Hi there,
I am relatively new to the hobby. I purchased a parkzone j-3 cub, and have really beaten it up over the last month. Broke a wing, snapped the tail section off, bent countless prop shafts....but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I feel like I am over that initial learning curve and frustration, but there are still some basic gaps in my knowledge.

When I was first flying the plane, it seemed to be much faster than it is now, probably because I am burning out the motor, but non the less I used to be able to gain altitude with ease. Now, after all the fixes, tape and trimming, I seem to have a really hard time getting much altitude. I can fly it around at 20 feet or so with ease, but if I start intentionally trying to get much more altitude it seems to stall allot and loose what ever alt I already have.

Question: What is the best way to gain altitude? How should the plane be trimmed so that when I do pull back on the stick it does not stall.

I have found that launching into the wind is essential to a successful lift off, but trying to gain any altitude into the wind is not so easy.

Question: Should I launch into the wind, but then gain alt with the wind behind the plane?


...thanks in advance for any helpful hints.

~Tip

sounds to me like you've put too much extra weight on the plane and now its just underperforming. Also, some of the fixes could be impairing regular flight characteristics as well. i recommend trying to limit all repairs to the smallest area possible and using the lightest material possible. Park flyers like that should be able to climb with little or no problems. It sounds to be a weight issue.

Thanks jworosylo,

I thought the same thing, and took all the previous fixes off, and re-mended smarter and lighter. The only extra weight on the plane is 3 mini zip ties (holding the tail section on) and a little bit of tape reinforcing the the seem that holds the two sides of the fuselage together. It did not make any difference.

My whole problem may be attributed to the motor slowly burning out...this afternoon I went out and shortly after launch the motor quit all together. Thankfully I retained servo control and was able to bring it down with out damage. I have the very first motor still, so I am going to do some troubleshoot tonight to make sure it was the motor that burned out and not any of the electronics.

Outside of my problem with the motor, I still would very much like to find out about the best way to gain altitude (Into the wind vs. with the wind).... Tips or techniques that others have found worked for them.

well, into the wind is always best because you need less airspeed to retain lift. I am very surprised that your motor would be burned out already, if i was you, i would contact the manufacturer and try to get it replaced because that doesnt seem to be right. As for other flying tips, simple, take off into the wind, land into the wind for the fact that was stated above. Dont try to climb too fast because you will stall the plane, also, with smaller park flyers, you dont want to fly in winds greater than 5 mph until you have become very proficient with it. I started on a Toytronics T-Hawk and attribute my success with my new glow trainer to the time spent flying the T-Hawk. It was a 3 ch. park flyer that could withstand one hell of a beating. It flew great and was the best training aid i could have had. If you need any other advice or have any other questions, feel free to post away!

I just thought, it may also be you're battery is not getting a good charge. If its not charging properly, your motor will only run for a short while, or perhaps it just went bad all together. Either way, it shouldnt have happened this early for you.

I emailed parkzone tonight and said just what you did "my motor burned out already and that ain't right"
...we'll see what they say.

On your battery though, Good thought! I have an ac charger coming early this week . I will charge on that and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks for the info jworosylo!

i would find a cheap voltmeter, at either radio shack or on here, and after a charge, find out how many volts its putting out. That will help determine whether or not its the battery. I would charge the battery, then check it every 5 min. with a voltmeter to see how quickly the charge dissipates. Good luck with park zone, be as demanding as you can and you should be able to get a replacement.

Great idea...that will help me know my over all battery health.

...Called Parkzone today, and they are sending me a new motor. They were very accommodating, and helpful. Nice to see a company really stand behind their product.

~Tip

good to hear you were able to get a replacement, hopefully that is the problem and you'll be back up and running in no time!