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Super New

Old 07-16-2007, 08:11 PM
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Sicarius
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Default Super New

Hey everybody,

You know - I really did want to just post in the old and giant ParkZone J3 Cub Park Flyer thread, but I wanted to be special. I wanted to devote an entire thread to me and my own adventures. Maybe this way more people will notice me and ridicule me and all my unfortunate mishaps!

So, just a little introduction, my name is Greg and I'm 19 years old. Only in the past year or so have I shown interest in RC planes and I am trying to start a little trend hopefully. For my 19th birthday I got my first RC Plane, a PZ J3-Cub Park Flyer. After reading a lot of threads I have come to the conclusion that many people have crashed it numerous times and it is not the greatest starter plane for most RC Pilots - oh well.

Continuing on - I guess I will hook your interest with a little bit of a funny story. As ecstatic as I was to get my plane, I assembled it right away and fired up the engine. Ooo - I was surprised at how much wind that little propeller produced. I took it out into my cottage yard, which was surrounded with trees as I just couldn't wait for an open field. Engine FULL, Joystick down - Throw..uhh,, sub par. The plane released from my hand and had less airtime than the WRIGHT BROTHERS. It crashed quicker than well...Let's just say it didn't even fly. The propeller snapped into two pieces and well - I was sad. Since then (two weeks later), I have had little time to fly it and when I do I am scared that something worse is going to happen. I'm waiting for my confidence level to rise a bit more.

Anyway, I'm thinking about taking it out tomorrow and I just want a few tips I guess from any experienced flyers. I figure that rather than getting a trainer, I'd ask around on the internet first and see if people can give me quick hints.

I have accepted that this Piper will definetly crash, it's part of flying, but I do want maybe a couple of hints from you guys to you know, decrease the chances of a hard impact.


------

First question: When it crashed at the cottage, should I have thrown it harder, I pretty much just you know gave it a little shove into the air? How hard should I chuck this thing *kisses bicep*?
Second Question: If I do cave in and accept defeat with this and look for a trainer - where would be the best place to find one in the Toronto, Ontario area? Should I ask the dude @ the Plane shop

-------

Thanks for your time. I would take pretty pictures, but you all know what the plane looks like I bet.
Old 07-16-2007, 09:20 PM
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EmmEff
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Default RE: Super New

Hi...

First off, read the instructions! They will tell you how to launch your plane.

I am not familiar with that model, but I do have a HZ SuperCub and here's what I do when I hand launch- full throttle on a fresh battery, trimmed slightly for up elevator. I give it a firm but not excessively hard toss. If I toss the plane level, it will stay in the air and gradually climb. Do not give it full up elevator from the hand launch until you're familiar with the plane's characteristics. Depending on the plane, it'll probably stall out and you'll be on the ground before you know it.

I suspect when you flew it last, you gave it too much up elevator.

I bought my HZ SuperCub at A&J Hobby which is at Main Street & Kennedy Road in Markham (behind Markville Ford) but I doubt you need to get a new plane. You should be able to fly what you've got with a little persistence.
Old 07-16-2007, 10:39 PM
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Sicarius
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Default RE: Super New

What? Does that store still exist - that's walking distance from my house? Wow, didn't know that was there...I will definitely have to check that out, thanks for the tip. The instructions were somewhat 'limited' and I found reading internet pointers were a bit more helpful but I guess you can only really learn by doing (well, that seems to be the case for me)
Old 07-17-2007, 02:28 AM
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Default RE: Super New

EmmeEFF, do you mean down elevator as in pulling the stick or trim back? Down elevator will make the plane dive, giving it up, meaning pulling the stick back with the surface defelcting upwards will make it climb.
Old 07-17-2007, 07:21 AM
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EmmEff
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Default RE: Super New

maiden-crash, yes, that's what I meant... I corrected it to say "up elevator" instead of "down elevator". Thanks.
Old 07-17-2007, 11:00 AM
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Leo L
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Default RE: Super New

The ParkZone J3Cub is clearly identified by the manufacturer as being for intermediate flyers, it is not intended for beginners. If at all possible, set it aside and get the HobbyZone SuperCub. The J3 has some traits that make it less than ideal for flying. The SuperCub corrects all of those traits, and gives better performance.

If you are determined to learn with the J3, do the following modifications: 1) change the prop to the High Pitch Prop. This will greatly improve the take-offs; 2) add a tail wheel. DuBro makes a nice steerable one, or get the non-steerable replacement wheel for the Aerobird Challenger and attach it to the front of the tail skid. The tail wheel is a must to control the plane's tendency to do ground circles when attempting to take-off; 3) Change the wheels to larger ones, preferably 2" diameter. Again, th8is will decrease the tendency to ground-loop and prevents the prop from striking the ground on take-offs and landings. 4) fill the nose of the plane, between the firewall and the battery box, with expanding foam. Remove the motor wires and insert a large straw (like McDonald's) through the firewall and past the battery box. After the foam has set, trim the straw as needed to allow a path for the wires.

