Finally able to do the review on Eflite's 2.1m Carbon-Z Cub SS!

Decided to not do an unboxing/assembly review, as there are plenty of those already - plus this plane is straightforward to assemble for those in the target experience range.

This is my first giant-scale electric. My other giant-scale planes have been balsa/ply, and were either glow or gas powered. I have over 30 yrs of fixed-wing RC experience.

Equipment used:

• Spektrum DX9 Black Edition
• Spektrum 6s 5000mAh 30C Smartpack
• Spektrum S1200 Smartcharger

Assembly:

Assembly took me ~1.5 hours. Everything went together well - except a few parts bags were mislabeled. Was fairly easy to figure out what was what.

Binding/initialization/balancing & trimming:

I bound the plane with SAFE disabled. Had to raise the tail to approximately level before it would initialize, though. All surfaces centered-out well when I checked everything out. Spooled her up to check the prop balance, and everything was good - so no prop balancing required on mine.

I ended-up mechanically maxing the rudder throw, and still wanted more rudder authority. I heard that if you bind with SAFE Select, there's a lot more rudder throw available in AS3X-only mode - so, I'm going to rebind & just leave SAFE Select disabled to see if I can get more rudder throw.

I needed to mount the Spektrum 6s 5000mAh 30C pack at the rearmost position in the battery compartment to get the CG back to 120mm aft from the LE at the wing-root. I found the...Continue Reading

Figured I'd do a review of RealFlight 9 with the Spektrum InterLink DX controller!

Minimum Recommended System

• Windows® 7 or Windows 8 or Windows 10
• Intel® Pentium® 1.0GHz or equivalent
• 512 MB RAM
• 10 GB Hard Drive Space
• DVD Drive
• 3D Accelerated Video with:
  • 32 MB Dedicated Video Memory
  • Fully DirectX® 9 compliant (Shader Model 2.0 or better)
• InterLink DX, RealFlight compatible controller, or other Gamepad/Joystick
• Internet connectivity required to download additional content and updates

Optimal System
For Best Graphical Performance:

• Dual Core 2.4GHz CPU
• 2 GB RAM
• 3D Accelerated Video with: 512 MB dedicated video memory

Multiplayer Requirements:

• Broadband Internet connection
• Computer microphone for voice chat

InterLink® DX Controller Requirements:

• USB Port
• Compatible FM or FM-selectable transmitter (if using the interface mode)

VR Requirements:

• Compatible with some VR sets (available separately). Check manufacturer's requirements for VR system use.
• Works with both the Oculus Rift and HTC® Vive™ VR headsets
• Online Activation Required

My previous version of RF is 6.5. My primary use of an RC sim is to keep my fingers working during our long Minnesota winters.

Platform: Homebrew PC with an AMD Phenom II 920 quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 video card w/4GB of RAM - running Win 7 Pro w/all current updates.

...Continue Reading

A spot for questions about the new Pitts...

Here's a generic landing tutorial I put together a couple years ago, which will allow the pilot to put pretty much any plane down 'right on the numbers' nearly every time. It may be of help to some on here:

The key to consistently making great landings with any plane is setting up a proper approach. Any landing will only be as good as the approach that preceded it. Be sure to think ahead of the plane & command it to be where you want it to be when you want it to be there - rather than react to what it just did.

1) Set up for the approach. At this point, you should already know approximately where you want to land, and the plane should already be close to approach altitude. Begin the downwind leg.

2) Around halfway through the downwind leg, start to ease-back on the power (the exact point varies, depending upon what plane you're flying). Add up-elevator as necessary to bleed off airspeed. As you make the turn to base, be sure to keep the nose up. Now is the time to pick your exact landing spot.

3) As you make the turn to final, the plane should be at approach altitude & airspeed. Line-up on your chosen landing spot, and begin to reduce throttle. Remember that when you're on approach, throttle primarily controls descent-rate, while elevator primarily controls airspeed. If it looks like you'll land a bit short, add some power to decrease the descent-rate. If it looks like you'll land a bit long, reduce power to increase the descent-rate. If...Continue Reading

Here's some 3s testing I did today with the Eflite UMX Sbach 3D. Sbach #1 is running the 2300Kv motor/GWS 5043 prop combo, while Sbach #2 is running the 2500Kv/GWS 5030 prop combo. Both have a 1mm rod under the horizontal stab to prevent high-speed aerodynamic flutter. I used a Hyperion 180 mAh 25c 3s Babbelbatt on both flights. It appears that I got the stab halves reasonably straight on S3D #1, as it flew about the same as it did before the aerodynamic flutter incident.

