jbajor

Just bought a new decathlon.. I was surprise to see that it had a 'high pitch' prop out of the box. Has Parkzone switched to this?

cjg

After much debate, waiting, and talking to hobby store owner I decided this summer to wait for the HZ SuperCub as my first venture in fixed wing (all I had ever flown was a Blade CX - it was a good way to learn nose in flying controls, etc). I had debated about waiting for the SuperCub or buying the Decathalon.

I am not disappointed I waited after reading threads on both planes. From the start my SuperCub flew well, I've had only one minor mishap, and am having a great time wiht the plane. Never did turn the ACT on. I find it flies and turns well at half power, climbs like crazy at full power. The full power has actually pulled me out of some stalls near the ground that caused me to think I would buy the farm momentarily.

Sorry to hijack a thread - but I would recommend the supercub for beginners as it works well out of the box. If only I could get the @#%$# drop module to work!

E-SKY_FLYER

We should start this thread up if anyones interested?

I just found out my batteries were not fully charged (my mate said he charged it)
And yeah it wasn't a good maiden flight, it crashed many times

Should be ok now, the motor spins MUCH faster now that its got a full battery


I will take it out later
Does anyone know how to fit bigger nimh batteries in the compartment?
Or on top where the servos are?

Sinai

Hello members and guests,
More on the PZ Decathlon and questions as well.
Anyone seem to have the prop shaft come out of the plastic gear? I read somewhere that they can overheat. Mine did and melted onto the plastic bushing of the gear box after only 6 minutes full throttle. Will washers between the plastic gear and the bushing insidde the gear box help at all? I've done so and put a tiny dab of tefon grease to lubricate the washers (not the gears). I got one flight out of it since my brother gave the plane to me. He crashed it and called it a "peice of crap" before giving me the plane. I want to see it fly, and shw my brother the SD's in good hands.
I admire the plane's looks. The PZ Super Cub is so much easier to fly though. The SD is hard for me to control because of the crashes before I got it. It turns right but not left. Yet the rudder appears to be fine and so does the control horn and its movement as well on the ground....Is it supposed to be unruly? Well it makes it fun to fly a challenge. I'll take it out first chance I get. Now wth a PZ high pitch prop, and new prop shaft assembly. IS THE SD WORTH THE $$$ to modify????

Leo L

I'll start with your last question first. Yes, the plane is worth the modifications.

Yes, the prop shaft melting problem is common, both on the SD and the J3Cub. Make sure that you have two washers between the gear and the bushing and lubricate them before completing the assembly. Try not to fly completely WOT. I usually reduce to 1/2 throttle for a minute after two minutes of flying at WOT, giving the motor and gear box a chance to cool down.

The high pitch prop is very important for the SD, much more so than for the J3Cub. Without it, the SD is not a good flyer.

Your steering problem is probably due to a crease in the rudder, right near the control horn. What happens is that the control horn is free to move in both directions; while the rudder will move in the direction of the crease, but flex at the crease and not move in the other direction. The easiest solution is to epoxy a small piece of plastic or wood across the crease, making sure that the repair piece doesn't interfere with the movements of the rudder and elevator. I had this problem with both the SD and the J3Cub.

Replace the stock motor with a Venom motor and add a tail wheel assembly and you'll have a very nice flying plane.

cool pool

Hi,
Just a question, has anyone flew the super decathlon with skis and what type to buy ? Also does anyone know what type of tail wheel to purchase and install ?
Thanks inadvance.

Leo L

DuBro makes skis for parkflyers that can be adapted to the SD. They are designed to be used on a wire type landing gear and I was not thrilled with my installation last year. This year I plan to build my own skis.

DuBro also makes a steerable tail wheel assembly that you can use, or you can make your own. If you are primarily interested in the tail wheel to help eliminate ground donuts and don't need the wheel to be steerable, get the spare tail wheel assembly for the Aerobird Challenger. Straighten out the two loops on the end of the bracket and bend them down; then epoxy them to the tail skid.

