Historical facts:
The Grumman F-9F Cougar was an evolution of the straight wing Panther. The swept wing design was pushed by the superiority of the swept wing Mig 15 during the Korean War.
The F-9F8 featured many aerodynamic improvements over the F-9F6 and was capable of breaking the sound barrier in dive.
The twin seater Cougar ( TF-9J ) saw combat during the Vietnam war and was extensively used as a trainer by the Navy for nearly two decades.
The Blue Angels flew the Cougar from 1952 to 1957.
This project was mandated by Joe Castellao for Accurate Scale Jets, which is the ditributors of the plane for the Americas.
The plane was CAD designed by Guido Ising from Grumman blueprints and is true to scale.
It is an ideal subject for scale competitions with its wavy skin replicating the pattern of the original plane.
All the rivets are faithfully reproduced and a complete set of scale accessories make for an amazing model.
Technology:
The plane is available in 3 building options:
GlassTech, Cloudtech and Cloudtech HD.
Glasstech is made from glass fiber/ 3 mm core material.
Cloudtech is made from high modulus carbon fiber uni-directional non crimp fabrics and a thin 1.5 mm ultra-light aerospace grade core.
Cloudthech HD is using the same technology, with a higher number of internals for added resistance with 400 N engines and high loads associated with numerous scale accessories.
The core material is a specific ultra light weight aerospace grade PEI foam that is certified to sustain 120 c continuous without de-gassing. This foam is 3 times lighter than the Airex grade used on the best models being currently sold to the hobby market and features the much hgher resistance to compression.The skin created using these materials is infused in one step with a very specific resin gel sheet technique. A super high modulus epoxy resin is used and post cured for 48 hours at high temperature, offering a resistance of 120 c continuous.
Architecture:
The plane internal structure was designed and specced using finite analysis simulation to offer 10 g resistance with 300 N/ 400 N total thrust. The internal structure is CNC cut and 100% made of Airex/ carbon fiber laminate with the same gel sheet epoxy resin as the skin and post cured in one step with the remaining of the structure. The wing and fin tubes are also aero grade carbon fiber made and post cured in the same step with the structure to fuse the glue joints with the spar/ ribs. This is a unique process allowing both the skin and the internal structure to cure together and fuse with the epoxy joints, creating a virtually monocoque shell.
The landing gear sruts were CAD designed by Guido Ising and adapted to our hybrid CNC/ laser 3D printing technology.
The strut covers are 3D printed to 25 micron accuracy, thus retaining the highest scale appearance, while being user replaceable in case of dammage. The internal strut is CNC machined on our Siemens machines from Alcoa Al 2024 T351 and Al 7075 T651. The retracts and billet machined from an aluminum-titanium alloy made by Alcoa at their Lafayette plant.
Powerplant:
The plane is designed to be powered by engines ranging from 160 N to 400 N.
JWM:
The Cloudtech version is optimally suited for smaller engines to stay within the JWM 20 kg limit. The 160N version is available with a plasma bag and full carbon fiber landing gear for ultra-light setup.
Flight controls:
The F9F-8 Cougar is very specific.
Roll control is achieved with the flaps ( down deflection only ) and upper wing spoilers ( up deflection only ) like the real plane. A small functional roll tap is available on the left outer wing only.
Flaps are comprising of 2 inboard under fuselage panels and 2 wing surfaces.
Two elevators are hinged on a rotating stabilizer. The stabilizer is used for pitch trimming only. Like on the real one, a massive down pitch effect exists when the flaps are deflected. The stabilizer trim is used to avoid running out of elevators at low speed. A scale stabilizer-to-fin joiner plate is included with the airframe. the front part is fixed to the stablizer whereas the rear and bulb is fixed to the fuselage. The scale overlap friction area is shown on the picture below.
The rudders are split and separately actuated.
An optional under-belly speed brake is available.
All the flight controls are scale hinged with aluminum piano hinges and use internal linkages with scale stainless rod ends.
A total of 13 servos are required for the flight controls only, including 4 x 600 oz.in units for the flaps.
Flight characteristics and videos.
The 1/3.7 Cougar uses the original airfoil with its very specific leading edge droop.
Options:
The list of option can be seen from our accessories page.
Glasstech construction
Cloudtech JWM construction
Cloudthech HD construction
Pneumatic / carbon JWM landing gear
Light kit: controller, lenses and LED set.
Paint schemes:
Our team of certified aircraft painters are available to offer you the best possible paint schemes. We use FS matched Imrom Aero paint exclusively for all our finishes to achieve perfectly realistic and ultra strong finishes.
VT-22 trainer scheme.
Jolly Rogers grey/ yellow scheme
Jolly Rogers blue/ yellow scheme
VC-8 flying target
Blue Angels
We can make custom paint schemes on request, provided the customer forwards accurate painting data ( 3 views, FS numbers ).
Specifications:
Span: 2.84 m/ 112"
Length: 3.44 m/ 135"
Dry weight: 20 to 30 kgs/ 44 to 66 lbs
Popwerplant 160 N ( Cloudttech JWM ) to 400 N ( Cloudtech HD )
For USA and Americas sales, please contact Joe Castellao/ Accurate Scale Jets.