Dangaras

Lipo batteries CAN NOT be discharged below 3.3 V per cell or you will damage them. Most ESCs of any quality have a low voltage cutoff that is set between 3.3 V & 3.6V per cell. This makes sure your motor is shut off but your electronics have power for a deadstick landing.

Never allow a Lipo battey to sit fully charged if not being used, You need to discharge it to 3.8V per cell better know an the "storage" charge. Most better chargers like the Turnigy Accucel 6 have this as an option to save your battteries.

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

Reverse any two of the wires leading from motor to esc and you will change prop direction. Another 'counter intuitive', but harmless and foolproof (thank God).

jo P.S. See that other guy's post about minimum lipo drawdown per cell, and maximum storage charge.

fasterthanyours

Figure thanks. I reversed the Throttle on the TX the motor went WOT and the prop flew off. Scared the heck out of my wife and I got "You think that's a good idea to be doing that right now?" Me: If I knew it was going to do that do you really think I was going to do it? Shut up!

Scared me too lol The prop flew off because I didn't have it tightened down.

One more question, is there any reason why a Servo would move further 1 direction than another even when not under load? I've also set all of the settings in the TX back to default. I've tried a different servo on the same channel. Its the Elevator, I've got more down ELEV than up. I thought that was weird.

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

Cowabunga!

(Rule 1 of modeling: Do NOTHING with moving parts in the presence of wife or child UNLESS you KNOW and have PROVEN it's going to be OK - still, pray ahead of time)

But did you reverse the MOTOR WIRES to ESC to reverse your prop direction?

Re the servo. That's not really right. Should be equal. Is your elevator trim set to '0' on your transmitter? If so, take another look at the servo. Is the servo arm at 90 degrees to the servo?. If not, carefully loosen the screw, pull off the arm (not always necessary to detach the control rod), and reposition it as close to 90 degrees as possible, re install screw and check operation.

If the servo is good, the above will work. If the above fails, you need another servo. Hope that's helpful, especially 'rule 1'!

jo

fasterthanyours

Yeah she sure doesn't care about me wanting to tinker around.

I haven't had a chance to do the wires yet, probably tomorrow.

Of the 3, what do I need to swap around, Red, Black, Yellow?

I didn't think that servo should be that way. I'll look into it more.

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

Color of wires, which two of the 3, none of that matters. Doesn't sound right, but that's the way it is.

Good luck, good flying, no more domestic model airplane faux pas,

jo

fasterthanyours

Jo,

aaaaah  Ok I'll do it tonight I hope.  Been trying to finish up papers and final exams for school.  Hard stuff..

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

I wanted to thank you for posting those battery levels. What I do with a new set up, is fly conservatively for like 4 minutes, test the batt levels. Fly for 6-7, test levels, etc., incrementally testing for how much the kind of flying I'm doing and length of flying I'm doing is drawing down the battery.

I didn't explain that in the other post, as I was looking to 'work up' to it. So, my rule of thumb for the set up shared was one that I had tested out and found it to be no more than a draw down to 3.98 V or so per cell.

Now, maybe you can help me with what seems to be a complete 'disconnect': Today, for instance, I flew 2 full power takeoffs on pontoons, flew at 40% throttle or so most the time for about 9-1/2 minutes. Checking the battery with the watt meter showed 3.92 V per cell, but also said 66%. I was looking at the V per cell, but wasn't computing even in my head as an estimate what 66% would mean in the number of volts. I just knew that 50% was as far as it could go and was risky to boot. But 3 x 3.92= 11.76. when theoretically the battery started out at 11.1 according to the label. This is a 'two meter' watt meter from HeadsUpRc that I'm using.

