ppkk

Hi folks,

I recently purchased a 50" Cub from Nitroplanes which I haven't yet received (http://www.nitroplanes.com/piperj3cub15.html). I don't have any experience with this company or ARF's in general, but the price seemed very reasonable so I bought it, I'll let you know what the quality is like when I get it.

Either way, I was thinking of putting an electric motor in this thing, but I don't have much experience with electric motor systems, brands, etc. The only information the website gives is "480 electric motor", and from what I have read in the forums on this type of ARF, I am not going to get much of an instruction book with this thing either. Not sure if the motor can be brushless, outrunner, etc. Also, there is a myriad of different brands of motors and ESC's at different price points, and there is always the question of the appropriate size of battery to use (say for 10 minutes of flight.) I do have a LiPo charger so I would consider that type of battery.

I would appreciate any recommendations on the electric set-up for this plane

opjose

A 480 may underpower that plane too much.

I'd suggest the Nitroplanes Monster Power .25 motor, a 40-50A ESC, a separate BEC and a 3850mAh 14.8v battery pack.

A good ( Cheap ) choice on the battery packs are the Rhino/Zippy packs from Hobby City... I have the exact setup above on another plane and it produces gobs of power and 16+ minute flight times.

ppkk

Sorry for the newbie question, but what is a "BEC"?

Also, for future reference, please let me know if my conversion logic makes any sense:

This plane is designed for a .15-.25 engine, which looking at one manufacturer's data, rate at .4 to .85 hp (I know all about the lack of standards in RC engine hp ratings and that they can be very meaningless numbers, but I don't really know how else to do a conversion.) Assuming the hp figures for the nitro engines are at least in the ballpark or being real, that translates to about 300-630 Watts of power. So assuming the weight of nitro engine gear would be the same of the electric gear, I would look for electric motor in the same power range. Is this correct?

opjose

BEC = Battery Eliminator Circuit

A Bec provides power to the RX and Servos.

Most ESC's have on board "linear" BECs but most linear BECs are unable to handle more than 11v, and even at 11v their performance can be marginal.

A separate BEC ( or battery pack, although the latter adds more weight ) is a must.

Re: Motor

Correct, which is why the Monster Power .25 is a good choice, or something similiar.

I run it up to 680 watts on my Bobcat 25 and E-Flite Diamante w/o problems.

In this power range 14.8v is pretty normal.

I get excellent results with both of the above planes with this type of setup. You'll probably want to prop to favor thrust versus overly fast speed.

On my Bobcat I have a small high pitch prop which causes the plane to scream... On the Diamante ( same weight as your cub ) I favor thrust over speed.

ppkk

Thanks all for the input!

HEMICUDA

A friend of mine here at RC Universe got the same plane from Nitro. Look in the Electronic section
in the Park Flyer category in the Flyzone j-3 cub or tag it in the search section. I'm not computer
savy to give you the link. He put an Eflite Park 480 in it and said it ran super! You will definetely want
to go brushless and lipo as brushed would not get it off the ground. I plan on getting this plane in the
spring but I'll probably go GLOW. Let us know want you go with and keep us up to date on your
progress.

Hemicuda

ppkk

Hemicuda,

I have been thinking about glow myself, but here's the problem: I have not yet solo'ed at my club, simply because I have a crazy schedule and have not had the time to schedule sessions with an instructor. I do however, have enough experience keeping planes in the air by flying electric models and through the computer simulator. Using an electric hook-up in this plane would allow me to fly every now and then when I have some time until I get my wings to fly Nitro at the clug - which given the season and my schedule won't be for some time...

I had a Parkzone Cub foamie that I flew a few times until well... here's the story: There is a park close to my house with a very large field, and... ehm... a very large tree in the middle of the field. Since no one ever seems to be at the park, I have gone there a few times to fly the Parkzone. About a month ago, I took my wife with me (she isn't a fan of planes) but it was a nice day so I figured I kill two birds with one stone - spend some time with her while get to fly a bit. You have probably figured it out by now, add up sun in the eyes + bad pilot + depth perception issues and before I knew it the plane was in the tree at full speed. My wife was belly laughing while I was trying to figure out how to get the thing down. Luckily the motor was still working so I turned in on, and while it broke a few other components loosened itself to the ground.

So... here's where I am. I am still planning on fixing the foamy, but it is in rough shape. For curiousity though, what engine where you planning on using in the Nitroplanes Cub?

mclina

I bought this same plane a while back. I put this cheap Towerpro combo in it:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...3.8_Prop_Combo

and used a Rhino 1550mAh 3S pack.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...0C_Lipoly_Pack

I was really impressed with the build quality of the plane. It was very light and everything went together really well. It looked great when it was done.

The motor/esc/battery combo seemed to have plenty of power. Unfortunately, the plane did not make it too far. I don't know if I screwed up on setting the CG or what, but it was very hard to control and I ended up planting it nose down, destroying everything foreward of the windshield. It is fixable, but I chose to hang it in my basement for decoration.

Good luck with yours. It is really a cute little plane and it does seem very well built.

mclina

I would be hesitant to put a glow engine on this plane. It is built VERY lightly. I know that they ship it with a fuel tank, but I do not think this airframe could stand the vibration for very long.

Good luck.

ppkk

Cheap combo, how did it fly with that?

shotgun06

Anyone has a picture of the beast?

I tried to order it but Nitroplane cancelled my order???[] but they refunded my money.

Still thinking about buying it althoug I ordered an Ultimate with the refund...

mclina

I had posted some pics of mine here:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_77...tm.htm#7798448

The power system I installed was enough to pull it vertical out of my hand, I just had other problems that made it not fly so well.

