HI Everone, Just want to say thanks for all the help. I just bought a plane piper cub j-3 with extra prop and battery for $60. I figured i was going to crash it so the price was right. Ive been waiting for the wind to calm down to try it. The most i got to do was taxi it around to see how it handles... looks like i will be hand launching it. I want to test the batterys so i can recharge them so it worked out good.....well wish me luck....Well the wind finally settled down and i tried to fly the plane by hand launching it straight ahead full power and full elevator and all it does is go for a few feet and then nose dive into the ground ..it seems to not have enought power, ck the battery its fully charged,motor sounds like full power, props tight on shaft, rudder and elvators adjusted right , wings look good,still wont fly .....it has a 380 motor w /brushes and a 8.4v 600minh battery.I tried going the other way with the elevator and it was worst. My prop took a beating[].....I read on the net that someone had the same problem as me with the extact plane and had to switch to a more powerfull motor for it to fly....Well its ether me or the plane? please give me your feedback....thanks gomez (newbie)

Mike, sounds like you have already found your answer?

Ease off on the elevator. You may be flying into an immediate stall trying to pull the nose up. Hard to say for sure without actually watching of course.

Unfortunately this is what happens with airplanes with prices so low it sounds too good to be true. By the time you upgrade the motor and fix other things you'll have almost the same money in it as you could have spent on something like a Hobbyzone Super Cub. Plus with something like the Super cub you have a reputable company to turn to if things go wrong and you can get replacement parts at your hobby shop. Lowest price does not always mean the best value.

I tried buying no-name stuff off of eBay myself in the past and it just rarely works out.

Try to launch the plane into the wind horizontally

If you continue to hand launch and it doesn't have enough power ( seems likely) all you will do is crash until something busts. The motor and battery you mention are small and since you don't give size or weight of plane how can we tell?

Gomez:

Properly balanced and trimmed, all model airplanes do glide with no power.
Based on that concept, there are steps that you can take before attempting a first successful flight with your model.

First, you need to verify and adjust the center of gravity to be where it should be.
If you don’t have that data from the manufacturer, just move it to be at a distance back from the leading edge of the wing of 30% of the chord of the wing.

Second, you need to adjust, or to find by experimentation, the proper decalage, or angle between the wing and the stabilizer.

Read through and study the information of the following links:

http://tpbweb.com/media/catalog/610.pdf

http://www.fatlion.com/sailplanes/decalage.html

http://www.rcplanetalk.com/trim.html

http://www.dubai*********.org/flight_trimming.htm

http://www.dubai*********.org/balanc...rcraft_new.htm

http://webpages.charter.net/rcfu/HelpsHints/Trim.html

For free flight gliding tests, with no power, make sure that all the control surfaces are centered and in a fixed position.
Also, find dead calmed wind conditions, and soft tall grass for non-controlled landings.

Regards!

If this is the Parkzone J3 with the brushed motor, it is not a begginer friendly plane. It is underpowered compared to the J3-bl or the Super cub. It takes some skill to fly it without stalling it. It will cost about another $50+ to upgrade this plane to brushless motor and lipo, $75 or more if you use Oem Parkzone parts. My advice, get a Super Cub and put the j-3 on the shelf until you are skilled with the Super Cub, then you will probably be able to fly the J-3.

Try taking off from the ground.

What often happens to beginners is this: They push the plane HARD into the air. This excessive speed causes excessive lift, so the plane shoots upward. But soon, gravity takes over and slows the plane down to the point where the air is not flowing over the wing fast enough to create lift. This is called a "Stall". The plane stops flying and drops out of the sky.

If you were high enough, you could nose it down until it regained airspeed and pull out, but since it is close to the ground, it lands nose-first.

Go to the nearest airport and watch a private plane take off. You'll notice that once he clears the ground, he gains altitude very slowly - they don't just shoot up into the air. If they did, they would stall and crash too.

YOU ARE NOT WRONG THE PLANE YES, I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A SKYFLY2 VERY HEAVY PLANE 7 CELL BATTERY I COULD NOT MAKE THE PLANE TO FLY
LET ME TELL YOU THAT I WAS FLYING ABOUT 100 TIMES A SKYFLY FIRST VERTION, IS MORE LIGHT AND HAS A 6 CELL BATTERY DIFERENT MAIN WING BUT IT
FLY FINE OR NORMAL.
BUT MY BIG FRUSTRATION IS WITHE SKYFLY2 REQUIRES I THING A LIPO BATTERIES, AND A BRUSLESS MOTOR TO FLY BECAUSE BELIVE ME I CAN NOT FLY IT
IN 6 TIMES HAND LUNCHED THE PLANE GOES DOWN IN SOME SECONDS IT IS VERY HEAVY (IT IS fLYZONE TRADE). IT IS THE WORST PLANE THAT I BPOUGHT.

HAVE A GOOD DAY
REGARDS
JESUS PEREZ CARRENO