flyingace451

Both of these planes are made from the same company, look the same, and are near the same price. In your opinion, which do you think is the better plane? I haven't had experience with these planes so I was wondering which is better. I'm hoping to buy one of these so be sure to tell me why you think it is better.

area51south

Have had 2 of each, never got the decathalon more than 20 feet off the ground(either of them). I fly the heck out of the cub and its a blast...they are so similar I have no idea why I had such bad luck with the decathalon, I know I am sticking with the cub though. I thought maybe I just got a bad one so I tried another and it had the same fate so that was an expensive lesson. Cubs great though so it makes up for the dissapointment from the other.

jim p.

My Feedback: (4)

Everybodies got their own opinion,
I don't or haven't owned the cub, so cant comment on it. If you are experienced,either one would do. I'm new to this park-flier thing, but not new to r.c. I've been flying glow and gas for 17 plus years. I bought the decathlon and like it a lot, it's super easy to fly, and un-like other comments I've seen on it, mine looped-rolled-spun in stock form,no problem.
On posts you see "it stalled" or "flew 10 feet and stalled" These posts, more than likley, are newbies, who graduated from a "fire-bird" and think they are skilled enough to o fly an "almost scale" aircraft, usually without good results and they blame it on the aircraft.
For the money, it's not bad. I'm sure the cub flies..well...... like a cub, the decathlon is more aerobatic " not acrobatic.lol", but it is tame compared to a 4-ch plane ( which mine will be soon). So in ending, if you have some time under your belt, either is a good choice.

ryanf420

I purchased the decathlon after the aerobird challanger..Now the v tail of the aerobird challanger flies a bit different than the decathlon(in my opinion)so my first 2 flights the decathlon went into the ground...Once I learned that the decathlon was more responsive I haven't had a problem since..and I to can do loops,tailspins-stalls, and recently I upgrades the mototr to the venom motor upgrade(many threads on it in this forum)and I can do consistant barrell rolls and some great altitude!!So I am partial to the decathlon because it is very durable,in flight mode "A" on the transmitter the plane is smooth and dosile or in mode "B" the plane can do more advanced manuvers, and it looks great!

...but, I have never seen a J-3 fly before so I can only give my opinion on the PZ decathlon..

mwrey

I haven't flown or seen the Cub fly so I can't comment on it. I do however have a Decathlon and it flies great. Mine is still stock and Sunday I had it up 300 ft or so several flights. I think most people who report failures/crashes get impatient with its rate of climb and use the elevator way to soon. Sure I've crashed mine several times, the first few were from impatience, the latter where from loss of prespective, hitting power lines, tree limbs, etc. My advice is start your flight in mode A (low rate throws), gain altitude to 50-100 ft, switch to mode B. Also, take the front cowl off and remove the 5/16 " nut and discard it, then reassemble.

Mike

flyingace451

Um...I am one of those newbs who graduated on a firebird. This electric forum is full of newbies. So if you want to comment on stuff like that here than you can just send your butt back to the gas forums.[sm=punching.gif]

jim p.

My Feedback: (4)

Yeah well mr"ace"[X(] the truth hurts dont it??????

area51south

Yep, I love the firebirds too. I enjoyed learning on them and moving up a notch or 2 as my skills grew or as I wore the planes out. The small electrics are great to fly out here where I live with a moderate amount of open space so nothing anyone says can change my mind about them. It sure is sad that someone has to make themselves feel big on a forum by bashing beginners or a type of plane. What's nice is that it sure is much more rare here than alot of the computer related forums I keep up with for work purposes, most folks here are just nice and the newbie bashing and such doesn't seem to happen alot. I still vote for the cub...

flyingace451

Wow jim isn't very smart is he? Jim you sure are talking heavy seeing how your name is "pate" What kind of name is that anyway? If you haven't owned a cub, why the heck are you bashing it? That is pretty stupid...of course you knew you were stupid right?

jim p.

My Feedback: (4)

It sure is sad that someone has to make themselves feel big on a forum by bashing beginners or a type of plane. What's nice is that it sure is much more rare here than alot of the computer related forums I keep up with for work purposes, most folks here are just nice and the newbie bashing and such doesn't seem to happen alot. I still vote for the cub...


Funny how no body ever "bashed " a newbie, and nobody needs to feel "big" . Just stating the facts as I see them. Maybe I was mistaken and need to make myself a little clearer. It's just that I have seen it so may times as a glow flier. This guy learns to fly his trainer, and flies it pretty good. so a few weeks later he shows up at the field with his p-51, he rolls out ,rotates too soon ,stalls, then ..........splat............then he gets on the internet."that plane aint worth a crap" .Just take it in perspective, if you stay in this hobbie, one day you'll know where I'm comming from...

silverdelt

Kinda agree with Jim here...people are really quick on blaming either the airplane or the manufacutring company for a bad product...you'll see on some of the posts that some individuals here just rant and WHINE on and on and on about how BAD Parkzone is...how CHEAP their electronics are...yadda yadda yadda...what not...i mean...nothing is perfect. Guess thats just a quick'n'easy way to let your frustrations out...blame the product!

