Reintroductions Are in Order

[Intrepidation]

Greetings!

It's been a good long time since I posted here. When I moved in 2010 I brought the plane with me but didn't know of a nearby place to fly it. Time passed and the plane sat, but I always kept track of the parts.

Come this past winter and I decided I wanted to get back into flying again. All this time it turns out the big field next the local airport is ok to fly at.

My college friend also decided to get back into it, so he's got a T-28 Trojan and I broke out the old Super Cub.

We've flown four or five times now, and since the weather is improving more flights will be had. I've missed it so much.

One of the batteries didn't survive storage, but the other, while on its way out, is still usable. I also got a new battery for the plane and will be getting one or two more.

Here she is:



All of the major parts are original, including wing, tail, and fuselage. Even the cowl is. She's got scars but like a battle damaged B-17, she still flying. The secret is wrapping the whole plane in 3M heavy duty packaging tape.

There's a few things I want to do. I want ailerons and flaps as well as a brushless motor. However, I'm thinking it might be best just to start fresh with such a project and build a new plane from the ground up, and leave this one as is.

More pressing is the the range, which doesn't seem as good as it used to be. Even with a brand new battery the plane will sometimes cut out like its lost all power momentarily. Usually this happens further away, but sometimes fairly close too. When we flew today it was doing it when I first took off, but then was fine even further away for a time (even at WOT) before it started doing it again.

I'm guessing this could be the electronics? I was thinking of upgrading them a bit using this receiver/transmitter:

www.amazon.com/FlySky-Channel-Digital-Transmitter-Receiver/dp/B00KHJ262Y?ie=UTF8&colid=258KGYUJIYX6J&coliid=I7BWJHIR673CX&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl

...and this ESC:

www.amazon.com/Turnigy-30A-BRUSHED-ESC/dp/B00URCK1Q4?ie=UTF8&colid=258KGYUJIYX6J&coliid=I1VIT5T064HM14&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl

I'd also be able to use that transmitter(with another receiver) for the new build I want to do.

For now, I've been replacing some parts that are original to the plane and have taken beating.



New landing gear and batter box door. The original broke off today in my hand despite no bad landings, probably just age. The spiffy big wheels made the jump. to the new gear.



I plan to make a better door lock for it than what I made all those years ago.

Also replaced the control horns with new ones and fitted a 10x8 prop to it to replace the 9x6 currently on there. Still works but nicked at the tips. I've used the 10x8's before, forget what difference they make, but aesthetically they look better to me.

So that's my reintroduction!

[flydiver]

You are using the stock 3S lithium batteries? Those were never great to start and if old it may not be keeping up.
Especially because you up sized the prop to 10x8. It may look cooler but it overworks the motor, battery, and especially the ESC. It's a VERY poor combo when used for more than 15-30 seconds at WOT. It was designed for a 7-cell NiMh pack and is not all that great for the lipo packs. People use it, it's recommended for floats, but it DOES burn out ESC's and those aren't cheap.

Intermittent cut to power (motor?) can be hard to diagnose. Carefully check all connections and wires. Look for poor solder joints.
If you absolutely lost all power you would also likely lose control since the servos would not work.

[hghost]

Not everything is lie riding a bike.... now many say it is but not always

even i when I do not get to fly for awhile takes a bit to get the hang of it again

have to rebuild the muscle memory , and not have the "dumb thumb" syndrome.

Like Fly said the stock batts are not that great on longevity anyway....New batts would be a way to go if you intend on flying

But as long as it still flies, looks does not matter...beat up or not.

I fly several models that have been broken-battered and bruised---Glue and tape does wonders.

[Intrepidation]

I've used the 10x8 before. I prefer it because the plane can get off the ground with more authority and is generally more response while requiring less throttle. I don't fly it at WOT, I cruise at half or less throttle, increasing it briefly when I want to do a loop or something.

Figured out the problem. It's the LEDs. I've flow with them on since I started flying again. I don't remember them being an issue before, but tonight when I connected the battery and the servos started jittering and the prop even spun for a moment. At first I thought it was from the transmitter antenna not being extended. Took off and flew but the it kept cutting out (total power loss). I landed it, a bit hard but no damage other than a slightly bent landing gear. Incidentally, I had just repaired the tail and top wing LED, the former had broke the other day and the latter had been broken for a while.

When I switched the LEDs off, the jittering stopped. Switched them back on and it started again. I don't remember it being a problem when I put these in years ago, but they're causing interference now. Flew with them off, no problems at all. Bittersweet then! I'm glad its not the electronics of the plane causing them problem, but I am bummed my lights are. Still, it was nice to fly and not worry about the plane loosing signal, especially since winds were 15-20mph this evening.

The Cub is so much fun in the wind though, which I remember fondly. Its so fun to get it to fly into the wind at low throttle and it'll almost hover, barely moving forward, then take a sharp turn and watch it accelerate like a stabbed rat with the wind! Perfect landings for the rest of the flight time. It was a good day.

[hghost]

LED's may cause higher amp draw...why it wants to cut out with them on, perhaps?

Good to know it flies well and having fun with it...is Priceless !!

[Intrepidation]

Apr 22, 2016 16:49:42 GMT 1 hghost said:

Not everything is lie riding a bike.... now many say it is but not always

even i when I do not get to fly for awhile takes a bit to get the hang of it again

have to rebuild the muscle memory , and not have the "dumb thumb" syndrome.

Like Fly said the stock batts are not that great on longevity anyway....New batts would be a way to go if you intend on flying

But as long as it still flies, looks does not matter...beat up or not.

I fly several models that have been broken-battered and bruised---Glue and tape does wonders.

I would say you don't forget the fundamentals even after a long time, but yeah definitely takes a few flights to get back in the groove.

It's using a new E-Flite stock size pack, and one of the two old HobbyZone I had still works, not as well but still usable. Planning to get a second new one soon.

[Intrepidation]

Apr 24, 2016 2:18:27 GMT 1 hghost said:

LED's may cause higher amp draw...why it wants to cut out with them on, perhaps?

Good to know it flies well and having fun with it...is Priceless !!

I actually ran them off of their own power source, a 9V battery. They're totally dependent from the plane's electronics. I wonder if its the wires to the tail light running parallel with the antenna causing interference?

Here's the setup:









The switch is where the X-Port used to be.

I was quite proud of this when I made it in 2009. Looking back, interference aside, I wish I would have used thicker gauge wire, especially for the wing harness. Those tiny wires are so delicate.

[flydiver]

LED's often use PWM (pusle wave modulation....turn on and off at really high speed). ESC also use PWM to control the throttle. I would not be surprised if you were getting some interference. Routing the wires carefully away from the ESC and antenna might take care of the problem.
No idea why is was OK before and not now.