Go to RCGroups - electric flying beginner forums and look up the sticky from AEAJR about tips for beginner flyers: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=355208
Old 07-17-2007, 11:16 AM
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Default RE: Super New

It's easy to spend other people's money and recommend buying another plane (yes, I've been guilty of doing this in the past as well).

Sicarius, you might want to ask at A&J Hobbies or other local hobby store for somebody at a local field that may be able to train you on your current plane, instead of spending almost another $200 on a SuperCub. I believe the Markham club has a field on McCowan north of Major Mack (but this is unconfirmed).

This is one of those instances where it pays to do a little research before diving in. I made the same mistake in buying a trainer that really wasn't a good trainer. My SuperCub is my second plane as well...
Old 07-17-2007, 12:32 PM
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Sicarius
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Default RE: Super New

So, I went out to fly it. Unfortunately the wind picked up a bit though and I was to anxious so I did it anyway!.

The broken propeller that I glued back together snapped immediately when I was just playing around with it on a baseball field, so i quickly ran back to my car and got the other one, put it on and went back out. Now the wind was even more windy - I'm a fool.

I threw it, this time it didn't hit the ground immediately, it went up into the air. HUZZAH! The park I was in was a bit smaller than I remembered it and I didn't fly it SUPER high as the wind was TEARING the plane up in the air. Boom Crash. Wait, no hard crash. Oh well, nothing broke which was good, even though it fell straight down on the propeller. I tried again and 2 minutes later the wind was scary so i took it down. I'd say my landing on this attempt was a little more of a landing and less of a crash, which was great! Later I crashed into a tree, that was exciting. My final landing i was losing control because of the wind so I cut the engine and just started using it like a glider, I flew it around a tree with no power and then a PERFECT LANDING. I don't mean perfect for a beginner, I mean the plane used it's wheels and slowly came to a stop about 10 meters later. I don't even know how I did it, but I was proud of myself!

I have to say at this point as fun as it was to fly it, I think I just flew in too windy of a condition because the majority of the time I was just fighting the wind. I am also surprised at the durability of the plane, I was honestly expecting it to just break into billions of pieces on that first crash, and the tree crash. I can't wait for this darn wind to calm a bit to get out there again!

I think I Just found super tough conditions for a beginner and surprised at how successful I was. It was also a great spirit booster that I landed my last attempt and I didn't have to really fix anything at all today!

That's it, I'm hooked!
Old 07-17-2007, 12:38 PM
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EmmEff
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Default RE: Super New

I know you're anxious, but stay home when it's windy! My brother-in-law lost his trainer last week when he couldn't control it in the wind.
Old 07-17-2007, 03:58 PM
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Sicarius
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Default RE: Super New

I went to A&J Hobbies, man is there a lot of stuff crowded in there. I looked around for a while, didn't find anything that really fancied as an 'easier than a J3-Cub' flier, so I began talking with a man. He is a member of the Richmond Hill Model Airplane Club and is a trainer too! So double yay for me! I still do want to learn on my own, but if I crash it and get discouraged enough there is always another option available for me now.
Old 07-17-2007, 04:50 PM
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Default RE: Super New

I haven't flown this model but as a new pilot myself I think the basics of all new flying apply to your situation.
1: Never fly in the wind till you really know your plane and your abilities. This will save you a lot of money and frustration.
2:Fly in a large feild without trees or obsticles. The field you think is big enough quickly closes in on you and if your new to fling with a new plane this will cause you some alarm and perhaps a crash.
3: Get some altitude. This gives you some cushion area to correct mistakes. This is Especially true if the wind has picked up. Don't fly lower you will lose that cushion space to recover in. The only thing worse than flying a new plane in the wind is landing one in the wind.

Keep it high enough to be safe and try to face it in the wind as much as possible - Don't let it get behind you or down wind. Wait for a calm moment and bring her down- but don't wait to long. If the wind is blowing you want to have enough power to pull out if you landing approach goes awry.


Good luck and take it slow. Practicing on a sim Like FMS can really help alot too. I practiced for weeks while I was waiting for my plane. When I first got in the air on a really calm day I felt like I had flow hundreds of time before. Better to work out the kinks on the sim then on your nice new model.

Best of luck.
Old 07-17-2007, 08:38 PM
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Default RE: Super New

New flyers - you might be interested in these notes:

http://www.oz********.com/2007/03/le...ers-guide.html

Sicarius, if you don't know how you pulled off the perfect landing then maybe it wasn't you - just good luck perhaps .