This thing really moves on 3s! Thanks to AS3X, the plane remains smooth & precise - even @ WOT. The 2300Kv/5043 combo is the faster of the two by a considerable margin. I noticed a bit of gain-induced elevator oscillation during the first two WOT passes with the 2300/5043, but it appeared to smooth-out after that. I could hold either plane @ WOT for as long as I wished without hitting OTP. But it was only 44 F during the flights. When flying in warmer wx, I may need to improve the cooling like some have had to do.

Eflite UMX Sbach 3D on 3s (10 min 34 sec)

EDIT 12/05/12:

Here's some static RPM data on 3s.

Interestingly, there is little difference in static thrust between the two combos, however the 2300/5043 combo's pitch-speed is nearly 20% higher. It's also interesting that the 2500/5030 actually outperforms the 2300/5043 in terms of thrust, considering that the 2300/5043 produces more thrust on 2s than the 2500 with either prop.

RPM taken under natural light with a...Continue Reading

Hi everyone,

I decided to try the 2300kv/GWS 5043 combo in my Sbach 3D to see how it performs in this app. As we found with the Beast 3D and V1 Sbach, the 2300kv/GWS 5043 combo is noticeably faster in the Sbach 3D than the stock 2500Kv motor with the factory prop, GWS 5030, or GWS 5043. I can easily do KE circuits, and I don't even need full rudder - even at part-throttle. The plane tracks as if on rails through 300'-400' loops. Plus, flight-time with the 2300Kv/5043 combo is considerably longer that it was with the stock 2500 with the 5030 or stock prop. I'll be staying with the 2300Kv in the Sbach 3D, just like many of us have done with the V1 Sbach & Beast 3D.

Here's the performance test video. The first flight is with a Hyperion 240, the second is with a Thunder Power 325 65c pack, and the third is with one of the new Hyperion 500 35c UMX packs.

Eflite UMX Sbach 3D - 2300Kv motor testing (11 min 38 sec)

After the testing, I decided to have some fun shooting touch & goes. I was using a Hyp 500 35c pack in this flight. It's a bit heavy for good aerobatic performance, but it's great for endurance & sport-flying, or when flying in windy/turbulent conditions.

Sbach 3D - touch & go practice (4 min 52 sec)

...Continue Reading

As much as I enjoy the original Sbach, and given how much AS3X does for the UMX Beast, I just had to get one of these. I am very glad that I did!

I went to the club field for the maiden. The wind was 6-11 MPH. I flew with a lightweight Hyp 240 Babbelbatt first, and then with a lightweight TP 325 65c Babbelbatt. As can be seen in the video, the TP pack definitely has better vertical & top speed. I didn't get a chance to try the new Hyp 500 35c, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Ditto for the SFGs.

As one would expect - like her predecessor, the Sbach 3D is an excellent flier. She flies as if she's on rails - even better than the V1. The basic personality of the V1 is definitely there, but this Sbach went to etiquette school & graduated with top honors! Maneuvers are graceful & fluid, yet precise. She definitely flies big.

Thrust-to-weight seems to be markedly improved over the V1 - no doubt due to lower loss in the new 4.9A ESC. There is ample power for any aerobatic maneuver. She effortlessly climbs vertically out of a hover - even with the factory prop. Unlimited rolling verticals are easy, even late into the flight. There is plenty of vertical speed, so handling remains crisp on long up-lines & she tracks like an arrow all the way up. Her vertical capability is limited only by the pilot's eyesight.

