still lives around Chicago and had started his own business, selling his designs at www.davepatrickmodels.com But I see the domain is for sale.

I can also say the Tiger 2 was always my favorite plane as "just for fun" flying and suited my flying style very well, especially a few feet above ground. I never had any major accidents and was flying it in Jamaica until I left 2 years ago, selling off the planes I had shipped there, one person bought all 5 and he still flies the old reliable, which I acquired some decades ago. Ian, you will enjoy this model aircraft. Apology for long windedness.

[Ian]

Félicitations. Je désir un…

Merci Dan!

[Ian]

As some of you may be aware, I soloed back in 1971 or 72! Dave Patrick who designed the Tiger series was a Montrealer back then! He lived in St. Anne de Belview near the locks and the house he rented then is still there as I passed there and saw it recently. He loved to fly RC and he and I used to fly along a road which was part of the College before McGill took over. A particular memory of flying with him was interesting. In winter, we use to fly from inside our cars on 72Mhz, with the antenna sticking out a small crack in the window after take off and used the Windshield as our window of flying area. In those days I was still working at Udisco repairing Radio gear. My last contact with him was about 5-6 years ago. He still lives around Chicago and had started his own business, selling his designs at www.davepatrickmodels.com But I see the domain is for sale.

I can also say the Tiger 2 was always my favorite plane as "just for fun" flying and suited my flying style very well, especially a few feet above ground. I never had any major accidents and was flying it in Jamaica until I left 2 years ago, selling off the planes I had shipped there, one person bought all 5 and he still flies the old reliable, which I acquired some decades ago. Ian, you will enjoy this model aircraft. Apology for long windedness.

Thanks Krish and no apologies needed!
Alot of fliers in the Philippines knew about him, me included, from his airplane designs at Carl Goldberg and from his instructional videos (still on YouTube btw). I look forward to showing this airplane to you and the group next season. If I don't see you next weekend, have a wonderful winter vacation. Cheers!

[Ricardo]

If I am not mistaken, the Tiger is a low wing version of the Falcon. Both are great flying planes. I had one built really light, with its large rectangular wing it was a great flier. One caveat: Attention to spins, it tends to go into flat and does not come out of them easily. This is because the stabilizer blankets the vstab/rudder (drawback of a swept back vstab).

[Krish]

Long time I haven't heard the name Falcon, If I recall correctly there was the Falcon 56 and a senior Falcon, which were predecessors to the Tiger 2 and had similar dimensions, except low wing and both flew very well, I also recall it getting into flat unrecoverable spins from others, but I never had it happen. A larger rudder may be the solution.

[Ricardo]

Increasing the rudder may not help with the flat spin issue, if the rudder remains in the blanking zone. Two effective solutions are:
- increase the vstab fin area ahead of the hstab;
- add a ventral fin to the aft lower fuselage (careful not to affect rotation during takeoff and flare);

Good luck with the project, looking forward to seeing the build thread.

[Ian]

Increasing the rudder may not help with the flat spin issue, if the rudder remains in the blanking zone. Two effective solutions are:
- increase the vstab fin area ahead of the hstab;
- add a ventral fin to the aft lower fuselage (careful not to affect rotation during takeoff and flare);

Good luck with the project, looking forward to seeing the build thread.

Hi Ricardo, thank you for the comments and suggestions.... I will certainly reflect in your ideas. True, I heard a few comments about being careful not to put the plane into a flat spin, I will certainly be careful about it. Cheers!

[beto9]

Tiger 2: best plane I ever flown. I had several!
Tiger 60: second best plane I ever flown!
You can fly it like a trainer, very gentle. You can make most acrobatics: very sharp

[Ricardo]

Hi Ricardo, thank you for the comments and suggestions.... I will certainly reflect in your ideas. True, I heard a few comments about being careful not to put the plane into a flat spin, I will certainly be careful about it. Cheers!

