Do you think the Great Planes 40 Piper Cub is a good second plane or is it really more of a third plane. I had a older cessna that I plowed into the dirt when the motor flamed out and stalled. I would really like to get another scale plane and would like your thoughts.

You might do okay with a Cub, but they can be pretty tricky to take off with. Flaying and landing shouldn't really be an issue though.
Dennis-

You might could do it as a second plane, but Cubs fly like...well, Cubs. You definitely have to coordinate rudder with ailerons to turn them well, and they are bad to display adverse yaw. If you have a computer radio, it's a POC to fix (differential aileron and mix rudder about 35% with aileron) and she'll fly like ....a Cub. I have a 1/5 scale, just slightly larger than the GP 40, and its a lot of fun to fly, looks great in the air. Don't think of it as an aerobat, though; those long wings give it a slow roll rate, but it will do nice stall turns, hammerheads, flat turns, modified split S turns (doesn't roll fast enough at the top of the loop), really anything the full scale Cub will do. You might be interested in the clipped wing version, wing is about 20% shorter, is a lot more aerobatic, flies faster, wing loading is higher. If you do, go with an engine at the top of the recommended range. For a regular wing, mid to upper engine range is fine, but overpowering it is waste of money, it won't fly faster, and high power settings make them want to climb, at least the flat bottom wing versions (like mine). I think the GP has a semisymmetrical wing, should be a good flying plane.

Cubs look like trainers -- but they aren't -- especially if they are scale. You can do it, but I suggest that you go back on a buddy box for your first few flights with one.

Ditto BritBrat's comment--just until you get comfortable with it. One other thing. When you do wheel landings(coming in on the mains and holding the tail up)in grass, Cubs have a tendency to ground loop (flip). Be ready to modulate the elevator to keep the nose up, but if you pull too much up to try and plant the tail, it'll balloon unless you've killed enough speed to keep the angle of attack change from flying it again. This, too is more likely with a flat bottom wing, and is a tail dragger characteristic, not just a Cub's.

Had one. Key word is had. Mine was modified, clipped wing, made the wing flat too. (No dihedral) It was a great flyer if you got it off the ground and didn't hit anyone or anything. Mine had a nasty intermitent habit of making an abrupt right turn about midway through the take-off, regardless of how much rudder you had applied. Made no difference on grass or asphalt. I believe what was happening was the elevator / stab started flying before the rudder became effective. The tail would lift off (no tail wheel control) and the airflow over the rudder was insufficient to control the plane. I was unable to coordinate my fingers quickly enough to hold up elevator, add throttle and rudder, without creating a jump-stall-crash attempt. Best take-off's were to line it up, and "firewall" the throttle in a very unscalelike manner.

Build the Cub if you wish, but fly something else (a lot!) in the meantime.

I have a GP .60 Cub that I just flew for the first time. It is basically my second plane since I got back into the hobby (not counting a SPAD Debonair that I flew sort of simultaneously with my Kadet Mk 2 trainer). Here's how things progressed, so you can be the judge for yourself.

Started flying the Kadet this May. I had a few buddy box flights on someone else's trainer and then soloed. I spent the next few months learning to do everything I could with the Kadet, loops, rolls, split-S, etc. I can hold the Kadet inverted for quite a while, but not perfect. I got to the point where I felt comfortable enough to fly a plane I actually cared about.

So yesterday I finally flew the Cub. I had an experienced pilot fly it, trim it & land it the first time. It was a little breezy, 10-15 knots. Our paved runway was not quite into the wind. What they say is true. Cubs are much more difficult (in some respects) to take off than a trainer. Even my test pilot had a difficult time. As soon as he built up some speed, it whipped around to the left. The good news is that the plane is such a floater, it still pulled right out, while other planes would have stalled and cartwheeled in.

Once in the air, the plane floats forever. It is not really much different than a trainer, except that it really wants to weathervane into the wind and you do need to coordinate a little rudder into the turns. It also flys a lot slower than my trainer and is less aerobatic. Rolls are very slow.

Landing was not too difficult. 2 out of 3 were deadstick. I just pointed it into the wind and slowly brought it down. You can basically slow it down as much as you want without worrying about stalling. I had more success taking off from the grass than I did from pavement.

All in all, it is a fun plane. If you want your second plane to learn more advanced airobatics, don't get a Cub. On the other hand, if you want something that is different from a trainer, but still kind of relaxing, go for it. BTW, you really must get a 4 stroke.

-Scott

Thank you guys for all the info.