Fort Knox

So here I sit with an upcoming birthday and a hankering for an RC plane. I know that I want an electric "Park Flyer" because they are easy and ready to go out of the box. I am new to flying these things, no time on the stick as they say. I have been reading up on brands and planes. I am going to buy the ParkZone J-3 Cub or the soon to be released HobbyZone Super Cub. What I want to know is which one is a better airplane. I am not worried about the J-3 being "intermediate" I have a good teacher and have flown a real airplane a couple times and will read up on the science of RC flying before taking to the sky.

The soon to be released Super Cub has some cooler features, like the "X-Port" hookup, and the big 480 motor. From what I hear the J-3 Cub is a little underpowered. The Super Cub also has a foot longer wingspan which I imagine makes it more stable.

I am really excited about getting into this hobby, but I need ya'lls expert advice to figure out what plane is best for me. I really like the Cub/Super Cub look and I am decided on that style.

I am a bit of a tinkerer too and I like the idea of having a souped up J-3.

Basically I need some direction.

Thanks a bunch,

Kyle

Fort Knox

Come on, please help me! I wanna buy a plane but I really want to get the right one. I know someone knows the answer to this! Thanks.

Kyle

gunracer

if the supercub was around when i bought my pz cub, i would have taken the supercub...from the video, it looks like the 480 motor has more than enough power for the plane...it also comes with the steerable tailwheel, anti-crash tech and x-port...being bigger, heavier and slightly, it should be able to tolerate a little more wind than the pz cub...i say get it...but before you fly it, make sure you get hooked up with an experienced rc pilot to help you set it up...also spend as much time as you can on a sim...good luck and let us know what you think of the model if you decide to get it...

Leo L

If you have narrowed your selection to the PZ J3Cub vs. the HZ Super Cub, then the decission should be a no-brainer: Super Cub. The J3 is a nice intermediate plane but it needs some simple modifications to make it a truly good flying, enjoyable plane. From the advertisements for the SuperCub, it sounds like Horizon Hobby listened to their customers, because the SuperCub seems to address many of the faults of the J3. Its a little difficult to know exactly how good the plane will be since it has not been released yet, but I know that all of the HZ/PZ fans are hoping that it will not be a repeat of the Firebird Freedom. The Freedom was advertised as a great beginner's plane and it is not! The ACT is a terrible feature, which makes the plane more difficult to control, rather than easier. If you go for the SuperCub, don't use the ACT! (You can read plenty of threads here, on RCGroups, ********* and Radio Control Zone that list how much trouble ACT has been.)

The SuperCub is slated to be repeased in July. If you can sit back and wait until then, you are a better person than I am. If you get antsy meanwhile, go to Toys-R-Us, Target, etc. and get yourself and AirHogs AeroAce (no substitutions). Its a small, easy to fly plane that will give you lots of fun times and will teach you some very important lessons: NO WIND; stay away from trees, control reversal (when the plane is flying toward you, you need to move the control stick in the opposite direction of what your instincts call for). Also, download the free simulator and practice flying on your computer.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

x030399

Kyle, see my input under the main PZ Cub thread.

Fort Knox

Thanks for the input guys and gals. It is much appreciated.

Kyle

Fort Knox

I checked out the PZ CUb in person today at my LHS. It seems like a nice enough plane. The wing struts look kind of flimsy? But I like the overall look and style of the plane. This and the fact that the Super Cub is not gonna get released until the end of July makes me want the PZ Cub a lot more. I hate having to decide I am not very good at it, very indecisive. The LHS had a ton of parts for the PZ Cub and he knew a lot about it. I think that I might just buy that one so I don't have to wait. My ultimate goal is to get into gas but I think that I am gonna own a few electrics and get my flying figured out first. I think that the next step after the Cub is going to be the PZ FW-190. Anyways, keep up that chatter.

Kyle

brrzee

Does anyone know where you can see a video of the supercub? Anyways, I have PZ cub and it is great little plane to pick up a go with down to the local soccer field/park and have a good fly. The only down fall is it does not like any sort of wind, I have flown in a bit of wind and it bounces around like a jet would in a tornado (maybe not that extreme) but it does make the flight less than enjoyable. The Super Cub has a 480 which will be more than enough for a beginner airplane and help it handle a bit of wind hopefully. The PZ has a 370 motor and it can cruise along pretty good at full/half throttle in perfect conditions and I must say, alot of people that seen me fly this plane at our clubs fun fly last weekend were more than impressed...but once again it was pretty much dead calm when I flew it.

Hopefully the super cub turns out to be a great plane, it sure sounds like it is going to be one. I might add one to the collection myself if things go well with it.

bookboy22

The HZ Super Cub is going to be my next purchase. Do you have any idea what kind of floats to use. The SC length is 32.5 so *.75 and you get 24.4, so I guess I should be looking at 25 size floats. The support guys at HH said that the EFLA500 would be good match. Has anyone setup the SC with floats yet?

Thanks

Capt. Yossarian

I'm still just trying to build the GWS floats I got for my SC, obviously I'm no builder and you can imagine the trouble I'm having building my Lancair! I was told the size 25 floats as well and they look to be exactly the right size.

SC all the way over the J3 if you can wait Knox. I've flown the SC many times but have only seen videos of the J3. I decided no on the j3 after watching PZ's video of it. Just too small. PZ should have done their video without wind, it would have looked more favorable I think. You can see vid's of both planes now to get an idea of how they fly.

FlynAk

Hi all,
New to everything RC. Bought an Aero Hog jet last week, was bored after two days. I have been lurking on this site trying to get some insight as to a "first plane" purchase. Picked up the HZ SC two days ago and I'm hooked. Flies like a dream, takes some abuse, easily loops, climbs like mad, what more can I say. I love it. What to get as a second plane???????????

Leo L

If you want to stay with RTF, a good next step would be the Stryker.

parkflier

There is almost no comparision between the two. I bought the PZ J-3 a few months ago since the SC was not yet available. As many have already stated on the PZ J-3 thread, it is a bear to get flying since it is underpowered. My results were the same as theirs with probably more crashes than successful flights.

However, I recently bought the HZ SC and I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it flys like a dream. Way to go Hobby Zone!

parkflier

maiden-crash

Fort Knox, gas planes arent a step up, their just a different method of power. You can have large planes and still keep them electric and with a good setup they even perform better. Check out the hobby lobby glow to electric converted planes. Leo L is right, the stryker should be your next step up. The fw190 is to fragile for a second plane.