I have an OS 15 sitting here at home.... A small Falcon would be a nice scratch build.... You give me ideas...

[Ian]

Good Evening Folks!

Normally I build on the weekends, but tonight, I just had the urge to cut, glue and sand something... I could not resist, so tonight is a cheat-night :-)

Update: The horizontal stabilizer is now framed-up and glued together. Also, reference lines are drawn on the elevator to eventually cut up after the brace wire is attached. In this case, I opted not to make any modifications to the size of the elevator. The proportion of the elevator is pretty much the same size elevator/stabilizer as my current airplane (Eagle 2) and I am confident it has enough authority to push up to a loop and likely, pull in to an outside loop. So, this was a conventional build and I'm satisfied how it turned out tonight. Next session, I may start with the general frame-up of the fuselage. That will be interesting.

Cheers... ian.

[mitea_dan]

Merci pour les photos.

PS. Est-ce que on peut comparer Falcon avec le UltraSport et Super Sporter de Great Planes ?

[Kevin Rochon]

I also built the super sportster, but 40,and it flew great but a little less precise that the Tiger.

[briankizner]

Same here. I built and flew a Sportster as well. It was good but I definitely preferred the Tiger. As Kevin said, more precise.

[Ian]

Yup, this build is getting interesting!

The fuselage is now dry framed-up (not all glued yet). Crazy that it took the whole weekend only to get this far! My first major surprise: the bulkheads do not interlock squared and straight like the fuselage of the Goldberg Eagle I built last winter.... AND with the exception of the firewall bulkhead, the rest of the bulkheads are just 1/8" aircraft plywood and nothing else; no doublers or balsa side braces. This makes for flimsy and easy to break bulkheads. Second surprise: although the fuselage sides were packed at the bottom of the box, somehow they were bowed possibly from years of staying at-rest in the box. Consequent to this, it is very easy to get the fuselage out of alignment. So, for the next week, I will keep the clamp braces on the fuselage as you see on the photos to allow the wood to re-bend and resolve the situation. Next weekend, I'll go back to epoxy bonding the bulkheads fuselage top & bottom panels permanently.

Modifications made: I spent the weekend basically cutting and adding doublers, balsa traingle stocks and where necessary, added braces to the cabin bulkheads. Also, for those of you who built Goldberg Tigers before, you may (or may not?) have noticed that the side guards or cheeks of the engine had a tendency to vibrate or flutter. You'll see on one of the photos that I also added basswood lateral doublers to the side guards, that will hopefully prevent that vibration.

Lesson learned in building: You can build airplanes fast, but it may not look nor fly straight. Time, patience and a good cup of coffee (or tea) are important building tools. Also: balsa triangle stocks are amazing... they are like the duct tape for model building :D

Have a great week ahead folks... Cheers for now!

[briankizner]

Very normal that a trainer like the Eagle would be built heavier than a higher performance aircraft. Trainers have a lot of lift and are built to handle some abuse so they do not suffer too much from extra weight. They also were designed with considerations for inexperienced builders, hence the foolproof interlocking parts. Intermediate planes built for more aerobatic flight need to be light to perform and will sacrifice some strength for lighter weight. Ie, built to fly, not to crash. It also helps to keep the posterior part of the fuselage light so that it should not require added weight up front to establish a correct center of gravity. Added triangles and doublers will be great for stiffness, but be careful not to add much weight. Higher performing airframes, especially ones designed for electric power, tend to be quite flimsy (1-not much concern for damage caused by the engine’s vibration but a lot of concern about the weight of the batteries 2- I realize the Tiger is designed for glow engines and so is fairly solid, though perhaps less solid than a trainer)
I never experienced or heard of vibration problems of the sides around the engine. Maybe because I used a fair bit of epoxy on them for fuel proofing.
Personally, I found the Tiger to be very well designed to be a great everyday flyer without any important changes. That being said, I know that many builders Enjoy modifying kits to their liking. More power to them. The great thing about kit building compared to ARFs is that no two are identical. The only other plane that I have had that was it’s equal in that it was as easy as a trainer and a lot of fun to fly aerobatics with was the Sig Kavalier. However, I found Goldberg kits were easier and more fun to build than Sig. I’d go farther and say that They were the best builds of any of the kit manufacturers that I had experience with ( Including Graupner, Sig, Midwest., Balsa USA, possibly others that I have forgotten. I’m not counting Assembly of ARFs here, only boxes of wood and hardware with plans and instructions).
Good idea to keep it clamped for a while to keep it straight. I think you’re right that the wood may have warped after years in the box. One tip I learned a long time ago for warped wood was to wet the wood before bending it back to normal. After drying, it should remain straight. I’m sure you’ll build a real beauty. Great start!