Great news! With a TP 325 all the way back, she was still just a tad tail-heavy! This means it should be easy to get the CG right with a variety of...Continue Reading

I've always wanted to try a sailplane, so I picked up a Radian Pro last week. It's my first purpose-built soaring ship. I'm having a blast with the plane. It flies quite well for a foamie thermal duration ship. I even managed to find some lift, despite the poor conditions. Here are a couple on-board videos I shot at a friend's place up on the Minnesota/Canadian border near Lake of the Woods. You can see a small part of the west side of the lake when I'm pointing east. The first clip is my second flight with the plane. It wasn't trimmed very well, but I still managed to catch some lift - despite the forward CG. I had it trimmed-out reasonably well for the second video. I ended up with the CG at approximately 77mm. I also moved the 808 #16 camera aft just enough to get a bit of the nose in-frame for a reference point. I had yet to set up the advanced wing functions, so I was flying it as a 4-channel plane with conventional flaps. I now have reflex, camber, and crow set up, but it has been too windy to fly. Hopefully, I'll get to try out the various wing configurations soon. In these clips, I'm using Outrage NRG 1300 mAh 35c packs. The form-factor matches the factory pack. Plus - they're designed for 5c charging, and they last for a few hundred cycles before they start to fade away. I bought them a few years ago for my Blade SR (which I don't fly anymore). I've been using them in my Losi Mini 8ight and my Blade 300X. They still perform quite well, considering that they're over three years old. I plan to pick up some Thunder Power or Hyperion packs that I can use in my RP & my Blade 300X. I'll shoot some on-board video to demonstrate the advanced wing functions when the wx cooperates.

Radian Pro - First on-board video (10 min 4 sec)

Radian Pro - second on-board video (7 min 19 sec)

Joel

I switched to the 5030 prop after flying with the floats to get a baseline on water & land. Here's some non-scale flying, to demonstrate the low-end grunt of the 5030 prop.

First flight with the 5030 prop. To say that climb-rate is much improved would be an understatement. Thrust-to-weight is just over 1:1.

Eflite UMX Carbon Cub w/GWS 5030 prop - non-scale flying (13 min 44 sec)

Here's another clip. I condensed it down to mainly power-climbs, 'power-loops', torque-rolls, hanging on the prop - and a few touch & goes.

Eflite UMX Carbon Cub w/GWS 5030 prop - power-climbs, torque-rolls, hanging on the prop. (4 min 9 sec)

...Continue Reading

Here's my first-ever RC ROW flight. What a blast! She has plenty of power, however the added drag & weight is definitely noticeable. The floats shift the CG slightly aft on my airframe. Not enough to cause any problems, but just enough to be a bit tail-heavy for a Cub. I moved my homebrew, lightweight Hyp 240 pack forward approximately 10mm, which turned out to be about right.

Although there is something about seeing a Cub on floats that makes a person smile - there is something about flying a Cub on floats that makes a person grin from ear-to-ear - and keep on grinning for hours afterward!

Eflite UMX Carbon Cub on floats - my first-ever ROW flight! (8 min 53 sec)

Now that I have established baseline performance on land & water, it's time for a 5030 prop.

Joel

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was a perfect flying day. I spent the entire day & evening at the field. I got in plenty of stick-time on the CC with the modified elevator pushrod. It made a significant difference on my plane.

For those who are looking for more elevator authority, I highly recommend the pushrod mod. Sure, the plane could still use a bit more up-elevator - but the mod made enough difference on my airframe that I'm satisfied.

UMX Carbon Cub w/elevator mod - touch & goes, full-stall landings, figure-8s with half-flaps (12 min 10 sec)

Joel

The CC is a bit shy on elevator authority, so I decided to modify the elevator pushrod to see if I could get a bit more up-elevator for power-on & power-off flares. I'm hoping that it will make 3-point landings a bit easier. I cut off the U-bend & fabricated a straight section of rod to replace it. This reduces flex somewhat, and it keeps the pushrod from rubbing on the bottom of the horizontal stab when it's located in the innermost hole on the horn. It appears that I now have maybe 10% or so more up-travel. No flying wx, so I have yet to try it. Tomorrow looks like a great flying day, with a 3-4 MPH breeze blowing straight down the runway. I plan to shoot some flight-test video.

