ratshooter

I have a new Tower catalog and they show the Great Planes fabric covered ARF J-3 Cub back in stock. I am not an ARF or scale fan but am an absolute Cub nut. Does anyone have any experience with this plane? Its about the only ARF I would consider buying.

I was helping my son move yesterday and heard a plane over head. I looked up and there was a J-3 going over. A few minutes later he came back over and then did a few turns before flying off. It was almost like he knew I was down there watching. Now I want a Cub.

bikerbc

I have a GP Fabric covered Cub and think its a fantistic plane . The covering really makes the plane . There is two weak points in my opinion . The landing gear and the struts . I liked the plane enough to invest in a set of Robarts 1/5 scale gear and that really works great . I replaced the CA hinges in the struts with some Pinned hinges and that worked well untill I eventually replaced them completly with a set I made with stream line tubing . I have been flying the plane for 6 years . I have an OS fs 81 in it which is much more motor than it needs but I fly it off floats too so the extra power comes in handy . If you have any Cub experience you should be fine with this one . Make sure your wheels are both turning freely and a wee bit of toe in is good .

52larry52

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My understanding is that the new G P J-3 Cub ARF is not fabric covered this time. To quote what the Tower flyer says, "covered in Cub yellow film". Sounds like the fabric covering is gone, but other than that it appears to be the same as the previous cloth covered J-3 which as bikerbc said "is a fantastic plane". Even with out the cloth covering the new GP Cub ARF at their new price of $179.97 is a bargain in today's ARF market. Just before the cloth versions disappeared they were selling at $250.00, so if the new one only lacks the cloth it is a good value. I have one of the older cloth covered versions and it is my go to Cub, a sweet flyer indeed. I agree with bikerbc that on the earlier version the wing strut hinges are a failure point that is easily corrected. I find that the main landing gear, while not scale correct, to function quite adequate. It lacks the scale look, not having any bungie system between the sides, but functions OK. No doubt a Robart gear is an upgrade but not a necessity. If I needed another Cub (I don't) I think I would go for it even with out the cloth covering.

ratshooter

Thanks BikerBC thats good info. I like the idea of a better landing gear and noticed the one with the plane looked weak with a single wire leg for each side.

Larry52 the fabric cub isn't on the website but in the new catalog on page 41. Even putting the product number in the search box it doesn't come up. I have looked at the other cub you mentioned. I thought it might be the old Hanger 9 Cub with the one piece wing. I had one of those and would go for another in a minute. The Cub you are talking about says to not fly it without the lift struts attached. The Hanger 9 cub didn't have to have the struts installed to fly.

And I have lots of cub experience. My first cub was a Sig clipped wing cub. Then one of the very first Balsa USA quarter scale cubs about 1980 when the kit was a whopping $90 bucks. After it was built it was all I flew for a solid year. I learned to use rudder on that plane. If you didn't use rudder you didn't turn. Period. Now I use rudder all the time. I don't know of any one who uses rudder more than I do. Plus a Hanger 9 cub and a cub knock off fashioned from a Bridi Loadstar. And I have that kit in my attic now.

My Bridi Cub. I made lift struts for it but they were not installed for the pics.

52larry52

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ratshooter, The fabric covered Cub on page 41 of Tower's 2015 "big" yearly catalog is the now discontinued one. You will notice it is priced at $249.99 and is item #GPMA1311. If you go to Tower's site and punch in that # it comers up with nothing, it's gone! The new one I referred to is on page 18 of Tower's latest monthly catalog "Tower Talk" if you get those. They are selling it using the same photos and artwork as was used on the previous cloth covered Cub. The new current one is item #TG1176 and it sells for $179.97. All the specs given for both planes are the same so I conclude it is the same airframe without the cloth covering but that's just my guess. There was a short time when the old one was gone and the new one wasn't here yet and Tower showed no ARF Cub, then the new one appeared on their "comming soon" list, and now it is "in stock". It's still a nice Cub at a nice price even with shinny covering. You are correct about the G.P. ARF Cub needing the struts and the old Hanger 9 one not needing them to fly. I just happen to be now putting together a new in the box 15+ yr old Hanger 9 Ultra Series 80" 40 size J-3 Cub. I had it in my stash and decided it was time to start flying it. It is getting a Saito 65 four stroke, a Robert main gear, a sprung tailwheel, and an upgraded set of better looking wing struts. Other scale details include tail wires, a painted finished cockpit with two pilots, fax door, and more. Should be a good flyer. I also have in my fleet the 100" Hanger 9 cloth covered J-3 from the same era and it's a great flyer too. The new current Hanger 9 Cubs look nice in Ultra Cote but are not cheap with the 40 size at $250. My take is the G.P. Cub is a little less scale accurate than the Hanger 9 but by no means does it look "wrong". The G.P. has a 1" larger wing cord, slightly longer fuselage and slightly larger tail feathers. Typical things a manufacture will do to to make a model a little more friendly to fly. You can fly either with ease but the new G.P. one is $70 less. Pick one, there is no bad pick. Enjoy!

