Hello all,

A couple of years ago I bought an RC plane (think it was called a Cub Cadet) with ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE at all! None - zilch - zero! I tried flying it and after five seconds it crashed softly to the ground - uh duh - rookie at hand! I picked it up, tried it again, and it did not work at all the second time meaning the plane would not power up at all! I put it away, forgot about it, and it has been collecting dust for several years. Now I want to to try it again with a much stronger, better, positive attitude then just the original five minutes I gave it. I charged everything up, took it outside, and it would not "start" up at all. A buddy of mine at work said it may need some work to the engine. It does not look banged up at all. In fact it looks the EXACT same as it did when I originally purchased it as no pieces appear to be missing. Well I have NO IDEA what to do on this as I have NEVER worked with electronics before, BUT I am willing to try! SO with all of this said and done, what are my next steps here anyone please?? Is there some type of engine test manual or list that I can try to follow to see what's wrong? First step is to get this "fixed". next would be learning to have patience. Third would be learning how to fly it. Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated but please remember that I have spent literally a total of five minutes in the hobby. I can come back here and list the model name and number if need be, as well as a couple of pics of the plane and the engine compartment (just need to know how to send them directly to this forum from my phone). Please help and thanks!!

First of all, you need to get an Instructor. Second, you need an AMA Card, that will help you if someone is hurt. Your Homeowners Policy that the first hit in that case. 3rd. Join a local club, they can help you. 4th weigh the plane, look at the manual and figure out the CG, Center of Gravity). If you don't do that, it will never fly, oh, it may for a second or two, then end up in the dirt.If you don't do these things, chances are you will not do very well trying to learn. It takes patience.

Hello FLAPHappy,

Thanks for your tips above! We are talking about RC planes ranging from 1-15+ feet correct? I live in the country about 40+ miles SW of Houston, Texas on a couple of acres so space and liability is not a huge concern as I have few neighbors or trees. Just open space! I appreciate your thought on an instructor but I simply can not afford that within my budget! Because I live in the sticks, there are no local clubs even REMOTELY close to me! =8-(

Is this an electric airplane or nitro?

Post a picture of the plane using this image hosting site.

http://postimage.org/

Electric

Chances are you burned up your motor or ESC when you crashed. If you didn't immediately reduce the throttle when you went down, the motor would have pulled immense amps to try and keep turning. If you lived close to me I could swap out some components in your plane and verify that, but I don't you'd want to drive to Fort Worth for that. The good news is that a patient instructor may have the stuff to figure out your problem. Expect to spend some money, and expect to need new batteries too.

Here is a list of clubs in the Houston area. Most instructors don't charge anything to help you. It's part of the hobby culture that experienced pilots help new guys get started. Yes, you'll have to drive a little. But that takes less time and costs less than wrecking your plane again. Just understand that the instructors are volunteers and show your appreciation to them for the time they take. If they give you a time to meet with them, be where they ask you to be and when they ask you to be there.

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[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]SOUTH HOUSTON AREA RADIO CONTROL SOCIETY
Flying Site Details
10.68 miles[/TD]
[TD]3271[/TD]
[TD]61[/TD]
[TD]CESAR FLORES
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 713-947-3427
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]BAY PORT AERO CLUB
11.19 miles[/TD]
[TD]806[/TD]
[TD]25[/TD]
[TD]GLENN KEELING
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 713-473-5237
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]NEW BERLIN SKY RAIDERS
Flying Site Details
14.14 miles[/TD]
[TD]5091[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]MARK VICENTO
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 832.207.0429
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]BOMBER FIELD INC
Flying Site Details
14.53 miles[/TD]
[TD]2307[/TD]
[TD]40[/TD]
[TD]BARRY RABORN
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 713-663-6764
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]GULF COAST RC CLUB
Flying Site Details
14.61 miles[/TD]
[TD]611[/TD]
[TD]42[/TD]
[TD]JOHN KLING
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-471-0996
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]HOUSTON HAWKS RC SOARING CLUB
Flying Site Details
14.96 miles[/TD]
[TD]1698[/TD]
[TD]19[/TD]
[TD]ALAN JONES
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-239-3451
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]JOHNSON SPACE CENTER R/C CLUB
Flying Site Details
15.55 miles[/TD]
[TD]617[/TD]
[TD]74[/TD]
[TD]DAVID HOFFMAN
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 832 689-6201
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]BAYOU CITY FLYERS
Flying Site Details
16.15 miles[/TD]
[TD]901[/TD]
[TD]200[/TD]
[TD]RICHARD FANNING
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-558-3854
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]HOUSTON SPORT FLYERS
Flying Site Details
16.87 miles[/TD]
[TD]4154[/TD]
[TD]126[/TD]
[TD]BILLY HOWARD
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 713-686-6276
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]HOUSTON AREA MODEL COUNCIL INC
Flying Site Details
17.25 miles[/TD]
[TD]856[/TD]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]BARRY RABORN
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 713-663-6764
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]TEXAS CITY RC CLUB
Flying Site Details
18.28 miles[/TD]
[TD]1075[/TD]
[TD]77[/TD]
[TD]MIKE SAMANO
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281.724.9736
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FORT BEND RADIO CONTROL CLUB
Flying Site Details
18.73 miles[/TD]
[TD]615[/TD]
[TD]138[/TD]
[TD]LARRY LAMBERT
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-240-9888
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]JETERO RC CLUB INC
19.42 miles[/TD]
[TD]1218[/TD]
[TD]135[/TD]
[TD]LARRY JORDAN
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281.361.6524
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]LONE STAR RC INC
Flying Site Details
22.50 miles[/TD]
[TD]3279[/TD]
[TD]20[/TD]
[TD]MICHAEL KELSO
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281/359-3260
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]PROP NUTS RC CLUB
Flying Site Details
23.20 miles[/TD]
[TD]1770[/TD]
[TD]35[/TD]
[TD]ALLAN SMITH
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-328-5770
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ALVIN RC MODELERS ASSN - Email Club
Flying Site Details
24.22 miles[/TD]
[TD]1307[/TD]
[TD]85[/TD]
[TD]CONRAD BEHRENS
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-481-1431 home
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #F7F6F3"]
[TD]SPACE CITY RC CLUB
Flying Site Details
24.48 miles[/TD]
[TD]1259[/TD]
[TD]74[/TD]
[TD]JOHN BLACKMON
Email Contact[/TD]
[TD]Phone: 281-351-9772
Visit Website
[/TD]
[TD]8

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Thanks very much for this info!!

One thing about joining a club is you have respurces to help with problems like this. Trying to debug voer the Internet with very little info is next to impossible. Second thing is perhaps a hobby shop can help you Assuming that Cub is electric it can be:
1. You main battery is dead. It should tell you the voltage (perhaps 11.1 VDC) and you can test with a multimeter.
2. As mentionaed above, your ESC is shot - mersonally I don't think that is likely.
3. Your motor is burnt out - again, not likely. I have crashed airplanes nose first and did not pull back on the throttle and never burnt anything out.
4. Your receiver is bad. It could have been cracked in the crash.
5. Your transmitter battery is bad. Even the cheapo transmitters typically have status lights indicationg transmitter voltage.
First and last are easy to test. The rest is better done by someone who knows what they are doing. And the first and last are the lace to start anyway because all the troubleshooting itn the world won't help if you can't turn on the equipment.

Thanks rgburrill

If you attempt to fly alone, the results will be pretty much the same as years ago. Get with an instructor
good luck

Instead of just using the little icon third from the right that says insert image?? RCU provides most anything you would need to post.