F-20 Tigershark (oz9095)

About this Plan

F-20 Tigershark. Radio control sport model. Tractor prop layout. Wingspan 47 in, wing area 535 sq in.

Quote: "Burn up the sky with realistic jet-like looks and performance! The F-20 Tigershark is an aerodynamic, sleek and sporty aircraft. It looks so realistic, we had to name it after the original. Don't be fooled by its fast appearance, it slows down for realistic nose high landings..."

Quote: "Howdy, y'all; Attached are the plans and manual for Direct Connection's F-20 Tigershark, a prop-driven jet sport model marketed both as a kit and ARF. Rights to this kit and the F-18 were bought by Juno RC of Houston, TX, when DC went out of business, and produced by them for awhile, but Juno is also no longer in business.

It took a bit to get these ready for uploading; the manual had several pages that were "sunburnt" on the page edges, and originally scanned in at a whopping 21+ megabytes! The plans originally scanned in at a bit over 2 mb.

Designed and drawn by Dennis Caudill in 1993, the plane spans 47", weighs 5-6 lbs. and calls for a .40-.46 2-stroke glow engine and 4-5 channel radio system. Although the turtledeck on the ARF was foam sheet, the kit is all balsa. It was originally kitted with fixed gear, but retracts were optional; hence the 5th channel. I have both the fixed and retract gear versions of the ARF; speed difference is definitely noticeable, but not extreme, altho the retract version does handle a bit quicker in maneuvers. With a SuperTigre .51, Mac's tuned pipe, a 10x7 APC speed prop, and wheels up, it ain't a slow airplane! Despite that, it handles much like a SIG Kougar, albeit faster, and lands like one. The 6 volt battery pack in mine is mounted near the tail to get the CG in the correct range, btw. IIRC, the fixed gear one had a 4.8 volt pack in the bay above the rear of the wing, and an OS Max .46 on its nose.

Once I get the retract version of mine recovered, and get a wing built for the fixed gear one, I'll try to remember to send pics. I've also got one partial and one complete kit, NIB, waiting their turn to be built. Jim,"

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Note photo of completed model F-20 Tigershark was found online at http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/extreme-speed-prop-planes-104/2851950-direct-connection-f-20-tigershark-arc.html

Update 25/11/2019: Added kit review from MAN Aug 1994, thanks to JulianL.

Quote: "MANY KIT manufacturers offer looks-like-a-jet, propeller-driven kits. Among the latest newcomers is the F-20 Tigershark, which is manufactured by Direct Connection RC (a division of Capstone Hobbies) and can be ordered directly from them.

The kit made its debut at the 1993 Toledo R/C show. Its long, sleek appearance is definitely appealing, and it could turn out to be one of the standards in its category of R/C aircraft kits.

A description of the aircraft adorns the cover of the instruction booklet. The kit is designed for a .40- to .46-size Schnuerle-ported engine and fixed gear. With the finished product equipped in this configuration, you can expect speeds of 70 to 85 mph; add a tuned pipe to your strong running engine and add a set of retractable landing gear, and you should be able to break 100 mph. These are the manufacturer's words; as T begin to write this, my F-20 is sitting in the hangar, waiting for the melt-down of 10 inches of snow!

The instructions clearly state: The F-20 Tigershark is a high-performance. jet-like, sport-scale airplane - and they go on to say that this is not a beginners' kit. I agree that it isn't a beginners' kit, but don't let that scare you away from building it. The manufacturer supplies you with a toll-free number to call if you are unsure of just how things go together.

THE KIT: First, the instruction booklet. As I said earlier, its top cover is an introduction to the kit and it gets you thinking about engine options - tuned pipe or not?; retracts OT fixed gear? Next is the parts list. Many of the machine-sanded parts are illustrated, and that's a great help in identifying them. Also, the place in the kit where the part can be found is identified (more on the parts marking later).

The instructions are clearly written and supple-mented with drawings for clarification. The last five pages show 14 different isometric drawings of the fuselage being constructed step by step. Paragraphs are numbered, so if you have a question, you call the toll-free line and tell them which paragraph you're having a problem with - a really nice touch.

A single rolled plan sheet guides you through the construction. When I started to unroll the plan, I found that I unrolled and unrolled and unrolled - this is one huge sheet! I cut the wing section out of the sheet, and that made it a little easier to handle. The plan's quality is superb. It's one of the clearest, cleanest plans I've seen, and all the information is there where it should be.

All the machine-sanded parts are in color-coded Ziploc bags, and the parts list tells you which color to look for and how many pieces there should be in the bag. Held by a rubber band, a bundle of long wood contains the ailerons, the leading and trailing-edge pieces, triangle stock and the main spar. The fuselage sides, the top and bottom plates and the hard-balsa parts for the stab and tin are loose in the bottom of the box. Another bag contains the very generous hardware package - every hardware part needed to complete the kit (fixed-gear version). You only need to buy a fuel tank and wheels..."

Supplementary file notes

Kit manual, 27 pages complete.
Review.

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