This is one of the very
original BVM Bobcat XL's. I got it from Brian
Richmond a few years ago, and he got it when his
Brother, Bruce Richmond, passed away. Bruce built
the jet back around 2000, and Mr Violet himself did
the maiden flight. There is a sticker on the
fuselage from Florida Jets 2001! This plane is still
flying today, nearly a quarter century later, and
still flies like it is on rails. The radio system is
more current Spektrum NX 20, but the power plant is
still an age appropriate P-70! Brian flew it for
years on a 1st gen P-120, but I cut the power to be
nice to it in its golden years. It's still perfectly
fast enough to be a lot of fun.
These photo are from the most recent Princeton jet
rally up here in BC, Canada. Its an honor to fly it.
There's a good chance this is the oldest bobcat
still flying today.
Kelly Williams |
Here's a few more I just
found.
Bruce is in the black and white photo. Brian and his
son Alex (who also got his turbine waiver on this
same jet) are in the color image.
When Brian had it, the jet was frequently seen at
Jets over Whidbey in Washington state. Based on how
he flew it, everyone knew he also flew pylon
racing... :)
Kelly Williams |
From: Garrett Wolfe
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2018 10:24 AM
To: BVM
Subject: Bobcat XL
Heather,
It was powered by a Jet Cat P70 for the first 100 flights. I then
installed a Jet Central "Rabbit" which really brought the best out
of me and the Bobcat. I now have over 800 flights on it.
Garrett Wolfe
From:
Jos� General Baterias
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2015 6:47 PM
To: Patty
Subject: BVM Bobcat XL
Hi
Patty,
This is
our BC XL, repainted. One more BVM jet in the air. Maiden today,
with thanks' to our friend Harley Condra, that help with setup
and his great advice for 6 great flights.
Bst Rgds
Jose /
Achilles
From:
David Soufer
To: Patty Generali
Sent: Sunday, July 07, 2013 8:31 PM
Subject: Bobcat
Patty
Attached are the pictures of my bobcat after its maiden flight.
Ronny Derhacopian did a fantastic job of assembling and
delivered the jet in 3 weeks. The control surfaces and the
balance was so precisely done, the maiden flight did not
required ANY trim.
Another
perfect product by BVM. Look forward to my up coming BVM jets.
From: Gregg Fullington
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2011 8:03 PM
To: Heather (BVMJets)
Subject: Bobcat Hotshot
Hi Heather:
Enclosed is a photo I took of our
newest Bobcat pilot, Moshe Arbiv. Today he soloed two flights on
his Bobcat. It's powered with a Jetcat P80 and a JR 9303 radio.
He was all smiles! He wants to thank Rob Janiger for mentoring
him and doing the maiden flight.
Best Wishes
Gregg Fullington
From: Gonzalo
To: BVM
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 16:26:21 -0700
Subject: Pictures of my Flying Bobcat Composite
Dear Bob and Dustin,
I just finished my Bobcat composite and did the maiden flight
last week! The plane was incredible! it flew to perfection and I
want to congratulate you guys for the model!!! I have so much
fun building.
Enjoy the pictures!!!
Gonzalo
Gonzalo and friends are from
San Rafael, CA.
Dale Nicholls of Victoria,
Australia finished his BobCat XL in this red, white and blue scheme and is using
a JetCat P-70 for power.
John Houlihan and daughter
Kassandra are proud of Dad's newly finished BobCat. John flew his JetCat powered
BobCat at the recent Best in the West jet rally in Chino, California.
Jay Don Blake is a pro
golfer on the PGA Tour that calls St. George, Utah home. His new BobCat XL is
powered by a JetCat P-120 and was finished by Ken Fiala. The custom paint was
done by Brian VanHouton, a local painter who specializes in cars and motorcycles.
Addison Clark Jr. and John Redman have
been flying quite extensively in California with Ad's BobCat and John's
KingCat. Ad equipped his JetCat P-120 powered BobCat with a smoke system
utlizing the BVM F-16 centerline smoke
tank.
Patrick Winkelhorst of The Netherlands
is enjoying his BobCat XL, using a JetCat P-80 for power.
Colonel Chuck Winter's BobCat XL is using a Jet Cat P-70 for power.