Enlightenment on this is gratefully awaited!

jo

P.S. (2 days later) I found out that the 'two-meter' watt/volt/balancer meter bases that percentage off the amount of power left in the batt ABOVE 3.6 volts per cell. So I will continue to monitor as I increase flight times, looking to fly no lower than the meter's reading of 10% to give me a 'cushion' between landing and LCV. Should end up with 20 minutes of flight time quite easily, which is very satisfactory. The challenge, I think, will come when I get comfortable and start to do some acro, which will take more power per time increment. Right now, with floats, no problem. I'll report back with practical findings.

GTX SlotCar

Hey guys... yup, I'm still around and watch this thread even though I'm not posting too much.
Monday was my birthday (60) and the plane I ordered from Tower to honor the occasion came in right on time.
It's a Flyzone Super Cub. Some nice features, some not, but overall a nice plane. It does have BL, ailerons, working suspension and clear glass with a dashboard. I may take the wheel pants off and put on larger wheels, but so far it's taking off from the field OK. It looks enough like a J3 that I may put some spare (from my Exceed J-3) fake motors on the sides.
Here are some pics and a video. The pics were shot right after I assembled it. I've done some detail painting since then.


Gary

Sinai

gtx thats a great looking plane' great landings too: nice and smooth. What a beautiful morning to fly. Is that an airplane hangar in the background? Have you bought that many RC planes for your birthday??! Happy Birthday BTW!!!!!!!

thanks to others here for the post on storage of Lipos and the other posts lately. It's informative. I've been storing mine at full charge and won't do that any more. I'll bring them down to 3.8Vtonite.

Well wish me luck everybody. It's gusty out there but if I don't fly this afternoon it might rain this weekend.
I'm meeting a flyin buddy with a supercub and will probably end up trying to fly in the wind. If it's too bad I'll just fly the kite instead. lol Will post pics and Vids soon...

edit: The kite is an excellent supplement to the Hobbyzone Supercub -in certain cases of extreme wind that is!!! We decided to live to fly another day and kept the birds on the ground with a kite in the air. Darn Weather!!!!

guapoman2000

That Video that GTX posted is for the FlyZone J3, I have been following that model's introduction and my buddy and I decided it is nothing like the Hobby Zone Super Cub.

Congrats GTX on your new purchase and addition to your fleet but, I really did not see the model's slow flying characteristics as the Video image was pretty far and jittery.

My conclusion, even though the Super Cub does not have all that scale details, it certainly has very good Lift with the thicker airfoil and slow flight qualities are just super and the best that I have seen for a park flyer.

Nope, I am keeping both of my Super Cubs and my buddy has two wings on his, the regular wing and a Clip Wing with ailerons which makes the Super Cub very flexible for any RC Flyer's requirements.

GO HOBBY ZONE SUPER CUB!!!

Carlos[8D]

milehighjc

jc

GTX SlotCar

This is the FlyZone Super Cub, not the older J-3 Cub.
I don't think this is a beginner's plane. It doesn't fly itself like the Hobbyzone Super Cub or Mini Super Cub. I have a mixture of beginner and advanced planes. The beginner planes are nice and I certainly still fly them a lot, including my HZ SC, but it's fun to fly something a little more challenging once in a while. I don't think less of a plane just because it isn't a good beginner's plane, but I may be a minority here as I see a lot of reviews and comments that would have me believe that if a plane isn't suited for a beginner, then it's not worth flying.
The FlyZone SC will, for example, crab in the wind if you don't use the rudder. It's quite realistic when compared to the real planes I've flown (both of them ). It generally flies faster than the HZ SC, but with the right setup and trim, you can get it to fly slow.

