VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

 Hi All,
I realize this is an old thread, but I am hoping someone still subscribed to it may help be able to me.


 I have an St Model Fox EP, which can be found here: www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p

I took her out on a very windy day and proceeded to have a short but memorable flight... nosed-dived straight into ground... Frankly, I believe my setup (esp. elevevator or CG) was way off. 

Although the crash did not do a whole lot of damage too fuse, etc., the motor mount was cracked in which I proceeded to make a new one (I have all dimensions if someone would like/need).

Put motor back in, and tried to run without success. Basically the motor, when applying throttle, just wiggles back and forth a bit and stops.  Bring throttle to off, then reapply throttle, does the same quivering of the prop w/ no real revolutions on the prop/motor.

I tried to check if the ESC brake was on, but to do that, I need to "hear" one or two beeps after power/battery connected, which I do not... nothing.. no beeps whatsoever.  Just the twitching of the prop.  Without the beeps, I cannot tell if brake is on, so I followed procedure for turning the ESC brake OFF and ON, and off and on.. etc.  Same result.

What do you suppose is the problem?  The ESC gone?  The motor broken?  I have no idea, as this is my first electric powered aircraft.

Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I do not want to replace parts just at random w/o knowing what specifically should be replaced and why.

I thank you in advance for your time and help.

Don

eghershey

It could be something as simple as a bad connection on one of the three wires from the esc to the motor causing it to single phase. The crash could have broken one of the wires right at the motor. One of the tiny little windings on the motor could be broken. If thats the case, you need a new motor.
You can check voltage between any of the two of the three wires and pairing all of them you should get the same voltage (give or take a little) when you apply the throttle. Remove the connection to the motor before checking it.
My luck under similar situations......a new motor is in order. Sorry.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

eghershey,

eghershey

Some motors have a description on them that is visible. If there isn't any visible numbers/letters than you might go on line to the maker of the plane and see if there is a parts list available online for your particular plane (if it was a kit plane). If its a plane that was built with off the shelf items, then your best bet it to see what size the esc is and then go to something like RCHOTDEALS.COM and there you will find a chart that gives you help on choosing a motor for the size/weight of your plane. Then match that with the size of esc you have and try to come up with an alternate motor. If its a trainer or first time plane then you will find several substitutes.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

Once again, I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation for your help, knowledge and understanding.

fishycomics

how would you know if the motor is dead, did you place the pos end and neg end to a pwoer source??? if it does not move it is no good.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for the info on my St Fox power system problem... I truly appreciate it!

I took the motor an ESC out of the fuse and tried a few tests, more specifically:

1).  Yes, With the motor removed, I hooked it up to my 11.1v battery (BLK) & (RED) only, and it basically does same thing... twitches w/o any spin/revolutions.
2). With motor out, I believe I should be able to put an ohm meter (multimeter in my case) and test ohms/resistance of lead to lead to lead (all possible combinations) and I should expect to see same (or roughly the same) numbers on the meter... FAIL... I see no numbers on one (Yellow) and 0.000 on the other two. Am I correct?
3). I shorted all three connectors on the motor together in various options while manually turning the shaft... in which I should expect a resistance when any two or all three are shorted. TRUE on two connectors, (Yellow) w/ either (BLK) or (RED) I get resistance, none with Black to red. ???
4). When using my meter in diode mode for checking for a short, I can connect ANY of the three wires and it shows a short to the motor mount (connected to the shaft from factory).NOT the case, however?

That's everything I know in how to check a motor (and I got that info in RCGroups too)

So, it sounds as though I need a new motor, which is also a problem as I CANNOT find info on the motor specs... AT ALL! $#$#&%# !!!!

Do you agree on my determination that it is the motor? ESC looks fine, no signs of any heat related damage. BTW< I CANNOT determine size of ESC either!!!! Arggggg!!!!

Any and all help is greatly appreciated ( I can post pics if you wish)

Thanks so much, my friend... I do appreciate your help, knowledge and patience!

Don

eghershey

You have a 1000 mAh motor. Go to this site and download the manual for your plane. It gives you all the info you will need to get back in the air again.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYYS3
ESC is an 18 amp unit.
Actually you can Google your plane model and come up with a huge amount of info for it.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

hershey,

FirebirdCdr2

Hey Guys!!! Have not been here in a while, but I hope everyone is doing well. Hope everyone will be flying their Cubs High this summer. I know I will. Seeing as though my job and family didn't allow time to fly as much this past year. I will definitely be flying my cub like a maniac all this summer.

Firebird

Chucksolo69

Yeah, me too. I hope to fly my Super Cub a lot, wind allowing. This is such a nice easy plane to fly. I was actually told I was going backward in my RC flying when I bought the Super Cub. I had previously been flying a HZ Firebird Stratos and a HZ Champ before I got my Super Cub. I don't think so though. I just purchased a Flyzone Cessna 182 Skylane RTF from Tower Hobbies. This is my first aileron\flaps plane. I hope I made the right decision.