[Ian]

Very normal that a trainer like the Eagle would be built heavier than a higher performance aircraft. Trainers have a lot of lift and are built to handle some abuse so they do not suffer too much from extra weight. They also were designed with considerations for inexperienced builders, hence the foolproof interlocking parts. Intermediate planes built for more aerobatic flight need to be light to perform and will sacrifice some strength for lighter weight. Ie, built to fly, not to crash. It also helps to keep the posterior part of the fuselage light so that it should not require added weight up front to establish a correct center of gravity. Added triangles and doublers will be great for stiffness, but be careful not to add much weight. Higher performing airframes, especially ones designed for electric power, tend to be quite flimsy (1-not much concern for damage caused by the engine’s vibration but a lot of concern about the weight of the batteries 2- I realize the Tiger is designed for glow engines and so is fairly solid, though perhaps less solid than a trainer)
I never experienced or heard of vibration problems of the sides around the engine. Maybe because I used a fair bit of epoxy on them for fuel proofing.
Personally, I found the Tiger to be very well designed to be a great everyday flyer without any important changes. That being said, I know that many builders Enjoy modifying kits to their liking. More power to them. The great thing about kit building compared to ARFs is that no two are identical. The only other plane that I have had that was it’s equal in that it was as easy as a trainer and a lot of fun to fly aerobatics with was the Sig Kavalier. However, I found Goldberg kits were easier and more fun to build than Sig. I’d go farther and say that They were the best builds of any of the kit manufacturers that I had experience with ( Including Graupner, Sig, Midwest., Balsa USA, possibly others that I have forgotten. I’m not counting Assembly of ARFs here, only boxes of wood and hardware with plans and instructions).
Good idea to keep it clamped for a while to keep it straight. I think you’re right that the wood may have warped after years in the box. One tip I learned a long time ago for warped wood was to wet the wood before bending it back to normal. After drying, it should remain straight. I’m sure you’ll build a real beauty. Great start!

Very meaningful insight, thank you very much Brian!
That is true, in wood constructed airplanes, light can still be (relatively) stiff and durability can suffer weight gain. I am realizing now that I have to be more comfortable that the wood joints will keep the airframe sound. Point well taken on being careful not to go wild and crazy with triangle stocks.

Thank you for the reminder about wetting the wood to conform to curves. Yes, I will definitely do this next weekend. The planking on the front lower side requires a forward bend to the firewall so I will use this technique on that part and a few others.

I look forward to meeting you in on the field next season and show you this airplane when it's ready. Cheers!

[briankizner]

Re: wetting wood to bend it. The one Balsa USA kit ( Taube, a truly unique World War 1 monoplane) I built had complex wingtips fashioned by bending several thin strips of balsa to the correct curvature, gluing them together, than sanding everything to a smooth curve. This absolutely required wetting the wood before bending to prevent it from being cracked. It was a lot of work and very dusty, especially all the sanding, to make wingtips this way but the result was very nice.