Here's a clip of the mod:

Increasing elevator authority on the Eflite UMX Carbon Cub SS (1 min 15 sec)

Joel

Was a perfect evening for flying the CC. Here's a clip of me shooting touch & goes, three-point landings, half and full-flap landings:

Eflite UMX Carbon Cub - low & slow, touch & goes, 3-point landings, half & full-flap landings (8 min 13 sec)

Joel

Given the flurry of questions this plane has generated regarding the use of flaps, flight-trimming, landing techniques, and ground-handling - I decided to put together a checklist for those who may be new to scale planes and/or planes with flaps. If you are experiencing difficulties such as ground-looping, difficulty flaring, sluggish control response, odd behavior in turns, or handling problems with the flaps extended - here are a few things to check:

• Visually inspect the alignment of all flying surfaces with respect to the fuselage & each other. Also check the alignment of the tailwheel with respect to the rudder. For best results, any visible misalignment should be corrected before proceeding further.

• Be sure that the plane remains motionless during the first 5 seconds after connecting the battery. The plane can be on its back or in any other position during initialization, provided that it remains motionless during the process.

• Move the aileron pushrods to the innermost or second hole out. Move the rudder & elevator pushrods to the innermost holes. If the plane seems overly sensitive, try adding a bit of expo, rather than reducing throw - as there will be times when full control authority is needed.

• Mechanically trim the plane so that little, if any tx trim is required for straight & level flight in zero wind at 50-75% throttle. AS3X interprets excessive trim (more than a few clicks) as

...Continue Reading

I decided to have a wind-surfing session with the CC. Wind was 8-16 MPH. I had a blast! The CC handles the wind much better than any of the other undercambered UMs - including the Gee Bee. Of course, the Beast 3D handles much better in the wind and can handle far more wind than any UM plane (except for possibly the Mig 15), but the CC is very impressive in the wind - especially when one considers the undercambered wing.

Eflite UMX Carbon Cub SS in an 8-16 MPH wind (14 min 15 sec)

Joel

Picked up an Eflite UMX Carbon Cub SS today.

Got everything set up & mechanically trimmed. I have fully proportional flaps on the right-rear slider of my Futaba 10CHP, with a switchable 5-point flap-elevator mix on switch D. I moved the rudder & aileron pushrods to the second hole from the inside & moved the elevator pushrod to the third hole from the inside.

I checked to see how my Hyp 240 2s packs fit. There was plenty of room to adjust the CG fore & aft of the recommended 27mm. I tried my Hyp 320 2s 'Babbelbatt' & it fit right in with no problem at all. With the pack all the way back, the CG is 28mm, so there is no problem getting the CG right.

Spooled her up & noticed that the prop was out of balance. A piece of clear packing tape on the inside of the light blade did the trick. Packed up & headed to the field.

Wind was out of the NW @ 3-6 MPH. A perfect evening for a maiden!

I used one of my homebrew Hyp 240 2s packs for the maiden. Measured CG was 27mm. Lined her up, rolled into the throttle, and she was airborne within a few fuselage lengths. Made a few passes to check the trims, and everything looked good. I did notice that I had the CG just a bit aft of where I'd like it. Flew for 8.5 minutes. Only used 140 mAh, which is just 58%. So, that would be 11:40 to the 80% discharge point with a Hyp 240 mAh pack., or 15:30 to the 80% discharge point with a Hyp 320.

This plane is just about perfect right out of the box. It doesn't even need...Continue Reading

Hi everyone,

Some of us have been experimenting with running 3s on the stock Eflite 2s UMX bricks. Some bricks handle it, while others pop immediately when the pack is connected. Given that they're only designed for 2s, it is surprising that any of these little bricks can handle 3s reliably, but many of the EFLU4864 AS3X bricks appear to do just that. Some of us had been flying the Beast 3D on 3s packs short-charged to 12V. RCBabbel decided to try a fully-charged pack on his B3D, and his survived. After some consternation, I decided to roll the dice & try fully-charged 3s packs. Looks like my brick is one of the over-achievers. The plane is performing flawlessly after many flights on fully-charged Hyperion 180 mAh 3s packs. A few others have also reported success. The non-AS3X 2s bricks seem to be a bit more of a crap-shoot on 3s. Some handle 12V, while others pop immediately on 12V. Some handle 12V just fine, but pop immediately on 12.6V. Others seem to handle 12.6V just fine. The EFLU4864 AS3X brick (used in the Beast 3D, Gee Bee, and Carbon Cub) appears to be somewhat more tolerant of 3s than the non-AS3X AR6400LBL & AR6400NBL bricks (used in the V1 Beast & Sbach, respectively).