Ady

Hi
Would it be ok to use a Tornado 8x6hy prop on the decathlon with standard motor and battery
ive read the reviews on this site and most seem to be useing the gws prop but my local model shop didnt have one but said the one ive got is the same as im a newbie just want to make sure its the correct prop before i have my maiden flight

Sinai

Well, what do I do? The motor stopped working after I landed the SD. All other servos work, tried new battery, and zip. NOTHING. No response to any throttle input at all.
Is it the motor? What else could it be?
Grounded in
Sacramento

Digger-RCU

Greetings all,
I dont know if anyone is still flying this plane out there, but I made a recent modification that i think really improved the flight characteristics. I was tired of the tail feathers getting creases in them and then provideing less than optimum flight. ( the plane tended to be very dificult to trim, and did not always respond predictably, as the tail would not stay straight during the flight).
I cut the tail off, and made a new one out of balsa. the weight seems to be equal, and the flying is much more precise and predictable. overall, I like the way it flys much better now.

Sinai

Hey
that looks great! I still fly my Super D and it's so easy to throw in the car, it's great fun. Did you put a Venom in yours?

Digger-RCU

I am still flying on the stock motor. I just cross the street, and fly it in the park. I havent had any serious motivation to change much beyond the tail. the next time something breaks, I will likely give it a new powerplant. Until then, I just fly it as is.

It's fun in the evenings as the sun is going down.


Randy (Digger) Birt

Sinai

I fly across the street too. So easy. These SD's are disappearing off the shelves at my LHS along with the spare parts. I mean they're not being replenished anymore. I was wondering if they might be discontinued and bought the last extra wing, gear box and batt cover. I'm glad you posted how that came out. It seemed like a really long time since your last post on the parkflyer forum. I love this little plane!

Digger-RCU

As I can forsee the eventual end of my PZ decathelon, I have been looking for planes that I can use the equipment (radio, motor, ect). I enjoy the decathelon, but it is not the finest of performance. I have been looking at the Herr parkflyer cub kit. it looks about the same size as the Decathelon, in the form of a lazer-cut blasa kit.

Has anyone here used the parkzone gear in another airplane.?

Would you think this cub would be a good fit for the Decathelaon gear?

Thanks all for your input.

Randy (Digger) Birt


Herr Engineering
Piper J-3 Cub
3 Channel R/C
Wingspan=
Area=
Weight=
Wing Load=
Direct Drive
Flight Time=


35.25"
179sq."
8 to 11oz.
6.4 to 8.9oz/sq.'
280 Class Power
8 to 12 min using 7 cell 270 or 350mAh Nicad
Over 20 min using 7 cell 750mAh NIMH

DragracerArt

I'd like to retract my "Lipo fits battery compartment perfectly" statement.

I didn't try to put the battery cover on before making the statement. [&o]

Also... I can't believe how difficult this plane is to fly.

It's NOTHING like my Super Cub. Very difficult to control... almost as if it's got a mind of it's own.

The Super Cub is very responsive to control inputs. Move stick left... plane goes left. Pull stick back, plane climbs.

My Super Decathlon just didn't show any responsiveness at all. It's a very difficult plane to control... and I would NOT recommend it for a beginner.

The Hobbyzone Super Cub REALLY can spoil you.


I don't know why they even bothered to put wheels under it. Ground take-offs are IMPOSSIBLE. All it wants to do is make a right turn.
Hand-tossing is the only option.
Landing gracefully isn't an option either. No such thing as a smooth glide-in and touchdown like the Super Cub does EVERY TIME at ZERO throttle.
Unlike the Super Cub... the Super Decathlon tip stalls and nosedives into the ground with slow airspeed.

I doubt I'll even attempt to fly this Decathlon again. It will be a wall-hanger plane or end up on Ebay. What a turd and a waste of money.

unloco2

unloco2

Interesting you would want to use the radio equipment in another plane. Most people have experienced problems with glitches and general instability with the PZ electronics. That you haven't is great. I hated the decathlon until I changed the radio gear. Now it's the most fun plane to fly. Still use the stock motor and lately changed from the original 7 cell nimh to a 3 cell LiPo.

For more on the electronics, visit the early posts and check out the forums on the J3 Cub.

Any plane that uses a motor with less than 7 amps of current should be OK for the electronics.

lthibault

I really wonder why people buy this piece of crap. Look at the Horizon Hobby site and the Eflite products for example. You'll be able to find balsa-based airplanes and motors that will give you hours of fun. Use reliable equipment and don't waste your time.

Sinai

What did you Say!!??? Parkzone Super De-CRAP - lon??!!!