Steve's points are really important ones - calm conditions, a field that is big enough that you aren't frantically changing direction every 5 seconds and fly higher, not lower.

Oh, and don't glue props back together [:@][:'(]- sure it can sometimes work, but if often doesn't, and the risk of injury to someone from a flying prop blade is just too high to justify the $3 you save yourself.

Cheers,
Oz.
Old 07-17-2007, 10:51 PM
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Sicarius
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Default RE: Super New

Ahh yes, that legendary propeller broke immediately - one piece went missing and the other one flew at least 25 meters away - it was actually pretty cool.

I think tomorrow I am going to go check out Advanced Hobbies (Hwy 7 & Woodbine), apparently that's where I got the plane, and I will look for rear wheel and other cool features. How difficult/easy is it to hook up a steerable back wheel, I don't plan to attach it immediately until I am confident I can do ground take offs.

As for 'modifications', it is my understanding that modding your plane is all part of the excitement, can someone give me a quick detail about how easy it would be to uhmm, lets say add lights to a plane?
Old 07-18-2007, 12:30 AM
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Default RE: Super New

I would say save your money for more props and maybe a wing later. Definately do the suggested mods. And I think you should be flying during daylight till you know exactly what your plane will do in almost every situation.
Old 07-28-2007, 05:25 PM
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Sicarius
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Default RE: Super New

Hey guys, I'm back again.

Bad news though, I was flying last night (still plenty bright out and absolutely no wind) and well, things went bad PRETTY much. A dog ran by me in the park and flat out distracted me and boom Crash the plane took a pretty hard landing. The propeller was bent ( I bent it back into place, but I think I will need a new one) and the front part of the fuselage (the plastic) broke a bit, I'm also thinking something with the engine went screwy, whether it be the positioning or the rod or something (I will take a picture later).

It was definitely a big killer on my confidence level but I know I gotta keep trying - I guess I will do the flight sim a lot more now. It wasn't even that i wasn't high enough, it's just that by the time I reacted to the plane going down, I panicked and kaboom.

So firstly, I'm wondering could I Just tape the plastic back together with scotch tape or would that not work?

Secondly, if this plane cannot be permanently fixed should I Just invest into a more advanced plan, sign up for a nearby club next year and just learn to work with an aileron type plane off of a trainer? I was talking to a trainer at the hobby shop and he said that you just connect both controllers together and it's kind of a duel control system and that's how people learn.

Anyway, without rambling too much long story short: scotch tape for a front fix & use this plane as an experiment and learn on a more advanced plane from a trainer next year.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's really in the budget for an in between plane where I take a beginner plane and learn from a trainer. This is partially because I am impatient, and partially because I'd be spending more than I want to (especially with me being a teenager and lacking a job + university and that junk)

Anyway,
big bummer!
Old 07-28-2007, 08:07 PM
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Default RE: Super New

Keep your confidence up that was my first plane too. My family not knowing really anything from planes kinda destroyed my plane when i first took it out. I told them to launch it straight and they threw it straight into the ground. For hand launching heres what works for me. I put it on full throttle i keep everything straight no trim nothing just straight control surfaces if you just launch it a little bit pointing up then you will be fine. Then you can control it from there. About landing come into the wind nice and steady then once your about to hit the ground(while keeping motor on low power) pull up almost like a stall and land.

Heres a site for you for replacement parts. They sell stuff cheaper here i dont know why i have ordered from them and they arent a bad company.

http://www.wholesaletrains.com/

Good luck.
Old 07-29-2007, 04:09 PM
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Sicarius
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Default RE: Super New

Wow, thanks for pointing out that site, it's really cheap and great. I've ordered 3 new cowls (hey you never know right) and 5 new propellers (...I will need these!) ...*looks around that site some more*

Thanks again GreenAce!
Old 07-30-2007, 09:17 PM
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Default RE: Super New

Yeah that place is not too bad but if you order like a whole new fuselage watch out for little broken things. So far the only thing i got that had a flaw in it was a broken gear. Oh and what channel is your plane if you've noticed things are cheaper like if you just buy the Rx it cost just as much as a whole fuselage w/electronics which is weird but good for the buyer. Otherwise good luck on your plane. Oh and just so you know the pipercub once you get better at flying it can fly with an extra 3-4 oz on it i just flew with a camera on it that weighed around 3-4 oz you do have to fly on full throttle and be really gentle with climbing and turning. Also for taking off i found that if you put up at half throttle then go from there and control with the rudder you can take off easier if your plane is a little bit tipsy after take off becarefull with turns because you can hit your wings and cartweel=very bad.

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