52larry52

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Important piece of information relating to the Cub ARF under discussion.............The new version is NOT branded as a GREAT PLANES. It is branded as a "TOWER HOBBIES Piper J-3 Cub". All the same company, they are playing name games. If you go to the Tower Hobbies site and try to shop it by manufacturer, you will only find it in the Tower Hobbies listing, not in the Great Planes listing.

ratshooter

Hello Larry. I called Tower and you are correct. The fabric covered cub is gone. I am not sure the GP fabric cub needed the struts to fly but the new Tower Cub does say not to fly it without the struts attached. And the GP and Tower cub may have the same wingspan but the GP cub is listed as have a semi semmetrical airfoil while the tower cub says its a flat bottomed airfoil so I don't think they are the same plane but with a different covering.

I wish I had an old Hanger 9 Cub in my stash. I flew the one I had many years ago with a Magnum 52 four stroke and it did OK but I always felt just a little under powered. Your Saito 65 should be a much better engine choice. Sounds like you will have it detailed nice. Post a few pics when you get it finished please.

I am not really a scale buff but I make exceptions for Cubs. I just love the way those planes looked. But I also like Champs, L-19s and just about any other fabric high wing from that era you can name.

52larry52

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Hi ratshooter, Yes, the discontinued G.P. fabric Cub required the wing struts be in place during flight. I have one that I purchased new from Tower Hobbies in November of 2001. I just went down to the basement shop to check ( I don't rely on my memory anymore ) and it has a flat bottom wing. Mine is one that is covered with 21st Century Coverite. G.P. made a later version that was covered with Solortex. When they were selling that one they never mentioned the covering brand in the ads, just kept saying it was "cloth covered". I discovered this about a year and a half ago when I had a club mate bring his G.P. Cub over for some repair work and low and behold the Coverite covering I had for repair didn't match the covering on his plane. His covering matched the Solartex that my 100" Hanger 9 Cub has. His wing is the same as mine, flat bottom, because at some point while working on them we tried cross mounting the wings. The dowels didn't quite match up but the wing bottom and saddle were the same. I believe the flat bottom wing is not a change. I do see that the last listing for this plane on page 41 of the Tower 2015 annual catalog states a semi-symmetrical airfoil and 21st century Coverite covering. So they must have gone back to Coverite, but I'll bet the semi-symmetrical airfoil claim is an error. I also have 9 other kit and ARF Cubs (not counting foamy park flyers) in my hanger and they all have a flat wing bottom wing once you get past the large rounded leading edge. The Hanger 9 Ultra series (80" w.s.) that I am putting together now has a flat bottom wing. I didn't mention the Solortex covered one previously as I didn't want to further stir the pot of confusion over this plane. Soooooo, did you order one?

ratshooter

Hi Larry. No I haven't ordered anything yet. I am not really an ARFer and prefer to build. But I might have made an exception for the fabric covered plane. I may just build another cun knock off like the one in the pics I posted. I already have the kit in the attic now. And being a Joe Bridi design it flies extremely well. Even though I did shorten the fuse 4".

In the new AMA mag the Tower ad has the new cub shown. Maybe someone here will get one and give a report. Of course if I bought one it would almost require that I buy a 4 stroke to put on it. And I really need to upgrade radios. see how expensive this could get? Lol.

52larry52

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ratshooter, I see your point that with this ARF Cub now lacking the fabric covering, your motivation to "ARF it" is just not there. I do both kits and ARFs and can see why you say to yourself "I may as well build my own and then cover it with whatever cloth covering I want". When I am assembling an ARF and run into problems a "little voice" says "If you built it yourself you wouldn't have this problem"! And when I am building a kit "another little voice" says "you could have bought this already built (ARF) for half the money"! So pick your poison! I built a Top Flight Elder 40 a few years ago and covered it with cream colored Coverite fabric. I was quite pleased with how it worked going on and the look of the finished airplane. My #1 kit that I am hording in my stash is a 1/4 scale Dynaflite Super Cub. My intention has always been to cover it with fabric whenever I get around to building it but the price on that stuff keeps going thru the roof. I guess I will still pony up for the fabric when it's time, but $30 for a 6' roll adds up on a big airframe ($70 for a 15' roll)! I guess it would then be my turn to "pick your poison". Let us know what kit you pick to build. The best to you.

ratshooter

Yep the ARFs have their appeal. And its cheaper to go that way. I just like to build. And if I built a cub I would probably cover it with monokote or ultracote not fabric. The fabric was just a selling point to me. Fabric covering may be expensive but it would still be better than covering with silk and then painting it. I am a terrible painter. Of the cub kits I would lean more towards the Goldberg aniversary cub over the GP cubs. My buddy had one and it was a nice plane. Plus the price is better than the GP cub.

As far as what to build next I am at a loss. I am like the goat that starved to death standing between two bales of hay because he couldn't decide which one to eat. If I just had one kit on hand it would be simple. Sort of. I really have a hankering to scratch out a plane. Of course I can'r make up my mind on that one either.

