I love flying RC planes. I don't love crashing them. The two actions go hand in hand however for a still-learning hobbyist like me.
My 2 little planes have both had/are due for a fuselage replacement. They've already had an assortment of minor repairs, and replacements of tails and wings.
Today's big news is the re-introduction of the Super Cub to my hangar. The fuselage has been cracked in half 4 times, and everything except for the wing and electronics and fuselage had already been replaced. I started gathering parts almost a year ago, and a few months ago was the final straw. I was flying my FrankenCub with its 4th set of custom landing gear, hit a power pole, and crashed 25 ft to the ground. She was not going to be repaired this time.
Luckily, by then I already had the motor, servos, speed control, receiver, and propeller. A new fuselage, tail, landing gear, and motor mount, and I could get her airworthy again. 2 weeks ago I had all of that stuff on hand. This week I have been doing the physical reconstruction - removing some unnecessary interior foam, mounting the motor, do a small mod to the battery box to accommodate the larger batteries, installing and adjusting the tail and landing gear. Last night, I finished the soldering. This afternoon, I did the final checks and adjustments - rough and fine correction of the elevator and rudder via the push rods and servos, and caught a reversed servo which would have been catastrophic had I missed it. And, on a lark, I added a bomb bay door. It's not operational yet (no servo installed) but it is hinged and ready for action.
The final configuration for her maiden flight was not ideal but reasonable. I didn't have the electronics velcroed in, but otherwise she was shipshape. She was no longer my FrankenCub; she was my SuperDuperCub. The maiden went pretty well, considering this was the first plane I ever built from the ground up.
Problems: CG was too far forward. Control surfaces were set up with too small throws. She was unexpectedly heavy. The motor mount may be too far pointed down and right. I suspect this because when she was under throttle, it was hard to get her to go up. When I killed the throttle, she glided very nicely. So it might not be a weight issue at all.
Good stuff: The rear wheel was almost perfectly straight. The brushless motor performed as advertised. She can take off literally like a rocket - straight up. Stock full throttle is less than half throttle with the new setup.
Next steps: fix control surface throws (done), redo motor mount to straight setup (I have the mounts, just need to use them). Set up CG after motor mount change. Yeehaw - flying time is here again!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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