HEMICUDA

PPKK,

What are you doing living my life?! Give it back! Just kidding , your cub story with your wife
is just like mine. I thought about a .25-.28 2 stroke or a .32 4stroke I'm not sure yet. Might
still go electric, as long as the motor and the batts don't get too big. Batts for my Electristar
are mighty expensive 7.4v 3200mah lipo X 2 = $130 give or take. If I can get a good brushless
motor, esc and run it on a 1800mah-2100mah 11.1v lipo I might fo that route.

mclina,

Good to know about the light build. My instructor told me that he puts on the inside a thinned out
coating of epoxy to 1; fuel proof the balsa and 2; give the balsa a little more strength. Didn't you
point out in your thread on this plane that It came with a balsa motor mount? How well do it hold
up before your crash? I find it hard to believe that you used that BM2409-12T and it had enough
power to fly. Isn't that a park flyer sized motor and this plane is above park flyer weight range?
I was told those bell type tower pro motors were good up to about 30 oz. I hope you rebuild yours,
it's a nice looking bird for the money. Do you still recommend it? I like the new 1/8 Champ at
Hobby-Lobby (Looks like a Piper cub but was better) but it's nearly 3 times the $.

Hemicuda

mclina

The weight that Nitromodels lists for this plane is like 2.5 pounds, but that must be with a glow engine and a tank of fuel. Mine weighed 17 ounces with the radio gear installed, and about 24 ounces with the motor, esc, and battery. It was way under 2 pounds.

ppkk

This makes more sense, I always thought 2.5 lb. seemed a little on the high side.

Here's another plane that is close in size and weight to the Nitroplane:

http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...FV4.html?E+Sig

The recommended engine size on the Herr is .049 to .061 compared to .15-.25 on the Nitro? That's a 4X difference on the high end. If the Herr actually does fly well with this size engine, then I would say that a .25 is too big and heavy for the Nitroplane. I still have not received the plane, it would be easier to judge if I had the thing in my hands...

ppkk

Got the package today. Although I don't have a scale to check the exact weight, it is definitely a lot lighter than 2.5 lb. I agree with mclina, the build seems too light to handle a glow engine.

I haven't looked at all the pieces very closely yet, but it seems to be put together fairly well. One of the ailerons is a little too big for the slot in the wing so it binds, and I need to trim it down a bit (got another model from them at the same time, the elevator has the same issue.) The covering on both planes needs to be ironed out, and is peeling off from some of the edges, pretty standard on ARF's from what I hear.

All in all, it is a pretty good deal for $59, and a Cheap way to learn to fly...

HEMICUDA

That's good to know that it's lighter than expected...maybe I will go with dirty electrons after all.
A motor, lipo battery,ESC combination for THAT weight sounds doable. Please keep us informed
of your progress.

Hemicuda

mclina

I seem to remember one of my ailerons needing a bit of a shave to keep it from binding. Take your time and make sure everything fits right before you glue the hinges.

These are the servos I used for mine. They fit right into the openings that were provided.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...ec_Micro_Servo

Good luck

shotgun06

I orderd the Cub again and this time they shipped it

I intend to build it before christmas so I can bring it to the family cottage and fly it off the frozen lake on skis.

Here is the power set up I am going to use. I already have all the parts in hand, just waiting for the aiframe to show up in the mail.

Lipo: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=6306
Motor: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=8139
ESC: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...Simple_50A_ESC
Servos: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...?idProduct=662

I will post pictures when I am done.

mclina

That setup will have plenty of power. It should be a lot of fun on the snow.

I have a couple of those same Zippy packs. I get about 6-8 minute flights on my 3.25 pound Modeltech Magic with them and this motor:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=3887

You should be able to fly that little cub for 20+ minutes on it.

I balance those packs every time I charge them. I find that they go out of balance pretty far, but they always charge up and balance fine. They are great batteries for the money.

Good luck

HEMICUDA

Shotgun,

I'm liking that entire setup,.....well I don't know if I'd go with the elcheapo servos, but everything
else look like it'll work great. Please keep us informed and send pics/vid

Hemicuda

ppkk

I ordered the exact setup as mclina, including the el cheapo servos. A half dozen of those were the same price as one HS-65, so I figured I could afford to experiment... I'll probably start putting everything together over the holidays.

mclina: my only concern is that I am not sure if I should trust the CG location as outlined in the manual, I don't want this plane to have the same fate as yours . I'll do some more research to make sure I get the location right.

peroel

My Feedback: (7)

Hi, the nitro planes piper is a great plane. It flies very well, even in 18 mph winds.
I use a turnigy 28-26, 240 watt motor and 3 cell 2200 mah lipo and a 30 amp esc , 10x5 asp prop (hobby city. com)
Actually the motor produces 160 watts on 3 cell ful power and that is enough to do aerobatics with the bird.
I guess it will fly on 120 watts nicely. I want ot buy one more but they are out of stock everywhere.

Peroel

ppkk

Well, I maidened the plane a couple days ago. Although running the motor with the plane on the ground it felt like there was enough power, I kept wondering if this thing would fly well enough with this motor.

I had asked one of the more experienced flyers at my clud to maiden it for me, and he started laughing when the plane took off in a couple of feet! It literally rocketted up to the sky. It has unlimited vertical with this motor, which surprised me - not a bad deal given the price!

The total weight with the battery was under 2 lb. I tried to make it light so to balance it I had to put the battery right behind the fire wall, which makes installing and removing the battery somewhat challenging. But this way I only had to add 1/2 Oz to the nose to balance it. The manual says the CG point is 56mm from the leading edge, which is what I used and it works really well (I moved the CG very slightly forward but it probably wouldn't have been necessary.)

It flies really well.

shotgun06

Here some pictures of mine.