I'm not trying to sell Flyzone planes here. Although it's scale, they could have done a better job with the finish. On the other hand, it's brushless, has ailerons, a steerable tail wheel and the landing gear has a working suspension like the real Cubs. I bought mine from Tower for $125, and that included shipping and 2 2S, 200mAh LiPos that I needed for another plane (price would have been the same whether I bought the LiPo's or not). In other words, it's pretty cheap. It's not as easy to fly as the HZ SC we all love, but it's certainly as much fun to fly.
It may not be as tough as the HZ SC, but it's still pretty tough.

milehighjc

Thanks for the reply! I didnt mean to imply it wasnt a good plane if it wasnt for beginners... I dont consider myself a beginner anymore thankfully. I learned on the HZ SC, and still think is a great plane. The many accessories/upgrades keep it interesting, and furthermore I sometimes just really like a relaxing tour of the field. The HZ SC has been a gateway plane for me tho... I now have a PZ T-28 that I wring out pretty hard for aerobatics, and I picked up the new PZ Stinson SR-10 about a month ago. That has let me experiment with flaps, and a faster more scale high wing.

After what I saw with the older J-3, I wouldnt have touched that plane. But this sounds like a much better option. Like hearing that it has a steerable tail wheel too (the old one did not). The price is certainly attractive, not much more than a nice UM plane. Might be one to add to the hangar. What is the RX - is it 2.4 (for my use, read that can I bind it to my DX6i?)

Nice of the tree to reach out... Hate when that happens.
Thanks...
jc

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, I had the J3. It was a complete, utter failure for me. Could not get it to fly here at 7000 feet. Underpowered, heavy, clunky. Nice dummy cylinders, though. That's why this dummy bought it.

Was going to re power, etc., but read what a devil of a time folks had with it even converted to BL. Hence, Mini Cub, Radian, SC. It serves well as a 3D prop hanging from the ceiling by a large painting I did of my first of 3 jumps out of an old Yellow Howard back in the 70's.

GTX SlotCar

I hadn't hit a tree in what seems like forever. Last Spring I read a post from a pilot who crashed into trees often, and I made a joke to my son about how this guy should learn to avoid them (after all, they are big enough to see) and how I would never do anything that stupid.
A week later I misjudged a turn and stuck my ST Model Fox into a tree. I was lining up for the perfect landing. Pulling the Fox out of the tree did some damage and I needed a new wing and a couple small parts. Since then I've had several more close calls, and then this one you see in the video. At least it didn't get stuck there. Yes, I thought I was well clear of that branch. I thought Karma was done toying with me, but I guess not. [] My depth perception just isn't what it used to be.

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

I hear that, bro'. Went out a couple hours ago with the wife to nice acre sized pond by the river in the canyon with the idea that I MIGHT fly the new iteration of the SC on floats and get some good pics. (new paint, blue lightning bolt, aluminum painted floats with gorilla tape on top to simulate ant skid material, bear Piper logo on the tail I made by cutting it off a box, peeling the paper off, cutting all around, pasting on with clear 3M, sprayed with matte clear - looks great).

The pond I fly off usually near the house is tiny compared to that, but no trees (stock pond). This one had very tall Cottonwoods on 2 sides, some smaller other varietes on the other two. I looked at it for a long time and imagined the depth perception problems. Plenty of room to do it, but how much would I actually use? Too tight and I'm begging to stall, inches to loose, crash. Go to 100+feet, sure, but gotta' come down sometime, turning, lower, in reach of the long arms of those Ents.

I also realilzed, it's not so much depth perception, it's that we are looking intently at the model most the time in order to control it as perfectly as we can. That, I think is the problem. If I focused on the tree in front of the plane, while observing the plane with my 'peripheral' vision, I'd probably do fine. If you were in the plane, that's the way you'd fly it, looking where you want to go, not at the turn and bank indicator, or whatever.

So don't beat yourself up, your depth perception is probably better than you are giving yourself credit for.

jo P.S. I dithered and dithered about it, but discretion won out. I chose not to fly.

fasterthanyours

Jo,

I have that same problem.  Depth perception gets me almost every time.  I notice that sometimes even experienced pilots have this issue as well.