This is Chuck's first turbine jet, although he has been flying BVM ducted fan
jets for over 15 years. He started with a BVM Sport Shark and progressed
through BVM Aggressors and Vipers. Chuck was a U.S.Air Force Jet pilot who flew T-33s, F-86Ds, F-102,
F-106 and many propeller aircraft and said the smell of jet fuel brings back
many memories. He built
and painted his BobCat because he enjoys airbrush painting and detailing and
stated that his BobCat XL is the smoothest flying model jet he has ever flown.
"Thanks to BVM and crew for an excellent product." Col. Chuck Winter
Hal Dale is almost ready to get his new
BobCat in the air, but couldn't wait to send in a photo of his new jet. Hal is
planning on installing a WREN turbine and have it flying in May
'04.
Bob Brunetti of California recently
finished up his BobCat XL and contacted local rep, Chris Huhn to assist with
the first flights. Everything went as planned and Bob achieved 100%
success.
Terry Nitsch finished his BobCat with
this flame job and custom airbrush art on the fins. Terry named his BobCat XL
"Smokin Too" and uses an AMT Mercury SP for power with a smoke
system.
Wroughton Air Base in England is enjoyed
by jet modelers like Jonathan Smith with this brilliant BobCat. He and wife Jo
visit the USA twice yearly with the models transported in BVM fiberglass molded
Jet Cases.
Tom Telesca of Safety Harbor, Florida is
enjoying his new BobCat XL with JetCat P-120 power. Tom did a great job
finishing his BobCat in a NAVY chase plane scheme and utlized the clear canopy
option as well.
Scott Booth took a slightly different approach and
applied a Canadian F-18 color scheme to his BobCat.
Brian Wendel is a newly minted jet flyer
from Temecula, Ca. With the BobCat XL as his first jet, his transition to
turbine powered flight has been smooth and uneventful. We are looking forward
to seeing Brian and his BobCat at the local jet meets next year.
From left to right are Ad Clark
Jr., Ad Clark Sr., and Justin Sands - all very active BVM customers. Ad Jr.
equipped his BobCat XL with a JetCat P-120 for power and logged many flights at
the Whidbey event in the summer of 2003.
Ricardo Gomez of Caracas, Venezuela is
enjoying his BobCat with RAM 500 power. Ricardo flys many BVM jets quite
regularly with Dr. Julio Moron, also from Caracas.
Ray Labonte has been busy this
summer logging flights on his BobCat XL. Ray has been a very active BVM dealer
(Ray & Robins Hobby
Center - Portland, ME) for many years now.
Jack Price went all out on his
tiger paint scheme over his BobCat XL. Jack has been using the Duralite
Batteries Plus which has allowed him to make many flights between charges. A
JetCat P-120 provides the push!
Ed Allen of Temecula, California debuted his BobCat XL at the 2003
Dixie Jet Rally in St. George, Utah. Ed was a formidable competitor in the
NMPRA Formula I event, and always placed high in the national standings. What
better way for an ex-racer to spend his flying time than with a BVM Jet. Ed's
construction and finish are of very high standard, and he received many
accolades for his PPG checkerboard finish. PPG 2021 clear adds the final gloss
and depth to the outstanding finish. Ed wisely chose the BobCat XL as his very
first jet, and is achieving a high level of flight competence. He is another
example of the "BVM success jet" concept.
Doug Cronkhite and
Jon Vance seem quite happy with this handsome BobCat - nice paint lines by Bill
Brundle. Success stories are never boring - they reinforce those who are
getting their BVM jets ready for the first flight. Teamwork is
key.
Click to view Doug's letter
about the 1st outing.
Jacobo Sevilla
of Culican, Mexico has logged many flights on his BobCat XL built by Sam
Leonard. Jacobo has many other BVM jets that he enjoys as
well.
A
great craftsman and pilot, Justin can be proud of his
accomplishment.
Justin Sands of Reton, Washington knows
that external stores add "presence" to any jet fighter so he adapted a pair of
Bandit wing tanks to his BobCat XL.
His research of Blue Angel aircraft
allowed him to apply the correct yellow stripe to the sides of the tanks that
the "Blues" used on cross country flights to get to the airshows.
