Flair Cub

[Robin Colbourne]

Posted by Andy C on 13/12/2018 10:20:38:

I built one as my first venture into RC first time round 25 years ago. Was easy to build and flew great but I crashed it due to no knowledge etc. I would love another now that I know what I am doing to experiment with fun improvements such as fly-navy also did. If anyone has one to move on let me know. 😀👍

Thanks

Hi Andy, I'm not sure if this Cub on Facebook Marketplace for £50 is a Flair one. It looks about the right size. It needs a fair bit of renovation, but you do get an engine and servos:

Flair ? Cub on Facebook Marketplace

This one too:  Flair Cub

Edited By Robin Colbourne on 02/12/2020 15:09:56

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Robin, the Cub on Facebook Marketplace would seem to be very good value as I would imagine I have spent well over £50 on my Cub. The other model undercarriage does not look right and the engine is side mounted which differs from the Cub plans I have so I would question whether it is a Flair model?

Nothing much done on my model. The copying of the radio set up which I have done before on older radio equipment did not work as I had anticipated on my new 6K transmitter, so I must have misread / misinterpreted the instructions. The 3rd model on my transmitter became the Cub as did my 8th Model !---some adjustments necessary!. On my model there is a plywood hatch between the undercarriage legs fixed with 4 nuts and bolts. I was not sure why this was necessary but having checked how the current switch is wired and linked to the flight battery all the connections are made underneath the servo tray and are not accessible. The wiring has been routed neatly and would pass an inspection by a 'Part P' house wiring inspector, but having to remove the hatch to make any changes is similar to lifting floor boards at home to rewire the house !

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Having looked again and seen all the photos of the first Cub, I think you are right Doc, I did not spot the degree of damage to the plane which was not evident in the main picture.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Cold day today so did a few jobs on the Cub inhouse. Having found yet more M3 bolts and nuts I changed the nuts on the engine mounting bolts to Nycloid types which basically amounted to abortive work but at least the Nycloid nuts should not loosen. I did minor work on the servo tray to ensure the throttle servo is not jacked up as it was in the past. I needed to sort out the damaged exhaust gasket on the engine but for the life of me I could not find my blue Hermetite having spotted it just a few days ago. I have given some thought to the radio receiver location and it would seem that there is little space available at the top of the cockpit .The servos have obviously been located on the centre of gravity position which makes sense but at the same time helps create the problem. On the plan it shows the receiver behind the flight battery and under the fuel tank so unless I can sort out another location I might have to adopt the same space and make use of the hatch between the undercarriage for access to receiver connections. As the 2.4 GHZ receiver has two aerials that should be set at right angles I just wonder how this might work out? All part of the fun though!

 

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 04/12/2020 17:58:27

[Robin Colbourne]

Another part-built Flair Cub here (the real thing this time, judging by the box!), although £100 sounds a bit steep without an engine: Part-built Flair Cub

Plus one on Ebay for £70.  Looks like it isn't the first time its been listed!  Part-Built Flair Cub on Ebay

Doc Marten, I assume you are ignoring the original kit cost from your £50 rebuild?

Edited By Robin Colbourne on 04/12/2020 18:11:53

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Both look good Robin , I wonder if there any twists / warps on the fuselages and wings ?

As written on the box lid, it quickly constructs, but not in my case it seems !

Good winter projects for some modellers!

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Former Member]

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[Mike Etheridge 1]

Three new Futaba servos now fixed to the servo tray and the servo cables clearly marked as access to them will have to be from underneath the fuselage with the lower hatch removed. As Doc Martin suggests the receiver can just about fit behind the fuel tank and just in front of the servo tray so once in place it can be accessed from above and routing of the two short aerials at 90 degrees can be achieved. Next step is to arrange the servo arms and drill the right size holes to suit the associated clevices. I was not happy with the throttle snake routing so I have made arrangements to adjust it and will re-fix it tomorrow at the servo end.

The plane looks much better at a short distance but not close up!

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 06/12/2020 16:59:29

[Dwain Dibley.]

You could enhance the interior with a pilot Mike. Other than that, it looks great Mate.

D.D.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Thanks DD, but despite the large cockpit there seems to be little room for a pilot. He /she could sit on top of the middle servo and that would give a bit of added movement !-still looks worn at close range.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Having sorted out the throttle servo arm, in my freezing cold garage I worked next on the elevator servo located in the middle of the servo tray. The elevator control horn was broken so I decided to fit a new control horn prior to fixing the servo arm in place. The balsa elevator push rod would not operate properly by hand and it was obvious that the metal rod / clevis linked to the push rod was not set at the right angle to link up the control horn. So after some re-setting / bending of the metal rod eventually everything seem to fit in place. However with the throttle servo raised above the servo tray level it would seem that the elevator servo control arm might well clash with the body of the throttle servo. So this may be the reason why the previous owner had jacked up the forward throttle servo foot so the servo was set at an angle? .Tomorrow I will investigate the issue further hopefully in a warm environment?

I decided to check my flight bag that I always keep in the boot of my car and sure enough some of the items I was missing such as the blue Hermetite / thread locker and new plus old switches were there and must have been there for several months as some were purchased at my clubs fly-in week end about two years ago!  

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 09/12/2020 21:54:50

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Conclusion is that all the servos have to be fixed to the servo tray at the same height, so I have got to raise the levels of the rudder and elevator servos by about a 1/4 of an inch with small bits of ply wood. This is a result of ensuring that the throttle snake was set without bends, and was something that the previous owner of the plane must have encountered. Not a big task, but should be followed up with the fixture of the receiver and tests of the radio and the hopefully an engine test at last.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Ply servo fixings added and drilled. As the plane needed vacuum cleaning I brought it into the house, and before my wife noticed I cleaned virtually the whole of the ground floor of the house before I trained the cleaner into the plane's fuselage. I can now permanently fix the servos and connect the receiver. Christmas seems to getting in the way at present with the need to erect the Christmas tree which is almost finished, and the provision of external flashing lights to keep up with the neighbours.