Anyway...the Cub has my vote...only because I havn't flown the Decath...im sure its a great product too.

flyhard2

I have flown both planes with the venom mod and without, I vote for the cub because it seems to fly lighter than the decathalon. The decathalon flies more scale and needs more speed even when landing you have to keep the power on a little. The cub will glide to the ground with ease no tendency to tip stall, and the landing gear is stronger on the cub also. Just my .02 cents.

Larry

area51south

Looks like Pate is creating his own argument, not one person in this post says anything negative about the plane being faulty. I myself own 4 planes from that one company and will buy more for sure and would love nothing more than to have that decathalon flying. I just had no luck in flying the decathalons; some folks it seems have the same issue with the cub and not the decathalon--go figure; but perhaps if we all had Pates superior skills as a modeler and a human being then we could probably just flap our arms and fly and not need the planes...lol To keep this on topic I have tried a few different props, out of the bunch the 10x8 seems to really improve performance...not sure exactly how it all works but inverted and vertical up flight is much easier now that I changed it out. Also tried the gws 1180 and even the prop that came on the slo-v among a couple more that I can't recall. Either way everyone should appreciate the newbies; as more and more people enter any field then the technology will only get better to fill the demand and that makes it better for all around with more innovative products.

flyingace451

NEWS FLASH: Pate I am not one of those people who blames stuff on the aircraft. When my dad is mad because I crashed, I just say I should have had more throttle going or I shouldn't have turned to sharply. It is like riding a bike, you fall but you get back up again. I'm going with the Cub.

skaon3

the tail skid of my decatalon is wearing down from takeofs and landing is there any thing i can do other than puting tape on it such as a tail wheel or something more conventional

flyingace451

A tail wheel can work wonders when you ROG. If you can figure out how to install one (I have never done it before) than you could definately land better. Unless you are like me of course and haven't truly gotten the hang of landings yet. [sm=rolleyes.gif]

skaon3

yeah but where would i get a back wheel from

genrcflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Dubro makes a tail wheel that installs quiote easily on these electrics. I bought the 3 ch Cessna from Sheng Teng last Christmas. It seems to be quite underpowered as the comments on the Decathlon suggest. I took the front gear out and moved the main gear forward, mounting in on a piece of plywood epoxied into the underside of the fuselage and added the Dubro tail wheel. It looks like a 180 Cessna now and flies a lot better with a GWS 10-4/7 prop. Think the 10-8 prop would be better as someone has suggested. I also replaced the wheels on the main gear with 1 7/8" foam wheels.

bhpd1438

i've had both and i like them both very much. the decathlon is does not climb as fast, and it is a bit slower than the cub......i think this is because it's a heavier airplane with the same power supply as the cub.....so do the math and it won't fly as fast. but i like them both for the price. if you have the money, get one of each!!!!!

mtncopz

Im new to RC and just purchased the Cub. It flys well and was easy to control. I live at 5000ft elev. and the Cub climbs nice. power is ok. Im a new Rc pilot and cant compare to anything else. I have smacked it in a few times, but it was due to a faulty nut on the controls
( me ) I think you would like the cub, I love mine.

Can anyone advise me about mods I can do - Props, Tail wheels.

area51south

I am flying it with a 10x8 prop on it now and it makes a world of difference. Will climb straight vertical now(stock motor) for a bit and will loop as many times as you like. Inverted flight is also much easier too. Only thing I have noticed is that the motor will get too hot if you run more than a couple batteries through it so I usually let it rest while I fly something else and give it time to cool down a bit before going at it again. I also have another that I tried the motor upgrade in; my advice is to try the new prop first as its a good 2$ hop-up.

thebackroads

How well do either of these fly in slightly windy conditions? Where I live it seems the wind is constantly 5 to 10 mph, so I'm looking for something simple but still with enough stability to handle 10 mph breezes without getting blown into the next valley.

I've been flying a Firebird Commander every chance I get but it's fairly susceptible to being tossed about.

area51south

If you can fly the commander just fine in 5-10mph winds then you shouldn't have any trouble with the Cub(the larger propeller makes a big difference too). I find that its not much fun to fly in anything more than 10mph wind but does just fine in anything less that for me. In anything more than 10mph but less than 20mph I usually go with the Xtreme, its much larger and heavier and handles wind well.

ryanf420

So, I have the decathlon w/ the venom motor upgrade and absolutly love it....Does the cub airplane w/ venom upgrade perform just as well or better than the decathlon...is this what people are posting?...because the design of the decathlon(stabalizer at most)should give the decathlon better aerobatics and performance..?

But, I havn't flown the cub so thats why I do not know...I might have to buy one if this is the case!!!!

I still love my decathlon though..great scale apperance in flight and control

Johmama

Pate never Insulted the JC-3 Cubs fly pretty good actually