Piper Cub

What brilliantly simple ideas! Thanks. Does the B&Q threaded studding come in the small packs (like screws) or do you have to buy about a metre of the stuff!?

Your charger may have a discharger function. If so use that. Alternatively, you can use a 12v car bulb, soldered to some wire and the type of connector use for the Nimh battery. Connect the two then when the bulb goes out, your pack is discharged. A discharging regime wont add any power to your battery pack but will ensure you get a full charge and longest motor run before having to re charge again.

Im at the stage where I need to fix my Turnigy  C50 outrunner to the firewall of the JP Piper Cub. I bought one of the metal frame jobbies that are adjustable but, by the time I've fitted the prop driver and spinner on the turnigy, I'd have to cut a lot off the adjustable mount I bought for the prop and spinner to be correctly positioned. So, Im going to save that for another time. What I need are those individual stays (like 4 separate legs) that can be fixed between the 'X' motor mount supplied and the firewall. Anyone know where I can get these from? Ta!

Oh btw, can I have the kit if you're not going to review it? Please!?

No worries. It looks a mouth watering kit though!

Nay!  Just the article where you introduced the cub said there'd be a review.

Bah!

When's the review out, please?

Not intending to hi jack the thread or anything but the cub I've got is the under £50 version from Perkins. Its ideal for leccie once you get the great lump of a motor mount off the front! Its light, well bulit and covered. Once I've got my 'wings' back, Im intending getting the Hangar 9 version or maybe their quarter scale version!

Sadly no I dont fly 'real' planes. Yep, I like cubs cos I always wanted someone with one to aerotow my gliders. No one ever volunteered though! I think the cub is a great little plane for general flying which is my kind of thing. Dont like this tearing around the sky! I cant keep up with it all!

Hangar 9 make some really good RTF models How about these for suggestions? Cessna Skylane - there's an article on the site about converting this to leccie! http://www.hangar-9.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1293 This a decent sized model too! Then there's the quarter scale Piper Cub (lubbly jubbly!) or if that's too big, there's the Smaller Piper  Cub at around one fifth scale.

Hmmm. All this is vert disheartening not to mention the loss of  your plane. I know perhaps many leccie planes are restricted for internal space or, there is the aversion of carrying extra weight but, surely it would be best practice to use a separate battery pack for receiver and servos?

Where's the Cof G? Should be around a third of the way behind the leading edge.  A C of G too far forward can cause probs too.

Motor thrust lines not set properly? If you're having to hols in down elevator, that sounds like the motors dont have enough downward thrust. Always wanting to turn either suggests both props are turning the same direction or insufficient left thrust. Have you tried a trial glide and see what happens ie get someone to throw it nice and level with the motors not running to see if it still wants to turn left or pitch up? If it does this with the motors not running, it sounds like you got some serious warps in the airframe.

Just so I can keep an eye on this, what exactly constitutes 'puffiness'? Is the pack noticably puffed up? Can you tell by gently squeezing the pack etc? Why isnt it a good idea to recharge packs that have gone puffy? If you catch them before they go really 'puffy' can you cycle them to bring em back into line or are all they fit for is disposal?

Re this 3.85v rule, if I have a 4S1P 3200mah Lipo, do I calculate the voltage it should be stored at as 3.85v times 4 ie 15.4V?

I thought the beauty of lipos was you could charge and forget them for storage purposes and unlike nicads \ nimh cells, you didnt have to regularly charge them when not in use. Have I been misled?

A Piper Cub makes a very good tug for aero tow especially since the tail fin has wire stays which not only enhance the scale appearance but also help stop the tow line interferring with the rudder and elevators. There are several good model Piper Cub's out there which are available as electric or can be converted. Hangar 9 do a very good 80 odd inch span cub already fitted with a brushless motor. (You can get the same kit without the motor if you wish to fit your own choice.). Hangar 9 also do an impressive quarter scale cub which can be used as an electric tug. Perkins supply 2 cubs, one a 68 inch intended for glo and another of about quarter scale. I have the 68 inch cub which Im converting to electric. Its virtually ready to fly with all the flying surfaces hinged and pinned with small screws and the best bit is, its only £50!! I've had to take off the motor mount and substitue a few of the horns and clevices because the ones supplied although look fine are not to my liking. If you'd use this as a tug I'd remove the aileron mechanism and substitute with a servo in each wing for better response. If you fancy building from the ground up DB Models do an 82 inch span Cub.

Eurotel are absolutely, well, we had no end of trouble with them when dispensing with their 'service.'  Good luck with the move to BT!

Is true!

The tow hook position IS critical for bungee launches. From my glider days, I seem to remember the point where the tow hook actually hold the end of the bungee must be approximately 45 degrees in front of the centre of gravity and maybe as much as 60 degrees in front.. If its too close to the Cof G, the plane will do a back flip off the line as soon as you let go of it. Probably best to have a look for some glider articles on tow hook positioning. Note, the set up and position for aero towing is different for a bungee launch and is usually right in the glider nose.

You gotta be in it to win it!

This is probably stating the obvious to everyone except me! Power planes normally require a degree or two for thrust lines to be built in at the firewall or motor mount. Do leccie planes still need these? If so, what's a good starting point (assuming you are converting an ic planeto leccie)? Any hints, tips, advice?

Thanks for clearing that up. I always thought it did. I can buy some digitals next time then!

Cheers Timbo.  Perhaps Im misunderstanding something but while I understand you can use them with radio gear, to get the best response out of them, do you need to use PCM or PPM? Or, does it really not make a difference? Ta.