Here you go if you want to fly high for $250 bucks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDVpYsK9kww&feature=player_embedded

jaksno

My Feedback: (1)

Hey, Faster'~

Dude, I'm on #2! Although she's still up in the rafters waiting for a new set of 'clothes'. My SC uses my first one's Ar500 Rx and Dx5e Tx. I love my Radian(s).

Check out my photo album on FB, and also do go to my website: http://www.crackzapit.com. (see under, "modelers need crackzapit!) Let me know what you think.

Also, you can get A BNF Radian for way cheap if you've already got some gear. They have a new 'Pro' model with flaps, ailerons, etc., but the only thing I want to do is put Graupner spoilers on it (back ordered since Mar 29 - might have to make my own).

jo

Ttam Says Blarg

So my battery has taken a poop. Anyone know of a good replacement with deans? Preferably nihm. If not Ill just buy the stock one from my hobby shop.

fasterthanyours

You have the older version of the SC? If so I've seen where people converted there's to Lipo.

Either way I order my last lipo from www.hobbypartz.com and it was great. Had to put on my own Deans connectors, but no big deal.

Sinai

Have any of you used the x-port lately?
I had a great time with my Supercub yesterday. That aerialdrop module is the funnest coolest thing to fly with!! Get yours for under 20 bucks and you can drop everything from parachutes to dog poop! As formy drop module, it sureis worth it to have on hand!!

Speaking of poop, Ttam Says Blarg,
sorry your stock battery's taken a poop!Are you at all open to soldering your deans on to another stock8-cell? I did it that way, and I have so many great times with an 8-cell NiMh battery in the Super Cub. It's weight and power were great for the flight fun i was after. It took me a long time to switch over to theLiPo batteries I use now, and there's a lot of fun to be had with NiMh 8-cells

Yesterday I had a crowd watching, so I put the American Flag in tow and the drop module was strong enough to pull it with ease. Then I dropped it, andran out to catch ol' glory before she touched the ground.

I then landedmySC and loaded up with a 39 cent parachute guy from the LHS: way, way way up for rendevous with somebirds near the low clouds.Idropped the parachute, and the air was so dense and still. The 'chute hung in the warm air over the park forever!!! I kept my eyes on the cub, while the parents looked onto their kids chasing and clamoring over eachother to get that elusive prize! It was great fun for the spectators.The poor kid ate it big time over some bleachers at the baseball field across from us, while "beating" the others to the 'chute.

With a drop module, my landings aren't as flared (last-minute nose-up)with that extra weight in the front section. So, for me the drop module is mounted with the "Cage" facing rearward. This is helpful also, when landing in grass; if your "cargo-cage" is forward, the grass can grab it on landings and demolish it. It looks like Iblew my nose all over it (glued back together with hot glue), but my drop module gets the job done.

fasterthanyours

I've seen some where online where some turned the compartment in the rear into a drop box with a spare servo.  He dropped like 300 pop its

FirebirdCdr2

I've seen a video like that too. I cant remember the name of it though.

Glenstr

Well, finally worked up the nerve to fly my cub from my yard. Surrounded by tall trees, aspen forest on one side and lake on the other. Thought Icould bring her in low over the house nice &slow, or even on the road nice &slow. What I didn't count on was the motor sticking on WOT about 3-4 minutes into the flight. With visions of it landing far out into the lake or in some distant treetop where it would sit until the next storm, I managed to stay calm enough and keep circling until the motor started to overheat and slow down on its own, brining her in for a rough touchdown but at least on terra firma.

Not sure why the motor did that, I had just put it in, and I got it from a guy whose SC is a non-lipo model, would that do it? Also, Inotice it has a tendency to cut out now &then, as well as not respond, bad esc/speed controller perhaps? I am seriously thinking of getting a better radio and replacing the esc, servos etc.

Anyway, here is the vid, brand new thumb cam, this one it seems does not shoot as wide angle as the others I have bought, closer to the keyfob cam. Despite the crash landing etc. I was mildly pleased with the vid.

www.youtube.com/watch