Howdy All !

First Post Anywhere RE: R/C Air. Bear with me as I intoduce myself. I am an 'older'
gentleman (57 but who's counting ? lol) that built and flew freeflight, U-control, single, two and 3 channel airplanes for the biggest part of life; off-n-on. Built several for my kids and me - the last a motor glo powered Goldberg Glider (3 ch) about 10 yrs ago.

As kids got older with other interests, and went to H.S. and college, expenses kept me from pusuing this interest - other than reading about it and day-dreaming. Now that one has completed schooling, one near finished with college, and the youngest half way through university the wife said "just buy one !' so I did, settling on the J-3 Electric Cub from ParkZone. ( I don't have a lot of time to build, and much of my equipment would need replacing )

Out of the box, the rudder would not zero at neutral trim (slight left) although nearly full right trim would correct. The instruction manual (not as complete as it should be, IMO) says it would still be ok to fly in this condition, but my instincts said "no way" so I adjusted the clevis at the rudder horn until satisfied.

I live well out in the country (and have most of my adult life) so I learned literally seat-of-the pants the hard way to fly. Only much later as an adult did I join AMA (off and on a couple times) but time/distance kept me from participating in local clubs. I am self-taught; but I don't necessarily recommend that approach to R/C or even U-Control Flight - READILY recommend seeking assistance if it is available.

First Flights last Sunday (Jul 24), wind very light with occassional light gusts; not calm but nearly so. She took to the air as if born for it and tracked straight away from a hand-launch with a noticeable sustained climb at full power (not really a shallow climb, but not alarming either). Thank the Lord above I remembered one of the first 'Rules'
Get Up ! (altitude). I was most pleased with myself as I gently turned her to the right, leveled and chopped throttle to about 1/2 as she was quicker than I really wanted her to be (wanted SLO for my first time back in over a decade !). As I input my second turn to the right (at this slower speed) the response was markedly slower and I was guilty of over-controlling resulting in a near wing-over losing 40-50 feet even with the Mode 1 coupling (slight up elevator coupled to rudder input) active. NOTE to Self and Others:
This plane does not self correct as a trainer or sailplane would ! Some input is going to be required ! Worse, as the Cub was now comming back parrellel to me, in my panic
I momentarily lost correct orientation giving reverse (improper) input than as desired - I luckily recovered a mere 15 - 20 foot above the ground !!

Gaining altitude and easing the throttle back up to about 2/3 I let her go out some before turning again. Whew ! Man-o-Man am I RUSTY !! I wallowed around for 5 or 6 minutes making lazy BIG turns while my heart rate returned to a more normal setting.
The manual says to bring her in nice 'n level chopping throttle at about 10 feet, thence holding slight up elevator. Did so once only ! The landing thus attained is still quite rough - hard actually. Knocked off my battery cover and spinner, and popped off two rubber bands. Very minor (no damage really, other than a small nose scuff) but distressing.

Having also purchased a second battery pack, I readied the little Cub for another flight
(and feeling more humble) while the first pack re-charged. This time I took my time getting more acquainted with control and kept throttle at 2/3 after climb-out, except for landing. No stunts attempted, just lazy turns, gentle climbs and dives. For landing I started well out and eased her down at 1/2 throttle following base turn. At about 10 feet I cut throttle to about 1/3 and thence slowly eased off. When the cub was about 5 feet and nearly in front me I then cut throttle, and input up elevator at about 2 foot. Almost too much flare, but the landing was not nearly as rough.

Made four more flights practicing control and slo flight at 1/2 and 2/3 throttle except landing as above. Landings much better now !! Getting the hang of that final flare.

This morning under light wind took her out for two more lazy flights. More confident in my control inputs but still have her in Mode 1. Took her up a third time and this time (wild hair, I guess) I tried a loop at full throttle. Nearly lost her on top (stalling) but recovered without a scare this time. Going around twice I tried again, this time entering from a shallow but real dive. Wasn't pretty but she did it ! And that's when I decided I JUST HAD TO WRITE THIS POST !

Am I pleased with this little Cub ? Yes ! Is she gentle ? Yes ! Is she a trainer ? NO.
Is this Cub suitable for a begginner ? Sorry ParkZone, but if no previous 2 ch experience or better, you need to seek some assistance. Will she take a lot of time to learn ? No. Can she get you in trouble if not paying attention ? Yes.

Overall Value per $$ B+. Overall Fun A. Major shortcommings: 1. Manual could do better. 2. Rechargeable Trans Batteries would add little to overall cost and would be worth it.