[Ian]

Hey Everyone! No pun intended, but I am able to somehow leap back into this build project with some progress. The wings are now framed and today, I did the first fitting of the fuselage, wings and stabilizer. This being a bolt-on wing, I wanted to make sure I can center, measure and mark-out the true positions of these 3 components as references for the wing dowel.

Things will get even more interesting as i start planning out additional modifications being (a) installation of 2 aileron servos and (b) conversion to a conventional (tail drag) configuration.

Have a good weekend!

[Mezri]

Nice Job...the spring is coming...

[Florin]

It takes the shape of an airplane now. Keep up!

[Ian]

Nice Job...the spring is coming...

Thank you my friend for the compliment and the reminder :) I hope to do the maiden flight this summer.

[Ian]

It takes the shape of an airplane now. Keep up!

Thanks Florin

[Dwight Macdonald]

Nice work Ian! I love to see builds in progress.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Ian]

Nice work Ian! I love to see builds in progress.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Thanks Dwight... zen and the art of model airplane building :)

[Glenn Hole]

Hi Ian
I had a Goldberg tiger rtf 60 many many years ago its a great flyer you will have lots fun with it.Great job can't wait to see it fly.

Glenn.:)

[Ian]

Hi Ian
I had a Goldberg tiger rtf 60 many many years ago its a great flyer you will have lots fun with it.Great job can't wait to see it fly.

Glenn.:)

Thanks Glenn... I'm looking forward to flying it this summer, optimistically at our wimac field!

[Ian]

Hey Everyone! For those of you who may have built Goldberg Tigers before, you may notice from the photos a distinct difference. Yup, I decided to move the main gear blocks to the front of the main spars, to convert the landing gear configuration to a conventional or tail-dragger setup. I was going back and forth with installing aluminum gear legs on the front fuselage, but I could not find one that was the right width of the fuselage and would be wide enough for a good stance. Also for a low wing, I felt it looked dorky, so a few nights of cutting, hacking, aligning, gluing and drilling, this Tiger's got front legs!

Another interesting thought... this wing starts light and flimsy with just ~14 wing ribs for a 60-inch wingspan. It's super-easy to warp out of alignment! I constantly had to take care not to break, or to immediately re-glue the leveling tabs to make sure I can level-out the wing when I settle it on the table. And then the web shears are bonded, as are part of the sheeting, the wing starts stiffening up. So cool, to see a light structure starting to solidify to become (fingers-crossed!) a good aerobatic wing.

While I'm at this topic, question for those who built Goldberg Tigers (or similar): Any technique or secrets to carving out the triangular stock wing tips?? I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, this is going to be a whole lot of freakin' work!

Have a good week ahead everyone, wishing you all safety and sanity in the middle of this virus outbreak!

[Ian]

Hey Everyone! Hoping this anxious times of self distancing / isolation is keeping you all productive somehow.

Lots of progress this week! I built and installed the aileron servos window and mounts. I'm opting to use 2 aileron servos instead of the original 1 servo with torque ailerons. I always wondered about experimenting with flaperons and this aircraft looks agreeable to try out here. Also, the wing is now fully sheeted and in general about 90% complete. Carving those wing tips looks like a job-and-a-half, I will take my time to figure out if I will commit to it or go a different direction.

Above everything, today was the first time I lined-up and marked the fin, stabilizer, wing and fuselage. I'm just loving how the dorsal fin accentuates the long tail moment on the fuselage... sexy! :) So far, general alignment of all air surfaces worked out well. Definitely a few more weeks of cutting, sanding and gluing ahead, but it's getting there.

Lastly, I started using DuraPro Carpenter's glue as suggested by Dan (Merci Dan!)... it's a great adhesive to use! Cheers for now.

[Ian]

One more photo with me on the background :)

Have a safe, positive and creative week everyone... trust that there are better days ahead!

