Wore      It    Out
 
 

Before the Scat Cat, I'd flown several other quickee 500 designs, but they never impressed me as being very much fun to fly.  And initially, I was afraid that I wouldn't like a Scat Cat very much either because it has a semi-symetrical airfoil.  But many years ago, a friend convinced me to take his Scat Cat up for a flight.  WOW!!!  I was EXTREMELY impressed with the way his flew!  It looped and rolled and flew like it was on rails.  Inverted flight was just as effortless as upright flight.  Even though it had a semi-symetrical airfoil, it didn't FLY like it had one!
I loved it!
So, I built this one for myself.

Like I said, the Scat Cat flies like it's on rails.  It tracks and grooves very well whether it's going extremely fast, or extremely slow.  It loops and rolls and grooves more like a pattern plane than a sport plane.  It even lands slower than any other quickee 500 plane that I've seen.  But some of the most fun that I ever had with my Scat Cat was playing with it while it was in inverted flight.

It had such a solid feel when it was just putting along inverted that I would set a large paper cup on the grass in front of me, and then try to knock the cup over by hitting it with the fin or the prop.  Even inverted, it wasn't going much faster than a typical trainer's approach speed, yet all of the flight controls still felt rock solid.  I also used to make an inverted landing approach with the engine at idle or even deadstick, and then bring it down to about a foot off of the ground.  Still idling or deadstick, I'd hold the Scat Cat there until I just barely had enough speed left to make a gentle rolling climb just high enough to get it back to right side up.......just in the nick of time to land it on it's wheels.  When I timed it just perfectly,
it looked REALLY COOL!!!!!!

Except for my Stickit, the Scat Cat is the only plane that I've ever owned where I felt comfortable doing these (stupid) things.  Yeah, I goofed up and damaged it a few times while trying to hit the paper cup.  And sometimes I'd wait just a little bit too long before I started my roll back to upright......but MOST of the time I got away with it!  Which made me do it again, and again, and again, and again......

This plane has been flown with a K&B 40, an OS 40 FSR, an OS 40 SF, an OS 46 SF, an OS 46 VF, a Rossi 40, a K&B 6.5cc, an OS 40 FP, and even an OS 25 FSR.  The Rossi 40 was definitely the fastest, but the OS 40 FSR, and the 40 FP were probably the most fun.  With the lighter engines, it's not near as nose heavy, so it's much more fun to fly.......especially inverted.

To me, the Scat Cat is one of the best flying low wing sport planes available.  It's handling qualities will put a Four Star 40, a Tiger II, and even an Ultra Sport 40 to shame.  For a novice's first low wing plane, a Scat Cat would be ideal with an engine like the OS 40 FP or the Thunder Tiger GP 42.  It's a perfect plane to put that engine that you learned to fly with back into the air again.  And when you're ready for more power, just put a Mousse Can Pipe on it.  You'll be amazed!  Even a seasoned pilot flying a Scat Cat will look much better than they really are!
I know.................I'm living proof!

No doubt about it, my Scat Cat was definitely one of my favorite R/C planes.
 

Comments?
E-Mail me at:
dmcdnld@yhti.net

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