gibsonfan55

Hi, I purchased a new J-3 Cub a few years ago, It was my first plane, first flight, and I crashed, The only external damage it did was it chipped a few spots on the wings, but I put some light tape over the cracks and should be fine.

I got the plane back out of storage recently, charged the battery pack, and put it in the plane to try to fly the Cub again, and the battery pack seemed to die within 30 seconds, Is this typical of a battery pack to not hold its charge after a few years of no use? or is there any other reason it is not working? I am not getting full power to the plane as it would not even take off now.

I am not sure what to do! Any help is greatly appreciated, I would hate to see this plane get junked after spending 100+ dollars on it!

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

You can try to revive it by cycling it a few times. discharge and charge about 3 or 4 times and see if that works.
If you left it there long enough and the cells dropped V too low then it could be dead.

gibsonfan55

Ok I will try this, do you know how I can get a new battery pack if it still does not work properly? cheapest possible.

Thanks for the help!

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Sure, either get one from your local hobby shop or just search for the battery online. Ebay would be a good place as well.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

The battery is bad, and they are like $7 shipped off the bay...I got mine the other day (J-3 Cub) and flew it this morning, flew great, it did take a few times of trying to bind the thing, but it was too windy so I chopped the throttle too low and it went in face first, prop is fine , but its pushed something back to where the gearbox disengages with the motor...I cant see anything wrong other than when you hit the juice the whole shaft moves forward, hard to tell if it is binding up because I didnt check it before I ran it, although it does feel difficult to move ,well, more than I think it should, it was flying great too, just too much wind so it wasnt real fun....what do I need to replace...the whole motor gearbox/ shaft, what?...Rog

gibsonfan55

I tried cycling the battery, it still seems not the full power, and does not last long. I am probably going to have to buy a new battery and see if that is the problem.

Also, Could anyone take a picture of the front of the plane from level view showing the propeller and where it goes into the plastic nose? I was curious to see if it's the same position as mine, I am not sure if when it crashed if the angle changed as to maybe it is pointing down.

If the battery is not the problem, do you think it could be anything else? like I said.. im new at this and have no clue how to fix anything if it did break.

Thanks!

hugger-4641

My Feedback: (6)

Could be the charger is not charging them fully, but most likely your battery is junk. Get a new one, or three! Hobbycity.com is the best place I've found for them.

As far as the prop, they are supposed to be angled slightly down and to the right (viewed as if sitting in the plane or behind it). However, one of the first things to weaken from a crash with these planes is the firewall. There is a lot of flexibility in positioning the cowl, so its hard to judge just by looking at the cowl.

Pull the cowl off and see if the firewall looks wrinkled or dented in around the edges. If it is, pull it back out flush and apply some heavy duty packing tape and then a hair dryer or heat gun applied carefully will stiffen the tape. Then you can replace the cowl and position it so the prop clears it properly.

My camera is down right now, but there is a picture on the second page of my gallery that will give you an idea what the down angle should look like. Be sure to click on it so as to "full size it" for clearer viewing.

gibsonfan55

ok thank you very much , I will start with a new battery (or 3) haha, and then I will get back to you on if that works or not.

Thanks for the quick reply, and your help is greatly appreciated, especially coming from someone who hasn't the clue on r/c planes lol.

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

My son broke the prop shaft for the second time, I'm going to change out the propshaft/motormount I think I'm going to order the stock Sukhoi xp. I haven't heard of any of those motors wearing out like the P-51. I have the Sukhoi xp and my motor is fine after about 50 flight, showing no signs of wear.