[Jdonald]

Hi Ian. Starting to take shape. I can see the DuraPro adhesive in the back ground. Good to have glue options. I don't have any projects started but I do have a kit to build. I have been practicing on the RF8 flight simulator flying in a clockwise pattern. For some reason I am much better flying counter clockwise so I am working on the weak link. After a few days of flying clockwise on the simulator the weak link is much better. I have been switching back and forth between the two patterns to get a solid balance. I guess ski season is over at WIMAC. Keep up the good work.

[Ian]

Hi Ian. Starting to take shape. I can see the DuraPro adhesive in the back ground. Good to have glue options. I don't have any projects started but I do have a kit to build. I have been practicing on the RF8 flight simulator flying in a clockwise pattern. For some reason I am much better flying counter clockwise so I am working on the weak link. After a few days of flying clockwise on the simulator the weak link is much better. I have been switching back and forth between the two patterns to get a solid balance. I guess ski season is over at WIMAC. Keep up the good work.

Thanks John... I figure this is how I make the best of an anxious situation. If we need to stay indoors, then let's build an airplane :)

Interesting about how you tend to favor counter-clockwise patterns. For landing approach, I tend to favor clockwise patterns. I think the reason why in my case is I have more control on the right stick as my fingers are folded in versus making a CCW pattern where my fingers are extended more. To each his/her own I guess, but your sim practice will make you a more versatile + neutrally capable flier. Cheers!

[Florin]

Great activity for these days, weeks.
Nice pictures, beautiful plane.
Keep up good work.

[Ian]

Great activity for these days, weeks.
Nice pictures, beautiful plane.
Keep up good work.

Thank you Florin!

[Jdonald]

Hi Ian, I am not sure but the aircraft you are building is a kit. Still requires building skill and accuracy. Does the kit include the cut parts for the aileron servos placement in the wings or do you have to design and build this yourself.

[Ian]

Hi Ian, I am not sure but the aircraft you are building is a kit. Still requires building skill and accuracy. Does the kit include the cut parts for the aileron servos placement in the wings or do you have to design and build this yourself.

Hi John... the original placement of the aileron servo is at the center of the wing and drives the ailerons by torque rods. Yes, I am making the modifications and therefore building the aileron window mounts and cutting out the holes through the ribs. There is some building skills for sure, but I would say more patience, attention to detail and mostly time. With the stay-at-home regulation right now, I guess I'm lucky to find a little more time to work on this project. :)

[Ricardo]

Did you consider installing retracts? It would look great...

[Ian]

Did you consider installing retracts? It would look great...

Hey Ricardo... oh man, I absolutely did consider retracts! I was looking at the websites of AMR, Greathobbies, etc and I was considering the e-flite retracts, I believe they don't need a servo to actuate anymore? In the end I decided not to do it because I got worried that the modifications may get too complicated and I might mess up the airplane. Oh well, it will be on my list for my next project... maybe a 60-size Curare or Super Kaos? One day... hehe!

[Ricardo]

Stay away from the eflite retracts......

[Ian]

Stay away from the eflite retracts......

Thank you Ricardo!

[Ian]

Hi Folks!

Another interesting week concluded. Unrelated to the this project, but still relating to this hobby: Yesterday was my first flying session for 2020. So nice to see familiar faces at the field. Special thank you to Mike Jenkins for jumping in to take control of my airplane so I can remove my winter gloves. Learned an important lesson: Don't use winter gloves when flying! I did not have the feel / dexterity of the transmitter and the sticks, I was borderline loosing control.

To this project... just finished one of my least favourite, but necessary, part of the construction: hinge slotting. Luckily before all the store closures, I bought hinge slotting blades from Ted's Hobbies to make this task a little easier to accomplish. I was never very comfortable making hinge slot holes, especially on thin structures like the stabilizer and fin. You need some pressure to push the blade into the balsa but you don't want to put too much to start stressing the open structures. I'm happy its all finally done, and the rest of the week was spent adding balsa fillers, sanding and some more bevel sanding on the surfaces. Oh, and vacuuming after each building session!