PEDproducts

I wasn't sure where to post this, but thought you guys might appreciate this video. We took an http://ped-products.com/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=75"]ActionCam[/URL], made a special mount, and mounted the camera to a Disc Golf Disc (similar to a Frisbee) The video came out amazingly well.

http://youtu.be/gPWeTQxY2xw

Enjoy!

Vince
PED Products
www.ped-products.com

FLYMAD

I wouldn't recomend the hobbyzone supercub as a first plane for these reason:
1) front facing motor=nose in damage and broken prop.
2) no aileron have advantages but it shoud be an option later on once you have mastered basic flight.
3) quite expensive compaired to better trainers availible.
4) flight time, I got maximum of 45 minutes out of my trainer if I didn't hammer the throttle, the cub would be lucky to get 10-15.
5)the wing is big and cannot be broken down into two pieces for transport.

I would recomend a plane with a rear facing motor like the easystar or hobbyking bixler or dynam hawksky,

Chucksolo69

Well, you are in the minority; many, many folks recommned the HZ Super Cub as a first plane. I know I do.  I would also recommend the EasyStar, but your other recommendations, and their possible problems with parts availability would make the last two you mentioned not suitable for the RANK beginner.

brianjskora

My Feedback: (3)

My buddy picked up the hobbyzone cub and flew it great, and when he did crash the local stores had parts in stock! Id say its a nice package with room for improvement that the user can customize as needed

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

The HobbyZone Super Cub is one of my top recommended first planes for pilots trying to learn on their own.  Flies great!  Hard to break and easy to fix with parts readily available.

Others:

Multiplex Easy Star

HobbyZone Stratos

For pilots interested in gliders

Parkzone Radian

eghershey

Couldn't have said it any better. When learning to fly the Cub, the only accessory your need is a bottle of CA.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

A couple extra props might come in handy too.

eghershey

Thats what the CA is for..

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

CA on props?   Never.

hey man, don't even kid about that.  Someone will believe you.

You break a prop, you toss it!

downunderdog

The supercub that comes with a 2.4 gig transmitter (Supercub DSM, I think it is) has the option of adding ailerons. I think that it has a combined ESC/RX, but it does have aileron output. And by the time someone is ready to add ailerons, they probably have enough experience doing repairs that the mod will be easy.

I agree that the basic supercub (with the 5 wire servos and the RX/brushed ESC) is tough to upgrade and probably not the best choice (especially since it's alos 27 MHz and more vulnerable to interference)... but then again all you have to do is pull out those electronics and install a new RX and servos (and cut the ailerons into the wings and install those servos) when you're ready to move to the next step.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I flew many 27 MHz airplanes and helis.  Never had a problem even at 1000 feet.

downunderdog

"I flew many 27 MHz airplanes and helis. Never had a problem even at 1000 feet."

I believe that, but then I also believe people who say "I have never worn a seat belt when driving and I've never been injured in a car accident". I don't mean to imply that getting interference with an RC plane is comparable to being injured in a car accident - just pointing out that the fact that you (and doubtless many other people) have never had a problem doesn't mean that someone who is flying in a different environment won't have problems.

27 MHz is susceptible to interference from CB radios and other 27 MHz RC items... 27 MHz is more common in "toy grade" kinds of RC items (that you'd buy at a KMart or target or other toy store) and is only divided into something like 6 sub channels, so there's more potential for other users to be on the frequency in any given area.

Not that EVERYONE has issues with 27MHz, it's just more likely to have interference than with 2.4 Gig (or even 72 MHz, which has more sub-frequencies and is less widely used) system. Also, with the supercub if you want to upgrade a plane that came with the stock 27 MHz system you'll need to remove all of the electronics (including the 5 wire servos) to do anything. If you get the DSM model, it come ready to accept servo (servos with a splitter) to incorporate ailerons. Also, the TX can be used for other BNF items. The usefulness of the 27MHz system that comes with the standard supercub is limited to using it just in the stock configuration.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I would say relatively few have problems with 27 MHz, but overall Iagree with your comments. Very few have problems with 72 MHz and very few have problems with 2.4 GHz. They all work, but the 27 MHz set-up would be the least resilient of the three, in my opinion.

The DSMmodel does have more long term potential, and you pay $30 more for that versitility.I would say that is a good investment and good value for the extra $30.

daytonarc

My Feedback: (5)

My son won one of these at Monster Planes in Lakeland FL 2 weeks ago., First flights the following day, in 20 MPH winds uneventfull and fun. The transmitter is Spektrum 4 channel and the receiver has 4 channels. after first day we decided to modify and add ailerons. With a simple mod it now flys great with ailerons. Disable the ACT (we originally just turned off at transmitter but switch accidentaly got bumped and found you do not want ACT kicking in when you are not expecting it). now it will do aileron rolls, hamerheads, and some other fun stuff. Great starter plane or just a fun to fly little foamy if you want to give larger planes a rest.