A few degrees of nose
down angle on tank pylons negates any need for a trim change. JetCat powers the
tank equipped BobCat with ease - great action photo!
from left to right
- Kemp Gallineau, Tom Dodgen and Barry West
Fairly new to jets, but not to R/C flying, is Kemp Gallineau from
Orlando, Florida. A recent outing at the RCACF club field in Apopka, FL. was
the debut for his new P-120 powered BobCat. After a thorough checkout by the BVM factory guys and a
trim flight by Tom Dodgen, Kemp flew the BobCat 4 times within a 30 minute
period between afternoon thunderstorms. High performance appeals to Kemp, so he
was very pleased with the airframe/power combination. His professional position as General Manager
of the Gaylord Palms Hotel and Convention Center (six acres under glass) keeps
Kemp very busy so he enlisted the services of Barry West to build and paint the
BobCat. A BobCat flyer himself, Barry is also quite a craftsman.
Dr. Shani Studnik from Hollywood, Florida has
been flying his BobCat with JetCat P-120 power.
Raymond Piette from Lauderdale, Fl has been
enjoying his 16-1/2 pound BobCat! He chose a WREN 54 for power.
Gordon Dickens has been enjoying his BobCat
XL with JetCat power. The paint is similar to a Hi-Vis NAVY scheme.
John Brickell from England is enjoying his
BobCat. The first flights were accomplished just recently and John uses an AMT
(Netherlands) Mercury H.P. for power.
A natural beauty, Natalee Pischner, poses with the hand crafted
beauty of Vern Kramer's BobCat XL. She is Francis' 12 year old daughter who
joined us at the "Brave the Heat" jet event in Lake Wales, Fl. Natalee was quite the busy pit girl, charging,
fueling and cleaning the exquisite models of the Kramer/Pischner fleet. Watch
out boys, she will be flying them soon!
This is the latest creation
of Vernon Kramer. So impressive we wanted you to see both sides. This BobCat
really scoots with "SP" power.
New to jets, but certainly not models, Barry West made his first
flights on this great looking BobCat with RAM 500 power. Barry has a background
in pylon racing. That's where he learned the art of crafting and painting.
Welcome to jets Barry, we are glad that former racers have a new
challenge.
Nikita Piankov of Somerville, MA finished up
his BobCat and visited Ray Labonte (Ray & Robins Hobby Center - Portland,
ME) who is a BVM dealer. Ray had previous flights on the BVM factory XL and
assisted Nikita with the first flights. The model is powered by a JetCat
P-80.
Lee Reightler of Bel Air,
Maryland finished his BobCat XL in an Air Force scheme. Lee uses an AMT AT-180
along with a JR 10X.
Lee Demary of Denver, Colorado finished up his BobCat in a
colorful scheme. Lee is using a JetCat P-120 for power and he says "My BobCat
and MIG were a joy to build, and fly even better!" .
Lee recently (12/02) sent us this photo that was taken during some
touch-n-go's, notice the vortices, photo compliments of Jerry
Gerken.
"I am a rookie at
building and found the kit to be excellent. Nothing was missing, a very nice
kit to build." This comes from John Hall of Mesa, Arizona, it's his first
turbine jet.
|
Rene Alvarez of Miami, Florida finished his
BobCat in a "Bat-Jet" paint job. Rene is using a RAM 750 for power and has
added landing lights in the front of the booms. |
|
William Allison from Louisville, Kentucky
enlisted the aide of Jess Hogan to glass and paint his constructed BobCat. He
installed a RAM 500 for power. |
|
Galen Skeem of Chehalis, Washington had BVM rep
John Redman assist him with the first flights. Using a RAM 500, Galen says he's
having a blast! |
|
BVM rep Harley Condra of San Diego, California
has been enjoying his BobCat XL with RAM 750 power. |
|
Mitch Weiss finished his BobCat
XL in a vibrant color scheme. He chose an AMT Mercury for power and added a
clear canopy. |
|
David Carter from St. Petersburg,
Florida finished his BobCat XL in the all black VX-4 scheme as seen on Dave
Malchione's Phantom. At one point during the construction of his BobCat, David
actually called BVM just to express how easily the kit assembled. He's using a
RAM 750 for power and is pleased with the performance. |
|
BVM rep
John Redman from Rosamond, California recently finished his BobCat XL, here are
his words -
"Once
again I can't express how happy I am with the Bobcat. This is one great jet!!
After 6 flights I am so comfortable with it I just don't believe it. Fly it
slow or fast, soft or hard it loves it all. Landing this bird is about as easy
as you can get. I do believe you have possibly come up with what could be
termed as the "American Express" jet. No pilot would want to leave home without
one." |
These in-flight shots were taken by Rich Fong
at the Fresno Jet Rally.
|
Here is an email we recently
received from Doug Cronkhite who met up with John Redman and his
BobCat.
|