Have a safe and productive week ahead everyone, cheers for now!

[Ian]

Hi Folks!

Happy Easter / Pass-over / First Spring Weekend to all of you and your families. Wishing you all health and positivity always!

My last updates indicated that I was getting ready to carve out the wing tips of this airplane. The way this kit did it, they give you a thick triangular stock and you start carving it for all its worth. Except that, the triangular stock on this kit was really hard and tough to carve, cut nor sand. In other words, with the limited hand tools I had (basic dremel tool, sand papers, knife carver, hand plane), there was no way I could work this idea out!

So, I trashed that idea and instead, I decided to simplify it by stacking a layer of 1/8", 1/4" and 1/8" balsa on the tips. Along the way, I can carve and sand each layer with better control. Looks like it came out good! I think it is also a lot lighter than the triangular stocks.

The center section is also fiberglassed and strengthened. And, while it took some time, the bottom fuselage flairing was built, attached and sanded. Obviously no aerodynamic benefit, but for the esthetics, it certainly added to the shape of the aircraft.

[Ian]

With all these done and no more excuses, it was time to commit to drilling the wing bolts! This carries some anxiety because, in a way, you have to make sure everything is lined up before you commit. This was a whole evening's work of alignment, re-check, adjustment and repeat before I felt good enough to take drill out and go. It worked out well in the end and I did not feel any significant resistance when screwing in the bolts. Side-note, I would have wanted to use plastic-based wing bolts, but that would have meant using bigger mounting wood stock and adding more modifications. Also, with all hobby shops physically closed right now, it was not easy getting parts. Next time!

The remainder of the evening was spent adding more balsa fillers to sand and smooth out uneven contours.

[Ian]

And finally... last night, was spent aligning and mounting the engine. Similar to drilling the wing bolts, considerable time was also spent ensuring the engine was centered and the appropriate right-thrust was factored in.

Glad to say, it all finally came together by midnight. So, before clearing up the table for breakfast, I thought I would share a few photos of this airplane with the wing, stab, fin and landing gear mounted now. The Monokote colors I have are cub yellow, neon green (it is an 80's airplane after all.. LOL!), white and red. The white and red colors are likely going to be for some kind of stripes since there is not much material left.

Ok... it may still be a few more nights of sanding, CG and lateral balancing before I start covering. But I am taking this afternoon to research the covering pattern I will apply. I will likely take inspiration from the covering patterns of the 80s pattern airplanes.

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay safe, be well.

[Mezri]

Nice Job Ian, ...I love OS engines...try to make the gap bigger between the needle and the chassi : Min 3mm all arounnd...with the vibrations it may touch the wood.

[Sempai-mj]

Going to be cool, a Tiger Tail Dragger !:)

[Ian]

Going to be cool, a Tiger Tail Dragger !:)

Thanks Mike... Definitely looking forward to it. The stance of the landing gears is quite wide and not that high, should minimize ground looping. Pilot-abilities permitting !

[Ian]

Nice Job Ian, ...I love OS engines...try to make the gap bigger between the needle and the chassi : Min 3mm all arounnd...with the vibrations it may touch the wood.

Thank you Mezri.... Very sharp eyes my friend, on the clearance with the needle adjustment screw! Yes, I shaved off just enough to confirm to make sure the engine is flat on the engine mount beams and I could mark the location for the pilot holes. Thank you for the reminder, I will shave down the clearance hole some more to ensure the gap as you recommended. I have an OS engine related question for you, I will send a PM to you today.

[Sempai-mj]

Going to be cool, a Tiger Tail Dragger !:)

Who remembers this marketing gag from the 60's

[Ian]

Hi Folks, I am honored to present the completion of this project!
After ~6months, this airplane is now covered, assembled and balanced. There still are last minute work to do on the canopy attachment, detailing and fine tuning of the air surface controls + throws. But in general, this airplane is now ready for the engine break-in and eventually the maiden flight. It is a shame, that this is a rainy long weekend. Oh well! this airplane will wait patiently for the next bright sunny days to fly.

