jumper
Flying officer
Beginners Luck?
Posts: 3
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Post by jumper on Nov 13, 2011 0:11:11 GMT 1
G'day all,
Just another newbie here introducing myself.
About a year ago I got a Super Cub LP (after several recommendations including some from this site) but only flew it once on a very short flight as at the time I didn't have any good places to fly it. I have recently moved out onto some acreage so finally had the room to fly the plane.
As for my flying skills apart from 2 hours lessons in a Piper Warier 2 and the 5 minute flight with the RC Cub I am a complete noob so any suggestions are much appreciated.
My cub is completely stock at the moment and I can't see myself changing the internals on this one much. Think I'll keep the engine etc. stock for a gentle flyer, just for a bit of fun.
Also just a few questions regarding the gear and repairs. On that first flight my poor cub ended up in a tree (pretty much glided in wasn't a hard hit - it just got caught in a few leafy parts of a gum tree). After a bit off effort I managed to knock it down and it was none the worse for the wear besides a 4cm crack on the windscreen. Now I was originally just going to fill the gap with some glue and hope for the best but wasn't sure which glue to use and if there is some fancy way of doing it. So any suggestions on glue? Also I am planning to get some Trexlers to replace the stock gear (all the grass and roads in the area are pretty rough eg. slashed weeds and rough gravel grades) to help with the take off and landings and have already seen one of the Cubs here with the 3" Trexlers and was considering going for them . Thing I'm not sure about is will the stock Cub LP be ok with carrying the extra weight? Thanks.
Looking forward to learning from your experiences. I'm glad I found this site, it's already helped me tonnes with picking the cub, thought it was about time for me to post. Thanks, jumper
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Post by renard80 on Nov 14, 2011 0:06:35 GMT 1
Hi from up here in the UK and welcome aboard.
I'm a bit puzzled when you say you have cracked the "windscreen". If it's a Hobbyzone SC there is no actual windscreen, just a decal stuck onto the foam fuselage.
Everyone has their favourite glue for mending foam, as a search on this forum will reveal. Personally, I find hot melt glue perfectly OK for most repairs, plus reinforcement by shoving in wooden cocktail sticks or lengths of carbon fibre rod to bridge the weakened area. Squirt the glue into the crack, hold together. Lick a flat wooden stick (lolly stick or one of those wooden drinks-stirrers from McD etc) and smooth over any extruded glue. Don't touch glue while hot - it will hurt!
If you are absolutely new to RC flying, it can save much carnage, despair and disappointment if you can find an experienced flyer to hold your hand initially. Don't be too fierce on the transmitter sticks - delicate movements only. And the almost universal advice is to disconnect the ACT.
New wheels should be OK. Some people get anxious about too much weight, but if you're just learning and flying for fun you won't notice any difference - the SC will handle it.
Good luck to you from a Pommie bastard. ;D
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jumper
Flying officer
Beginners Luck?
Posts: 3
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Post by jumper on Nov 14, 2011 12:50:36 GMT 1
Hi from up here in the UK and welcome aboard. I'm a bit puzzled when you say you have cracked the "windscreen". If it's a Hobbyzone SC there is no actual windscreen, just a decal stuck onto the foam fuselage. Everyone has their favourite glue for mending foam, as a search on this forum will reveal. Personally, I find hot melt glue perfectly OK for most repairs, plus reinforcement by shoving in wooden cocktail sticks or lengths of carbon fibre rod to bridge the weakened area. Squirt the glue into the crack, hold together. Lick a flat wooden stick (lolly stick or one of those wooden drinks-stirrers from McD etc) and smooth over any extruded glue. Don't touch glue while hot - it will hurt! If you are absolutely new to RC flying, it can save much carnage, despair and disappointment if you can find an experienced flyer to hold your hand initially. Don't be too fierce on the transmitter sticks - delicate movements only. And the almost universal advice is to disconnect the ACT.New wheels should be OK. Some people get anxious about too much weight, but if you're just learning and flying for fun you won't notice any difference - the SC will handle it. Good luck to you from a Pommie bastard. ;D Hi, thanks for the welcome. By windscreen I mean the area on the cub that has a decal representing a windscreen. The pin on the side, that the rubber bands hold the wing on to was put under a lot of pressure in the crash and cracked the front where it was connected. Kinda a pain visually too but I expect that's going to happen alot more. Ok hot glue seems to be the go. I've used it a few times for other projects and would have used it for this before now but I was just worried that the heat would damage the foam. Now that I know that that is no issue I'll be patching the crack asap. Seems like a much more simple (and cheaper) fix than other suggestions I've seen (also more applicable). Haha yeah I can imagine that lol. Sounds like a good idea. I've hunted down a local flight club so will probably head over there for a few lessons (hopefully to stop a repeat of my last flight). Looks like my first "mod" will be that then. Do you suggest completely removing the whole system or just cut the main wires? Ok so looks like I'll be making that order to the States then. Yeah I'll just be flying for fun. Don't think I'll be doing any aerobatics with this cub. Seems like the SC is quite the beast from what I've been reading. Haha, thanks for all the tips. Looking forward to getting the cub off the ground. Thanks again, jumper
