Stormrider51

I'd been looking at this little bird at the LHS for a month or so. Great looking little plane with its red and silver paint. I've found myself drawn to the micros. I started my flying with an Apprentice 15e but my second plane was an ultra micro J-3 Cub. A UM Champ soon joined it, followed by an Albatros biplane. All of my micros were three channel planes. The J-3 and the Champ will almost fly themselves. But the Carbon Cub has full 4 axis controls plus flaps. Its wing is lacking dihedral so it would be less forgiving. Did I mention that it has navigation lights and a landing light? I had to have it. That AS3X stability system was sure to make me into an instant pro.

I crashed it on the first flight. Not badly. I had to do some work on the wing and glue the motor mount back in place. That was after I carefully split the fuselage in half, of course. I used a hair dryer on "high" to expand the foam in the nose in the smooshed spots. It looks a little bumpy now but hey, I can live with it. I'm not even sure why I crashed it. Too slow, too low? Don't know. It happened fast. One second I'm making a low pass and the next I can't get any lower. Darned ground anyway. Darned gravity, too. This plane was NOT the Champ or even the Apprentice! It demanded a pilot.

I spent an afternoon repairing my plane. I spent much of that time thinking. I went back out this morning with an entirely different attitude. All the things I should have known from the beginning were now firmly fixed in my mind. Another part of my anatomy was firmly fixed also. I approached this flight not thinking of the plane as a Champ but as something a step beyond the Apprentice. Things went better. I stayed ahead of the plane. I made it go where I wanted it to. For landing I dropped the flaps, that tip they give you about programming in 40% down elevator paid off. The CC slowed nicely and settled onto the ground like I knew what I was doing. Much better than yesterday!

So is this a good intermediate plane between a pure trainer and more advanced birds? I think that for me it may be. I really love flying it. It keeps me on my toes.

Storm

jester_s1

I think you've answered your own question. It's a bigger challenge than your primary trainer was, but doable. With 4 channel control you have another axis of rotation to think about, so you are learning something new. I'll suggest when you get comfortable flying the plane in circles that you download the SPA novice sequence and start learning those maneuvers. They form the basis of all aerobatic flight and will start building those neural connections of controlling the plane in all attitudes. The easy challenges will be the procedure turn, loops, and stall turns. The slightly more difficult ones will be the Immelman turn, cuban 8, inverted pass, and rolls. You'll be amazed at how quickly your flying improves when you start working on a set list of maneuvers like that and force yourself to do moves that you wouldn't have normally done because they are intimidating or you're just not sure how to build up to them.

Stormrider51

The little Carbon Cub has become my favorite plane to fly. It's surprising how much wind it will handle. This morning I took it up and zipped around for a minute or two before I gained altitude and throttled back to about 1/2. In the existing wind the plane would barely make headway and would sometimes stop and hover in a gust. A buzzard came over riding the same wind. I curved the Cub around and flew formation with him until he decided that was enough of that and flapped away. When the battery got low I dropped the flaps and kept on 1/4 throttle until I was where I wanted to be. Then I decreased the throttle and descended almost vertically to a landing. Pretty big rush for a beginner with only two months flight experience.

Now the Carbon Cub has a big brother. And I mean BIG. The CC has a 15" wing span. The Carbon Z has an 84.6" span placing it in the Giant RC category. It's got flaps, huge Tundra tires, and a powerful motor. No lights, darn it! I love the LED lights on the littler CC for those flights just before dark. I can get in one more flight when everyone else has given up for the day. No matter, I placed an order at the LHS for one this afternoon. It should be in around Sept. 27th. I'll be counting the days.

Storm

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Have you messed with the UMX on floats? It's a hoot.

Stormrider51

No, but they are on my list of things to get. Same for the Carbon Z once I get it.

Storm

GBLynden

My buddy really likes his:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_OwWJ9xaA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0-6zQUA1tQ

GBLynden

The floats are great! My buddy and I had a great time yesterday with his:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvB0QF39fDo