So, this completes my project and build log of this airplane. It was a challenge but I certainly had fun. I look forward to the next part of this project, that is to fly and rebuild my aerobatics proficiency. What a fun hobby we have!

Thank you all for following.... Be well and have fun building / flying. Cheers!

[Mezri]

Very good Job...looks more than good...looks NEW...Im very cofident on the flying caracteristics...have fun !

[Ian]

Very good Job...looks more than good...looks NEW...Im very cofident on the flying caracteristics...have fun !

Thank you Mezri!

[Dwight Macdonald]

Very nice job Ian! It looks great and I'm sure it will fly very well also.

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[mitea_dan]

C'est une beauté et va voler comme telle.

[Ian]

Very nice job Ian! It looks great and I'm sure it will fly very well also.

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Thank you Dwight!

[Ian]

C'est une beauté et va voler comme telle.

Merci beaucoup Dan!

[Krish]

Hi Ian, been a good project and I am certain you will enjoy it as I did for decades...

[Michael O'Bree]

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[Ian]

Hi Ian, been a good project and I am certain you will enjoy it as I did for decades...

Thank you Krish! Yes, it was a good project. I was supposed to do the engine break-in yesterday, but all the final detailing work (mounting the canopy, hardware installation, checking throws, etc) took up so much time that I had to postpone on the last minute.

I would be thrilled to present this airplane to you and all the fliers who flew or liked these Goldberg Sky Tigers in the past. Cheers!

[Ian]

https://www.wimac.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12824&stc=1&d=1593447518

Thank you Michael!

[Ian]

Hi Folks.... Maiden flight completed this afternoon!

Engine break-in was started last Tuesday and I took the afternoon off work to continue the break-in and tune-in. The engine ran so smooth, that there really was nothing left to do, and no more excuses to make, except to do the taxi test and maiden flight. I'm happy to share that 2 maiden flights were successfully accomplished and the plane is still in one piece :)

I'd like to recognize and graciously thank Krish Blake who generously offered to be my airplane spotter, stayed by my side for the maiden flight, who helped keep my nerves in-check and offered sound adjustment/correction advise in real time. I truly appreciate your help Krish! ... and thank you for the photos also.

I also would like to recognize the support and presence of the my fellow fliers out this afternoon: Guy Prevost, Eric (I hope I got your name right!), John McDonald and Alan Holtzman. Thanks for keeping the skies open for her maiden flight!

Did I say this is an awesome hobby and club that we belong to? It really is and I'm so happy to be part of this club.

I'll see you at the flying field, have fun and be well everyone. Cheers!!

[Krish]

Hey Ian, Thank you for your kind words but we both know who was at the sticks!
Here are the photos I took on my camera.

[Ian]

Hey Ian, Thank you for you kind words but we both know who was at the sticks!
Here are the photos I took on my camera.

That's so cool... I was in a daze that I forgot you took photos after the first touchdown, thank you so much Krish! Looking forward to flying with you again. See you at the flying field :)

[Mezri]

Nice job Ian,...congratulation...waiting for flying my plane beside yours...;)

[mitea_dan]

Félicitations, mon ami.

[Ian]

Nice job Ian,...congratulation...waiting for flying my plane beside yours...;)

Looking forward to flying with you Mezri, for sure... vive les avions jaunes! :)

[Ian]

Félicitations, mon ami.

Merci beaucoup Dan, mon ami!

[Ian]

Sharing with you all, a video of a flight of the Sky Tiger from this afternoon!

Un très grand merci à mon bon ami, Raymond Bergeron d'avoir pris cette vidéo pendant que j'essayais de rester calme en pilotant l'avion!

https://youtu.be/jjnHHRrMjyw

[Michael O'Bree]

Great job Ian.