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Post by renard80 on Nov 15, 2011 0:54:27 GMT 1
Looks like my first "mod" will be that then. Do you suggest completely removing the whole system or just cut the main wires? Three options with ACT: 1. Leave everything in place but switch off ACT at your transmitter. This may be helpful should you ever wish to sell your plane - the buyer might be daft enough to prefer ACT installed! 2. Cut the wires where they emerge inside the fuselage and throw them away. Note there are two sets of wires, from the front (top) and rear (bottom) sensors. This option clears unwanted wires out of the way, leaving the sensors in place but inoperative. 3. As option 2, plus prise out the top and bottom sensors. Then fill (or tolerate) the holes. Can prove messy. Not worth removing the sensors, in my opinion. Another mod which is strongly recommended is to strengthen the rear of your wing saddle with wood as soon as possible, before it gets damaged. Usually referred to as "the popsicle mod" by our American friends, who refuse to accept that its proper name is not popsicle but "ice lolly". ;D ;D You will find this mod explained on this forum and on YouTube. That damage near your front wing fastening rod is common. The area can receive quite a thump when a crashing wing hits the dirt. Hot melt glue should fix it, and the mend will be even stronger if you can also push in a cocktail stick or two (or small length(s) of carbon fibre rod).
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Post by john66 on Nov 15, 2011 1:58:20 GMT 1
Hi & welcome On your question about glue, I personally get on very well with thin CA for repairing crash inflicted cracks in the foam. The trick I find is to really think about where the glue needs to go and where it will end up. I end up holding the part in such a way that the crack is open to allow the glue in to flow into the correct parts surfaces, then as its starts to flow through quickly move the part directing the glue away from harming other parts and back to the repair. I then squeeze any excess flat with a credit card size piece of plastic. No probs so far and the repairs are prob the strongest parts of the plane....Rock Hard! Edit As soon as you're satisfied there is enough glue in the right place, squeeze the repair together and after wiping away the excess, give a cpl of sprays of accelerator! Great forum and plane, good choices! John
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jumper
Flying officer
Beginners Luck?
Posts: 3
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Post by jumper on Nov 17, 2011 0:15:57 GMT 1
Looks like my first "mod" will be that then. Do you suggest completely removing the whole system or just cut the main wires? 2. Cut the wires where they emerge inside the fuselage and throw them away. Note there are two sets of wires, from the front (top) and rear (bottom) sensors. This option clears unwanted wires out of the way, leaving the sensors in place but inoperative. This option sounds the best. I'll give it a shot in the next few days. Another mod which is strongly recommended is to strengthen the rear of your wing saddle with wood as soon as possible, before it gets damaged. Usually referred to as "the popsicle mod" by our American friends, who refuse to accept that its proper name is not popsicle but "ice lolly". ;D ;D Haha yeah I had read about this mod took a small Google to figure out what this mythical "popsicle" stick was. Here in Australia (at least in Victoria) it's known as an Icy Pole stick. Thanks again for the suggestions, much appreciated. Hi & welcome On your question about glue, I personally get on very well with thin CA for repairing crash inflicted cracks in the foam. The trick I find is to really think about where the glue needs to go and where it will end up. I end up holding the part in such a way that the crack is open to allow the glue in to flow into the correct parts surfaces, then as its starts to flow through quickly move the part directing the glue away from harming other parts and back to the repair. I then squeeze any excess flat with a credit card size piece of plastic. No probs so far and the repairs are prob the strongest parts of the plane....Rock Hard! Edit As soon as you're satisfied there is enough glue in the right place, squeeze the repair together and after wiping away the excess, give a cpl of sprays of accelerator! Great forum and plane, good choices! John Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated. As for the glue not sure if I can get CA here in Australia but I'll definitely look into it. Yeah I can defiantly see I've made some good choices here. Thanks for all the suggestions and tips - now to start actually doing them lol ;D
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