Hopefully I can get more done and another post in prior to the 25th?

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Servos permanently fixed in place and hatch released to access the servo, battery and switch cables. The cable from the switch appears to be too short or may need re-routing to link with the extended battery cable above the level of the servo tray. I had intended to fix a new switch anyway so I must check the cables on a new switch and the integrity of new switch itself as they do come in for a lot of criticism these days. I was not happy with the elevator control horn fixings as the original was fixed with two 8ba bolts that were screwed directly through a small plastic plate on top of the elevator and then straight into the plastic control horn. I have replaced the short bolts for longer types and have made final fixings with 8ba nuts screwed into the replacement nylon control horn with the addition of washers and sprung washers for integrity. The balsa push rod linked to the rudder looks somewhat weak where the forward metal rod is bound to it so I think I will strengthen it to ensure it does not fracture.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Not much done, but new switch is now fitted with Futaba plugs and socket. Normally a simple task but as the switch was slightly larger than the original switch I had to cut / drill away part of the rudder servo ply mounting to accommodate it. So the plane is now re-wired except the aileron servo, and is ready for connection of the receiver and radio tests. I have checked the rudder push rod and although it is not fractured it does need reinforcing as it has had at least two threaded rods fixed to it leaving redundant holes in the balsa.

I have been alerted today by E-bay that there is a part built Flair Cub for sale. It needs fully covering plus radio and engine fitted. Cost is set at £120---I don't need it!.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Receiver now installed and linked to the transmitter a process that took me longer than it should have done. The Futaba 8 channel 2.4 GHZ is shown below:

As I had not set up a 2.4 GHZ model foe some time and had not used this receiver before, I read through the instructions and in particular the mode selection details. There is /was four mode options available depending on how you want the receiver to operate. There is/was a default setting which gives you 7 channels which was fine as I only needed 4 channels. So I adopted the green and red setting process and followed that up with trying to link the receiver to the transmitter. The mistake I made was thinking that the linking process was incorporated in the receiver instructions but this was not the case ,I had to dig out the full radio details where the procedure is clearly indicated. What a relief once the green light appears!

Once the radio was working I adjusted the throws on the throttle servo and had to reverse the operations of the rudder and elevator servos. The movement seemed about right on the elevator and rudder, but I will make further checks. I have not connected the aileron servo yet but have installed the cable link from channel 1.

As you can see the location of the receiver is tricky with the servo and 6v power wiring not allowing an easy fixture. I still need to sort this out plus the fixing of the two aerial leads . If only the servos were mounted a bit nearer the back of the plane fixing the receiver and routing of the wiring could have been a lot easier despite the C/G issues.

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 18/12/2020 14:54:33

[Mike Etheridge 1]

As the rain had stopped I had a very short time window to check the aileron function having retained the original Hitech servo. Unfortunately the servo operation was dreadful with a slow response and a lot of noise. I have got a spare new Futaba servo, so I will use it to replace the Hitech unit. The other servo functions were fine.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I removed the Hitech aileron servo today and manually checked the aileron movement which was not good. The movement was not helped on one aileron as residues of Epoxy glue were between the aileron and wing where it had escaped from the four Kevlar hinges, so that had to be removed. Also the two torque rods linked with servo arms to the single servo did not have clear movement within the trailing edge location so some balsa trimming was necessary. Once the ailerons had clear movement I decided to try the Hitech servo again but it proved to be unsuitable with glitching and noisy movement, so I fitted a new Futaba servo and this worked fine. Finally I carried out a radio check on the four servos fitted only to find that the nylon rudder clevis popped out of the rudder servo arm , so I will fit new clevices where I have not done so already complete with locking sleeves made from fuel tube.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Just a short bit of work done today on the plane as we have had a problem from last night in that our main kitchen electric oven failed. Repair companies wanted about £140 to fit a new element which costs about £20. My wife wanted a new cooker and fortunately a repair company suggested that as our existing Tecnik cooker was 18 years old and obsolete the best move was to buy a new cooker. So tomorrow I have got to fit a new AEG double oven, and the plane will have to wait for attention. However as the weather was OK I did a further radio test in the garden once the cooker was ordered.

[David Davis 2]

The model looks good Mike and I'm sure you'll enjoy flying it when the time comes.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Thanks David, I just wonder when that time will be as both my flying clubs are effectively shut down at present ?

I must focus for now on Christmas and yesterday had a torrid time fixing in a new cooker as the old obsolete electric cooker main oven had failed. The new cooker would not fit under a dodgy gas pipe serving a gas hob so I have finished up with the new cooker set temporarily at a lower level. What a year !

[Dwain Dibley.]

You may as well go the whole Hog and get a new Kitchen Mike !!

On a serious note I refurbed mine for around £500, with some new doors and a load of paint.

A  kitchen does not have to break the bank Mate. Apologies for hi-jacking the thread.

D.D.

Edited By Dwain Dibley. on 23/12/2020 10:27:06

[Mike Etheridge 1]

DD, I did when I was in my thirty's bought a two bed maisonette and installed a fitted kitchen, new bathroom suite , rewired the place plus full decoration. Someone else did the central heating. That only took me 4 years!--- My wife has just spent more on the new cooker than you did on your refurbishment and my son has just had a new extension with kitchen and diner built for about £85K with very posh Howdens cupboards. Well done with your kitchen refurbishment but I would never get away with it, plus at my current age I am beginning to hate DIY especially after yesterday!

My wife is already cooking sausage rolls in the new low down cooker !

Merry Christmas!