I'm running the 2300Kv/5043 prop combo, but others have reported good results with the stock 2500Kv motor & a 5030 prop. I'm getting over 5.5 minutes of aggressive flying to the 80% discharge point - using good throttle-management, of course.

The power-to-weight on 3s is over...Continue Reading

Warning: The AR6400NBL brick is not designed for 3s. Some bricks handle it, many don't. Try at your own risk.

Experimenting with running a Hyperion 3s 180 mAh 'Babbelbatt' on a stock Sbach with a 5030 prop. Per RC's recommendation, I'm only charging the packs to 12V to prevent damaging the brick from too much voltage.

For the first flight, I mounted the pack all the way aft. I soon found that the plane was far too tail-heavy for high-speed flying, so I landed & moved the pack forward a bit. Much better. The plane is ridiculously fast. This thing goes faster straight up than an Sbach on 2s can go straight down! With the aileron pushrods in the second from the outermost holes, it can effortlessly do 'the drill-bit maneuver' vertically! The motor & pack were just barely warm after a 4.5 minute flight. Put 108 mAh back in, starting from a 12V charge.

On the second flight, I moved the CG further forward for better high-speed tracking, and set up dual-rates. Much, much better! No more darty behavior at high speed. She tracked straight & true even @ WOT. Again, the motor & pack were barely warm after the flight.

The plane is a blast to fly on 3s! I've never seen a plane with such a wide flight envelope before. Slow to a crawl or sport-fly at 10-20% throttle, perform pattern aerobatics at 25-30% throttle, perform any unlimited aerobatic maneuver you can possibly think of without ever going past 40% throttle - and you still have 60% throttle for headroom! Balls-to-...Continue Reading

Picked mine up today at my favorite LHS. Brought my 10CHP & a freshly-charged Hyp 240 2s pack with me. Spooled her up in the shop & OCP kicked in. Spooled her up a second time & everything was fine. I did a bit of testing, and felt confident that it wasn't going to happen in flight.

It was windy & gusty, but I just couldn't wait to get the maiden in, as we're heading back into the deep-freeze, with 20-30 MPH winds until Sunday. Hopefully, I'll be able to shoot some hatcam video at the club field Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, my LHS is located right next to a large movie theater with a huge asphalt parking lot.

I mounted my homebrew Hyp 240 2s pack about 6mm or so from the front of the battery tray, with the wires facing aft. I lined her up into the wind, and rolled into the throttle. She got a bit tail-happy from the P-factor as the tail came up (as a Gee Bee should), but it was easy to compensate with rudder. That made me laugh a bit, as it reminded me of the videos I've seen of the full-scale plane on takeoff. I let her build up some speed on the mains, then eased the stick back. She climbed out with authority. I leveled out & checked the trim. None was needed, as she was flying straight & true. She felt slightly nose-heavy, though - so I'll move the pack a bit further aft next time. I brought her around for a WOT pass. She picked up speed quickly, and there was a fair amount of Doppler shift as she went by. I was surprised...Continue Reading

Hi everyone,

Just had to add one of these to the hangar, as I've never flown a quad before! Wow - this little guy is a blast! Different than, say, the Beast 3D or mCP X, but every bit as much fun - even in a light breeze! Indoors, it is surgically-precise. Nearly as stable as a coaxial heli, yet nearly as agile as my mCP X. I find it far more fun to fly around the house than my mSR or mCP X, and it is an absolute blast to fly in my backyard! It carries a 15g keychain cam with ease - however the extra weight is very noticeable when it's breezy. Most intermediate fixed-wing pilots will have no trouble flying this bird. Especially those who know how to use their rudder for something besides taxiing - such as making coordinated turns. She is very responsive, however. More like a CP heli in this regard. With the response tamed down on low rates, anyone with some coaxial heli experience should feel right at home. This bird is also quite tough. Maybe even close to being 'mSR-tough'. She's a keeper, for sure!!

Here are a few videos.

Hatcam video - maiden flight in my yard. My very first time flying a quad!

Blade mQX maiden - my first quad flight! (8 min 40 sec)

Camcorder video - second flight in my yard. Tried a few loops. I kinda pulled 'em off, but it wasn't pretty. I definitely need to practice!

Blade mQX - 2nd flight - trying some loops (6 min 44 sec)

...Continue Reading