My first post / self introduction...

[thesprucegoose]

Hi all,
This my first post / self introduction and noob questions. I am a 57 year old gent from new york city who has be bitten by the super cub bug!  I have no rc flying experience so I will be joining a rc club.
I have been reading the forum threads and trying to learn as much as possible. I plan on doing the 6 recommended mods before flying my new sc. I have a few questions before I order my sc.
1.Should buy the rtf kit?
2.Which spare batteries suggestions / recommendations brand capacity?
3.Any must have accessories or spare parts that I should order along with my sc?
Thank you in advance for your recommendations. 

[coupe1942]

There are many more experienced SC pilots on this site than I, but I would suggest that you start out by actually reading through the various sections here, as well as Wattflyer.com and RCGroups.com for specific answers and knowledge about the SC. Also, plug in a word string at YouTube that will bring up Super Cub mods and such. Believe me, you can go blind in reading all the posts, but it is great information to take notes from.

Buying an RTF or a different package as the ARF is a personal choice, but most often guided by the skills and abilities of the person to complete the plane to the level they wish it to be. There is really no wrong choice, as long as you fit the purchase to your own needs. The stock batteries will work well enough for someone who is content to remain in basically the beginner mode and have fun in just flying the plane as a beginner. If you modify the plane much, the larger battery may be the bee's knees for you.

My basic spare parts I started with was actually too much and not really needed. These are just a few suggestions I'd make, but someone else may find they need much more than what is listed here. More props as spares, a new cowl (but you will learn to repair your original one until it is too far gone), a spare battery and charger, lots of glue, extreme tape or packing tape, larger wheels than the stock ones and a pack of extra rubber bands for the wings. Also, a tool box of some sort to bring your equipment to the fly area for servicing. The common tools are tape, needle nose pliers, forceps, wire cutters, screw drivers (Both Phillips and flat head and small and large in size). Spare batteries for the transmitter and also a piece of crape paper to gauge the wind direction with. (I have about a 2' piece clipped to the handle of my TX and it dangles freely there until the wind blows on it.) Landing gear screws, zip ties and remember that what ever you need the most will be the one thing you left on your workbench back home. :-)

A new tail section or even a spare wing may be helpful to have as spares, but they are not usually critical.

Good luck as you start out learning.

[flydiver]

Join the Club, learn basic flight, and get to know your way around RC a bit. You'll have experienced pilots to ask.
Extra parts are fine but you may not need nearly as many as a person that learns on their own. Self taught pilots tend to need a LOT of parts, glue, and tape.

Realistically the Cub and the vast majority of trainers have low end electrics that are close to disposable. If you learn to fly on club planes and you are sure the sport is going to stick you might be able to simply jump over beginner gear and buy the next level > better transmitter, better charger, and a 4-ch plane.

That doesn't make a Cub a mistake. It's a great platform to learn on, for flying, for repair, and for modification. Some experienced pilots like it for easy, relaxed flying or the day's warmup.
The RTF TX is OK but limited. Getting a better 6-ch or better is close to a requirement for the next step up.
All the rest of the stuff is merely OK. The ESC/RX is expensive, proprietary and not very good. The charger is bottom of the pile and not much suitable for moving on in the sport.

[kenninny]

all the information in the above reply is good, but don't scare the man remember he is a new be you are
jumping forward let him learn with the cub first the rest he will pick up on, you have to crawl before
you walk! The rtf (ready to fly)is all he needs to get stared, if you want extra batteries go on line to
a site like hobby king or hobby partz and get a 3 cell 11.1 volt 1300mah batteries hobby king batteries
are cheap if you buy from hobby king buy from the US warehouse since you are in New York. And buy some foam
safe glue, or epoxy, I use a glue called foam tac myself

[hghost]

Dec 6, 2013 7:47:06 GMT 1 thesprucegoose said:

Hi all,
This my first post / self introduction and noob questions. I am a 57 year old gent from new york city who has be bitten by the super cub bug!  I have no rc flying experience so I will be joining a rc club.
I have been reading the forum threads and trying to learn as much as possible. I plan on doing the 6 recommended mods before flying my new sc. I have a few questions before I order my sc.
1.Should buy the rtf kit?
2.Which spare batteries suggestions / recommendations brand capacity?
3.Any must have accessories or spare parts that I should order along with my sc?
Thank you in advance for your recommendations. 

I personally am not in a club. But if you have a local club with people willing to help, go that route.

Go to that club and ask around about info you need and info about the people and their set up.
Maybe that someone there will help you get into this Hobby. The Super Cub is a good start, but it is limited , which for a beginner is OK. It is a durable plane. It can be modified to grow but you will have to get that far first.

I personally am not in a club so learning to fly i did on my own. I first started out years ago building balsa planes and watching them splatter on the ground. Those days had no clubs, no internet, no help.Today you have clubs but also sites like this you can refer to, to get all the help you need. I was discouraged and got away from the hobby.
Just this year alone I have gotten back into it. I still love building planes but flying for the first time with success was a Dream come true for me.

I started with the CHAMP....and then flew my Cub...I have multiple planes in my hanger . I am still learning and growing even tho I have built many planes over the years, I still have so much to learn and am doing so and with great gratitude to the people on this forum who have helped make that dream a reality.

Read through as much info as you can and do not be afraid to post questions or simple complaints..whatever helps you is great.People here will help with their knowledge, and freely give it.Cherish that fact...many forums do not do that and will discourage you and or steer you wrong...this forum will not do that.

