So first up, hi to you all, i hope someone can answer a couple of questions for me.

I have been bought a CCLee J-3 Cub Grasshopper for my birthday and would like to know if this is ok for me to start up the hobby with.

Also, the plane came with an 8.4v AAA 650mah battery pack, i would like to buy more to prolong the flying time, but my question is can i go a little more on the size? I.e : Can i get an 8.4v AA 1100mah to prolong flying time without hurting the performance of this plane? The battery compartment actually looks like it should be for AA size, the AAA rattles about as if it is too small.

If you are not familiar with the exact make and model here is the link : [link]http://www.jperkinsdistribution.co.uk/detail.php?JPNO=5504210&activepage=1[/link]

I hope you can help, the rest of the forum has helped me loads already, thanks.

Download a copy of FMS, Flying model simulator, it's a free ware program and will help greatly with flying from a fixed point.

I have FMS already, and am practicing daily to at least get the control side correct, so cheers for that.

But i really need answers to my 2 questions, if anybody can help out it would be greatly appreciated.

I just purchased the same plane but from Raidentech.com. My plane was a RTF kit and it came with a 1300mAh 7XAA CELL Ni-MH battery pack.

Did your motor come premounted? The reason I ask is mine did and it just dos'nt look right. It's pointing at a downward angle and to the right slightly. If I rotate the mount clockwise 1 screwhole it would be centered I just do'nt know if its supposed to be at that angle.I'm going to try to upload a couple of pics if anyone could help It would be greatly appriciated.[img][/img][img][/img][img][/img]

Hi m8, yes the motor is correct, i have already checked this out and this down and to the right is correct, it is set like that to counteract the planes movement or something, hey, i know little about it, but it is correct anyhow

Have you flown your plane with that battery yet? If not, i would appreciate a post to let me know if it flies ok with that battery pack, i am waiting to buy some more so i can have a decent time out with it, instead of 15 mins then recharge, thanks in advance, and thanks for the reply.

Oh, this is a pic from raidentech.com for you, this shows it is correct.

capacitance (the mHA..ie. 1000mAh) should not affect your performance except prolong your flight times. You are keeping the voltage the same. However....I am not sure if the different cells react to the current draw from the ESC the same.

Yes, thanks RC Sumo, this i am aware of from reading other posts in here, what i am more concerned about is the added weight, the prolonged flight times are obviously what i am after, but i am wondering what the extra weight will do to the flying. The battery pack i have is only 90 grams, but the larger mah, something like the 1100 is 165 grams, and although only 75 grams extra i have heard this can seriously affect the planes flight characteristics.

Thanks for your reply, have you any thoughts on the weight factor for this plane?

mazvaz.....sorry....I am not familiar with the plane. But 75 grams is ALOT of extra weight. I would guess that the extra power required to get and keep the plane aloft would counter the prolong flight times as you are having to consume much more power. If someone knew the wingloading and thrust rating of your motor you could probably check on paper whether or not you could fly it......or you could try with current battery and add weight to simulate the battery........then fly. A little less precise and scientific...but you could know before buying the battery whether or not it will even work. Just a thought......

Shane
...now where did i leave that epoxy?

The plane should fly with the extra weight, but I am certain you won't like it. If you can measure the total weight of the plane, you'll be surprised how big a difference 75 extra grams would make.

Oh, right and down thrust are normal for planes. Helps keep the plane from climbing and rolling left when you add power.

Hey thanks for the replies guys.

I think that adding extra weight into the compartment would be ok to see how it flies, i'll try that one thanks RC Sumo.

I realise how big a difference that sort of extra weight would make, and that is why i thought i would ask before spending money on battery packs, these forums are full of stuff for n00bs like me, maybe too much sometimes, lol, but i'm slowly finding out the things i need.


Now if only i could find the bottle to go fly/crash this thing and see what it is really like