WOOOOAhhhh!!! Okay I admit it's True, but it's the fact that it sucks that challenges me to Make this piece of crap an art form!

What I wish PARKZONE would do now, after we've seen the J3 CUB Resurrected with a BL motor, is give us the SUPER DECRAPLON with a BRUSHLESS MOTOR!!!!!! I love the RED PLANE in a blue morning sky, and it's stripes are fun. It just lacks the power unless you get a better motor (like the VENOM Micro Fireball 370).

Mine draws flies without power too. CRAP!!!!!

Leo L

If you make the standard mods to the SD: high pitch prop, Venom motor, steerable tail wheel, 2" front wheels, then the SD becomes a fun little plane. Compared to its sister plane, the J3Cub, the SD is harder to fly for someone that is just transitioning from beginner planes, but is a lot more fun to fly for someone who is experienced at the intermediate level.

For a major upgrade, switch out the electronics, set it up with a TowerPro outrunner and a 3-cell 800mah LiPo. Add some additional downpitch to the motor, otherwise you will keep fighting it to keep it from trying to climb with the extra power. With these mods, it becomes a very nice plane to fly, yet is very resilient, making it much better than the balsa models mentioned by Ithibault.

I agree with Sinai that PZ should bring out a brushless version like they did with the J3Cub. Only wish that they had added a steerable tail wheel and larger front wheels to eliminate those infamous ground loops!

lthibault

Gents.

Didn't want to hurt your feelings. Yeah right you can do this, do that, change this, fix that...or just get a good plane...a good brushless motor...and good radio equipment ...wait...like... this one!!!


So long live the JUNKZONE SUPERDECRAPLON!

reaperofsoulz

that quote is a year old this month and the same thing just happened to my SD just this weekend. Finally after all new reciever and radio plus a new servo and extended motor wires (i couldnt even reach them in the fuse) I got the SD out to the field. Has anyone tried running a lipo in these? are they supposed to, they have the jumper to pull for lipo on the reciever so i imagined so and put in my 11.1v 20C 1450mah. First off dont try and hand launch this plane, way to squirlly...a nice slow land takeoff was what this plane wanted. It took off within about 10 feet of me and climbed like a dream and looked great in the sky with the red and stripes. It was flying in circles on its own because the servo i changed wasnt adjusted correctly i guess, i switched to B mode for more control and it was working good. If your looking for fun flying this is the plane...well for about 10 minutes at least. I heard what sounded like the voltage cutoff so i killed the throttle and came in for a landing. Not paying attention during takeoff i had my battery box on the runway(dirt trail) so i had to go around my stuff and ended up landing perfectly sideway within 6 feet on the dirt trail. It was the first time i've done a land takeoff and landing, both went perfectly except now for whatever reason the motor is dead. I put a battery straight to the motor and nothing...its dead. What happened? overheating? too much lipo for the little 370? Im thinking now about an entire gearbox out of a spitfire for the SD.

Sinai

If you have Servo movement, then it's the motor. battery to motor proves that. Mine was the motor. That's when i went and got the Venom fireball 370 motor. It's great for the SD. Same gear box as the stock SD. I've since burnt my Rx up with my one and only LiPo Flight though and haven't got around to replacing it. .. .

reaperofsoulz

hey sinai, i'd hoped you'd have some input on this...researching a new motor im starting to think i shouldn't run a lipo on a 370 brushed motor, your saying you rx burned up the one time you used the lipo so im lucky it wasnt my rx this time because the servos do move fine just a busted motor.. Venoms website says the fireballs run best on nicd. Also did you do any mods to the gearbox where the engine fits in for cooling, i think with the motor completely cased in plastic like that cant be good for it...maybe dremel some small vents on the sides?

reaperofsoulz

Well it was either put all my new servos and futaba reciever in the decathlon instead of the stryker or get another brushed motor...

soooooo......



brand new gearbox and a Venom Fireball 370P all ready to be installed on the SD. The only concern the hobby shop guy had was that it might burn up my speedcontrol/reciever but i told him I need to fly and dont care!!! how many volts should i run...im thinking of sticking with my nicd batteries that came stock with my 3 parkzones and have been sitting around since I went lipo crazy. Hope it all goes well and i didnt waste my money $15.99 Venom Fireball - $7.99 SD gearbox