I suggest to research your Club and it's field. They may tell you differently, I do not know, but for a beginner the Super Cub is a good choice. My flying field is limited, so many planes i own can not be flown there due to their size. I wanted and had to do it on my own ( No Local Club to help and will not help )...the Champ fit that bill perfectly for me.
My suggestion if you could afford it, buy one and tinker with it. Many will tell you to get a simulator, I own the Phoenix Flight Simulator. It can help with orientation ( plane coming towards you away from you ) but by no means is it perfect. You can do on a Sim which in reality will not happen. The Simulator is easy , real flight and take offs and landings are not at all.

I chose the Champ to learn to fly.It allowed me to fly on my own and learn how the plane reacts to Transmitter (Tx) stick input. the Champ and Super Cub are Two different planes even tho they appear similar.and fly a little different, but they do have some of the same tendencies . The Champ helps one who has no experience at all be comfortable with a controller and those stick movements. Also allows for allot of mistakes without worrying about damage. Yes you can damage it but it is small and light and allows many crashes and little damage. Think about that as you decide your first plane. If you can afford the Champ and Cub that is great, but if your limited and have the ability and field just go with the larger Cub and allow the Club folks to help you learn.

It all comes down to what you want and what you expect.Many people flourish in this hobby and many get frustrated and spend allot and get no where with it.

If you decide to buy the Super Cub, do just the basic Mods that need done to enforce the Cub,Do Not over do your Mods. Get use to it and learn and grow with it and you will see the Mods that are more important than others. I suggest if the Cub go ahead and buy the RTF version and a couple extra batteries. As Flydiver stated it is limited and is lower on the totem pole as it were....But as starting out unless you have allot and are willing to spend it just stay with the basic RTF version.

As I stated I have multiple planes and have a Tactic Transmitter ( Tx ) and I use it for multiple planes , but the Super Cub i still use the same RTF version and have never updated it to my Tactic set up. Reason is i am still learning on it. I did not want to do away with the basic version until i get better with that plane.( As I stated my flying field is limited space ) My Super Cub is just large enough ( or small enough ) to fly in it and it is as I say a Tight fit..and is challenging to fly in it's limits. Which has resulted in some mishaps and landing in tall tree's and some pretty harsh unwanted landings.

Only you can decide how much and how far you desire to go in this Hobby.Do not make the mistakes many of us have.And that is spend way to much and enforce and Mod way to much. Learn on the basic set up and the basic "Must Do" Mods. Than if you enjoy and have a blast and wish to do more than do it.

But if you want the feel for flying and have the ability to do it, buy the Little Champ and go to a local field, school yard, back yard, whatever and toss it in the air and see how it reacts and how the sticks on the controls feel and how the plane moves with each input and see if it is something you want to grow in and then move on from there ( that's my own personal advice and what i did ), But if you have that local Club and people there who will help and you with that teaching moment and with someone than go with the Super cub and skip the Champ. Or Buy Both and do Both. Again only you can decide what is best for you.

But please ,do read through this forum as much as possible and see the way it is.Do not get discouraged nor disappointed and understand YOU WILL CRASH...YOU WILL HAVE TO LEARN TO REPAIR.....YOU WILL HAVE TO GROW IN THE HOBBY......AND.....IF YOU ARE NOT HAVING FUN DOING ALL THAT.....This Hobby is NOT for You.

Buy some foam safe glue, clear packing tape and do the "MUST DO-Before Flight Mods".....and have Fun.

[thesprucegoose]

Hello all,
I would thank everyone for their replies. The suggestions were very helpful. I decided to take ghost's advice and ordered a hobbyzone Champ. I also ordered a spare wing, battery, ca glue, and a spare tail section. I went with the champ because: It was a smaller monetary investment to see If rc flying was for me. Another reason I went with the Champ was it's size I live in NewYorK, not much open space to fly. I think the Champ would also be less likely to sustain serious damage because of it's weight. "The Champ helps one who has no experience at all be comfortable with a controller and those stick movements. Also allows for allot of mistakes without worrying about damage. Yes you can damage it but it is small and light and allows many crashes and little damage." [ghost]. I found these "how to fly the hobbyzone Champ" tutorials on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=msXKywBJnHg I am looking forward to my first flight's.Thank you all for your support and advice.

[hghost]

Dec 11, 2013 0:01:09 GMT 1 thesprucegoose said:

Hello all,
I would thank everyone for their replies. The suggestions were very helpful. I decided to take ghost's advice and ordered a hobbyzone Champ. I also ordered a spare wing, battery, ca glue, and a spare tail section. I went with the champ because: It was a smaller monetary investment to see If rc flying was for me. Another reason I went with the Champ was it's size I live in NewYorK, not much open space to fly. I think the Champ would also be less likely to sustain serious damage because of it's weight. "The Champ helps one who has no experience at all be comfortable with a controller and those stick movements. Also allows for allot of mistakes without worrying about damage. Yes you can damage it but it is small and light and allows many crashes and little damage." [ghost]. I found these "how to fly the hobbyzone Champ" tutorials on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=msXKywBJnHg I am looking forward to my first flight's.Thank you all for your support and advice.

I personally think that was a wise choice. Those flight command dudes are great on you tube. Main thing is just have fun....and that is after all what it's all about.
Goose I have a whole tin full of batteries for the Champ, I spend hours flying them, in fact i own two of them. Great little plane to learn and fly all the time when the winds allow.Again Have Fun.