52larry52

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ratshooter, HANGER 9 ULTRA SERIES CUB ALERT.......... You once said "you wish you had a Hanger 9 Cub in your stash", well here"s your chance. There has just been a NIB 80" H-9 Ultra series J-3 Cub listed on E-bay. It was listed today July 3 @3:34 AM if that info helps you find it. The current bid is @ $39.99 with $30.00 shipping. Obviously the bid will go higher. Check it out. I am not going to bid on it as I have one under way now, but I thought you might be interested in it. Good luck if you decide to bid on it. IMHO any total price with shipping @ $150 or less would be a good buy, let your wallet be your guide.

ratshooter

Thanks Larry. Its on my watch list now.

bikerbc

I am not sure about the Hanger 9 Ultra Cub but the Hanger 9 80" ARF is still available from Hanger 9 for $ 249.99 . Its a completly different plane from the Great planes Fabric Covered Cub . They both are nice planes and both fly well .I have both planes I like the GP Cub better but I have put quite a bit more into it with the Robarts gear and streamline tubing struts .

52larry52

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RS, Great, I hope you get it. I am watching that auction too, but just watching, I promise not to bid. After all the Cub talk with you on this site, I had to take my G.P. fabric covered Cub to the field last Sunday. I hadn't flown it yet this year and it didn't disappoint. Even with my modest power plant, OS 46FX, it climbs out well on take off, will loop from level flight, and cruises around a 1/2 throttle. A joy to fly! I am looking forward to flying the H-9 one I am working on now. Saito sounds and Robert gear will make this one nice too. I am "picking away" at it slowly so it's not anywhere near done. No hurry on it. Wanted to let you know, you made me go fly mine! Tell me if you win it.

52larry52

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R.S. Yes, biker BC is right. Hanger 9 has a current 80" J-3 at $250. Horizon hobbies was out of them a short while ago but they may be in stock now. It is "shiney" Ultracote covered not cloth, looks a lot like the older version (nice) but has a much better wing strut attachment system. I think it may have a "Robart knockoff" main gear too. I have seen them but have not flown one. They look great.

ratshooter

I have looked at the newer H9 Cub and it seems to be a little more scale but I didn't like the two piece wing and the bolt on tail group. Larry bid if you want. I get outbid all the time anyway. I have a certain amount I am willing to spend and if I get beat out its no big deal to me.

And Larry I am glad to see someone not afraid to put a 2 stroke on a cub. I like 4 strokes OK but am not all that sold on them. Its just a model airplane and I don't care if they sound like a model airplane. Just like I don't care if it has shiny covering either.

ratshooter

I just went and looked at the H9 cub again. You know, it might just be a better plane than I gave it credit for the first time around. lots of details like jury struts and tail bracing wires. The two piece wing looks stronger than I originally thought. And its set up for a two stroke motor with the muffler cut out. Hmmm, I may have to give this one a little more thought.

52larry52

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RS, When it comes to Cubs, 2 stroke, 4 stroke, cloth cover, shiny cover, it doesn't matter I love them all; just like women, redhead, brunette, blonde, it doesn't matter I love them all !

ratshooter

I feel the same way about cubs as you do. I stated that earlier. The man took flying lessons from is flying the second oldest airworthy cub in the U.S. I really need to call him and see about getting a ride in that cub before he is too old to fly. I told his son to get a message to his dad but I never heard back from him.

When I see a cub everything just sorta stops so I can watch it. About a year ago I went past a small airport and a cub was about to take off so I stopped to watch. He ran up his magnetos and then lined up on the runway. He opened the throttle and the tail immediatly lifted and it seemed that after just a take off roll of only a few feet he was airborne. How cool.

ratshooter

52Larry I won the auction on the J-3 Cub listed on ebay. Thanks for the heads up on the plane.

52larry52

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rs, Excellent! Don't you just love when a plan comes together. You're more than welcome for the heads up. The winning bid price looks good, how bad is the shipping to you? Are you going to assemble it ASAP or let it "ferment" in your stash for a while? I have been collecting the accessory parts for mine for 2 yrs finally decided it was time to fly it! Again, glad you won it. Good times ahead at the flying field.

ratshooter

Hi Larry. I doubt it will sit for very long before its put together. The biggest question is what engine will I use. I may pull the TT46 off my GP Stik 40 and use that. My buddy will give me the business about using a 4 stroke. As long as he buys it for me I will use it. He is such a titewad I am not to worried about that happening.

The shipping on it was $30. So $158 total for the plane. I was looking at the new H9 Cub at the local HS yesterday and they wanted $250 plus tax so I am happy with my deal.

I am sure I will put it together with the parts in the kit. A custom landing gear would be neat but I was happy with how the Cub I built turned out and see no reasons for any upgrades. Here are some pics of the first H9 Cub I had back about 1998.

52larry52

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ratshooter

The new H9 Cub arrived today. Its in perfect condition and all the parts are there still in the sealed plastic baggies. What a nice model it is. I had forgotten how well built these plane are. The big question is what engine to use. I have a Magnum 52 two stroke but I don't think Bisson makes a Pitts style muffler for it. I will call them tomorrow and ask them.