"Wingsmaker" 1/5 J-3 Cub ARF 1st Impressions
05-12-2012, 04:57 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
"Wingsmaker" 1/5 J-3 Cub ARF 1st Impressions
Originally I was going to get the CP 90" (oddball scale) Cub & had ordered it from KBM, but they called me to imform me that they were out of stock. Since the same plane from Nitroplanes would have been $276 shipped ($30 more) that pretty well shot my budget out of the water. I explored my options & found the Wingsmaker 1/5 scale CUB ARF for $179.99 shipped.
I had it shipped to my LHS to avoid having it sit unattended outside my door when it arrived. I just picked up my 84" 1/5 scale J-3 Cub yesterday.
I must say that I am impressed. Although I will probably strip off the coverin g & re-cover it W/Solartex, the covering job looks nearly flawless
PLUSES:
KILLER PRICE nearly $100 less than the shipped price of the CPM CUB from Nitroplanes.
true 1/5 scale, much easier to find accurate size detail accessories
great covering job
all necessary holes for control horns, etc pre-drilled
simple, clever (non scale) functional suspension sytem on main landing gear (not likely to fail as the CMP bugee LG does)
decent scale looking wheels W/CUB hub caps
good quality engine mount
clear cowl overlay for laying out engine cut out
nice pre-painted fiberglass cowl
extensive decal sheet W/"N" numbers
light wieght
steel pin type hinges pre-intaled
good quality & complete hardware package
MINUSES:
shiny plastic film covering... As nice as the overall quality of this plane is, it deserved a more scale like fabric covering
hinges already glued in.... This will make stripping & recovering a bit tricky, but not impossible
instructiuions sometimes leave out some vital information such as the location of the flying wire anchors on the tail feathers.
This will be on the back burner for a few weeks while I finish up other projects.
Here are the upgrades I plan:
Re-cover the entire plane W/Cub Yellow Solartex
Beef up the cabin struts that support the top wing mount.
Add a Top Notch Kits 1/5 scale Continental dummy engine.
Some sort of scale tailwheel (SIG?)
This will be the pilot in the front seat
I may or may not have this pilot in the back seat as the instructor
Overall, I'm very glad that I opted for this true 1/5 scale Cub over the oddball scale CMP version.
I had it shipped to my LHS to avoid having it sit unattended outside my door when it arrived. I just picked up my 84" 1/5 scale J-3 Cub yesterday.
I must say that I am impressed. Although I will probably strip off the coverin g & re-cover it W/Solartex, the covering job looks nearly flawless
PLUSES:
KILLER PRICE nearly $100 less than the shipped price of the CPM CUB from Nitroplanes.
true 1/5 scale, much easier to find accurate size detail accessories
great covering job
all necessary holes for control horns, etc pre-drilled
simple, clever (non scale) functional suspension sytem on main landing gear (not likely to fail as the CMP bugee LG does)
decent scale looking wheels W/CUB hub caps
good quality engine mount
clear cowl overlay for laying out engine cut out
nice pre-painted fiberglass cowl
extensive decal sheet W/"N" numbers
light wieght
steel pin type hinges pre-intaled
good quality & complete hardware package
MINUSES:
shiny plastic film covering... As nice as the overall quality of this plane is, it deserved a more scale like fabric covering
hinges already glued in.... This will make stripping & recovering a bit tricky, but not impossible
instructiuions sometimes leave out some vital information such as the location of the flying wire anchors on the tail feathers.
This will be on the back burner for a few weeks while I finish up other projects.
Here are the upgrades I plan:
Re-cover the entire plane W/Cub Yellow Solartex
Beef up the cabin struts that support the top wing mount.
Add a Top Notch Kits 1/5 scale Continental dummy engine.
Some sort of scale tailwheel (SIG?)
This will be the pilot in the front seat
I may or may not have this pilot in the back seat as the instructor
Overall, I'm very glad that I opted for this true 1/5 scale Cub over the oddball scale CMP version.
