Archive for October, 2008
HobbyZone Super Cub Spektrum Radio Upgrade
This is Part 1 of a three-part upgrade to my HobbyZone Super Cub.
Part 2 is an aileron upgrade
Part 3 is a semi-scale lighting upgrade (link coming later)
Project Overview
The radio system included with the HobbyZone SuperCub RTF kit is, to put it charitably, of fairly modest quality. I personally like the X-Port technology as an idea (a standardized add-on module interface), but unfortunately it is only available with a (again, being charitable) modest quality receiver/ESC combo and non-standard 5-wire servos.
I found the servos somewhat jittery, and the throttle on the transmitter very crude and unsuited to smooth landing approaches due to the lack of fine control.
This project will upgrade the Super Cub to the all-digital Spektrum technology, meaning a new receiver, ESC, and servos. Unfortunately, the X-Port will be lost - at least until a project down the road where I try to resurrect it.
Benefits/Downsides
Constraints
These items constrained how I approached this project. If you don't share the same personal preferences you can adjust the project steps accordingly.
This is Part 1 of a three-part upgrade to my HobbyZone Super Cub.
Part 2 is an aileron upgrade
Part 3 is a semi-scale lighting upgrade (link coming later)
Project Overview
The radio system included with the HobbyZone SuperCub RTF kit is, to put it charitably, of fairly modest quality. I personally like the X-Port technology as an idea (a standardized add-on module interface), but unfortunately it is only available with a (again, being charitable) modest quality receiver/ESC combo and non-standard 5-wire servos.
I found the servos somewhat jittery, and the throttle on the transmitter very crude and unsuited to smooth landing approaches due to the lack of fine control.
This project will upgrade the Super Cub to the all-digital Spektrum technology, meaning a new receiver, ESC, and servos. Unfortunately, the X-Port will be lost - at least until a project down the road where I try to resurrect it.
Benefits/Downsides
- + All-digital radio equipment = fewer glitches
- + Greatly improved throttle control
- + Standardized equipment for easy repairs/replacement
- + Net loss of about 1.1 oz, using parts listed
- - Loss of X-port feature
- - Loss of Anti-Crash Technology (ACT) (probably a '+' for 99% of people)
Constraints
These items constrained how I approached this project. If you don't share the same personal preferences you can adjust the project steps accordingly.
- The airplane must appear stock from the outside (not
-
Views: 811
Servo rails & servos assembly. This is test-fit in the plane, then assembled outside the plane and pressed into place. Add control horns after servo/rails assembly is in place. -
Views: 1460
Servos installed on new servo rails in original servo tray. Note squares of double-sided tape at each corner of servo rails. -
Views: 1830
Completed upgrade. Note that the cables on my ESC were short enough that I didn't have much room to move it around, so the velcro on the fuselage side isn't 2x as large as the ESC. I couldn't adjust the ESC position even if I wanted to. -
Views: 2221
Completed upgrade, annotated with eye-catching green and red lines and text!

