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Cool
Finally Built My J-3 Supercub
Before I begin with my First Blog, I would like to thank RC Groups and all of you for welcoming me into your wonderful world of Sharing. I have enjoyed this Website for a couple years now and it's time to make that known.
I have had my first few baby steps into this hobby now and I have to say, it sure has helped keep a Country Boy like me( living in the city) busy and minimizing my longing for the Country Life. I have noticed that I get a few visitors who stop in here at my blog. In saying this, I always felt a little guilty for not having any blogs for them check out. Maybe this bloging thing can be a way for me to give back at least a little bit. MY FIRST BLOG, I'm pretty stoked about my new build. This is the second attempt for this J-3 Supercub. The first one, a three month project accumulated with spare time, suffered a fatal crash upon its maiden. Crashed because I bought a receiver with low range. I didn't didn't know it was low range and my LHS didn't volunteer the info. To this day I only blame myself because I did not research enough plus, silly me, I forgot to carry out a range test. Oh well live and learn. All part of the Hobby In the mean time, I was determined to have this plane so I bought the nessecary parts all over again and started over. You see three years ago when I first learned about all this RC heavenly stuff, I came across a YouTube site called necubflyer. This guy's work on his HobbyZone SuperCubs was my inspiration for making one of my own. This famous 'Bush Plane' has been my favorite for 40 years. I came up with my own idea for the wing fastening system which uses a 'Slide In Wedge' at the front, center and 2 x 8/32 nylon screws at the rear center wing. Also, I built it completely modular, in that you can completely disassemble it and put back in it's factory Super Cub box. This modular setup is handy when changing parts and for travel. I glued two connectors in the rear of the fuselage for the two Rudder Tail Lights. It looks fantastic all painted up, and I'm very happy with my patience and hard work. Before I painted, I completely covered it with spackle and sanded the whole wing and fuse smooth. Then, I washed it with warm water and a little dish detergent. Next,I primed it with white fusion for plastic and added final yellow paint with Tamiya Camel Yellow. The paint has adhered amazingly by using this procedure and I am very pleased with the results. I can't believe the amount of WORK that goes into a wing of an rc aircraft. Until I did this myself, I would have never appreciated what the Scratchbuild Guys go through while building their beloved models. This wing has 6 lights, 1 Lighting Sequencer, 2 Aileron and 2 Flap servos for a total of 11 electrical devices. This is in addition to approximately 20 feet of wire and the addition of a recessed wing spar. To top that off, all Control Surface Mechanisms (control horns etc..) That is one heck of a Busy Wing. Will post more shots soon. POWER PLANT: Turnigy D3536/8 1000KV Brushless Outrunner Motor TURNIGY K-Force 40A Brushless ESC 5V 5A UBEC 2-5S Lipoly (6-23v) Spectrum AR-6210 Receiver DX8 Transmitter 1800ma Turnigy Lipo I range around 8 to 10 minutes of flight time depending on wind. I will get some pics and videos soon. In the meantime I can report that this Cub has been very successfuly Maidened and has had a good many flights since. Flys like a dream and performs mild aerobatics, rolls, loops and inverted. Wing is solid and mounted well onto the Fuselage. Very happy with my new J3 Super Cub! Finally got my VERY FIRST FLOAT FLY/MAIDEN/ADVENTURE video for this Build up and here it is:
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Last edited by Rcbyair; Jan 18, 2013 at 05:21 AM.
Reason: Blog stays current and monitored weekly
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Thanks Geekmedic,
I installed the spar by recessing it inside a thin straight channel cut specifically for the spar. I cut the channel at the thickest part of the wing, which is the CG line. I cut the spar in the center than epoxied it to the V shape of the wing with a 2 inch overlap at center for strength. I am now relieved knowing that my wing is never going to buckle in flight. (See picture #10 for spar) The Wing Fastening System was done in 2 Parts. - Part 1 Is to do the front wedge first. This is done by epoxying a block of sturdy foam at the bottom, front center area of the wing. Next you notch a 5/16 th groove out (see pictures #14,19 and 20) Then glue a tapered piece of 1/8 plywood to the fuse (see picture #22) So the plywood sits inside the groove that I notched out. - Part 2 When the front part of the Wing Fastening System is complete, you can proceed to do the rear part. First you will prepare your small piece of plywood for the rear wing mount. Next you notch out the foam exactly where this piece of plywood sits. (Important!! Do not glue this piece of plywood in place till the drill marks are made.) You slide the front part of the wing in it's place making certain that everything is centered precisely. While holding the wing in place, you use a small drill bit to drill the marking holes where the two rear 8/32 bolts screw in from the top of the wing.( See picture #22) Now you can use the marks in the plywood to further drill lthe holes to a larger size than the 8/32 bolts. Now you are ready to epoxy two 8/32 bolts exactly beneath the holes in the plywood. Next with the nuts glued to the plywood you are free to glue the rear plywood to its recessed area at the back portion of the fuse where the rear part of the wing sits. Finally you can test the alignment by installing the wing and screwing the 8/32 bolts in. They should line right up. Let me know if you need more info, thanks for your interest. I can't wait to fly this baby off water at dusk with my switchable LEDs. |
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I would consider using the struts for a bit of scale & insurance if that front edge of the wing mount ever gave up in a pullout. Some guys on the other thread I came from to here have made some nice ones that are stronger, stiffer, and more scale looking. You'll love the water. Best to give it the gun and full up elevator, ready to level out right after takeoff. Squirrely if you try a scale take off unless you have a water rudder extending from the 'air' rudder, or one mounted on a float as I've seen on the other thread. I've put some 'skegs' on my floats to see if that is a simple solution that will allow straight taxi on water. Keep up the good work; looking forward to some flight video. jaksno |
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Jaksno,
I nicknamed it J-3 Supercub only because of the paint scheme, not meant as a factual name. On test flights off pavement, it has done loops and rolls. So far my wing mount system has no signs of stress. The one that crashed on maiden had a similar system and the wing was pulverized from the impact. However the wing mount held up very well upon inspection after the crash. Like you said, I do plan on leaving the wing struts on for added insurance and looks. Thanks for the advice about taking off on water, I will use it. I do have the rudder that mounts to the air rudder although i haven't heard any reviews about it. What about flaps should I use them for water? Thank you so much for the tips and for your interest! |
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Quote:
People seem to like the water rudder, but haven't used one of those either. With a brushless, you should be airborne within 3 to 6 ft at full power and up elevator - just as on land, with a bl, it'll want to go vertical as soon as it gets in the air, so be ready for it. Could be the water rudder will give you such good control, you won't need to hurry the takeoff. I always did because I have only flown out of a relatively small stock pond and needed to get airborne or become a 'mud puppy'. jaksno |
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I bought one of these RTF and it stayed inpacted on the ground more than in the air.... After gluing and taping the multiple fuse pieces back together for the 3rd or 4th time I also found the youtube vids from NECUBFLYER, removed the original "anti-crash" junk, added Ailerons, carbon fiber spar, 480 brushless motor, ESC, and opened up the battery bay for a 3s 2200.... I can now fly without crashing and get 20 to 25 minute flights at less than half throttle!! I bought all the parts needed to build another cub and plan to do so in the near future, but this time I think I'll go all out and add some flaps and mono-cote.
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Last edited by mattthomas78; Jul 26, 2012 at 05:23 PM.
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Mattthomas 78
Sure would love to know how you opened you battery bay enough to get a 2200 3cell in there. The biggest I could fit is a 1800 3 cell. You'll love the flaps, they work very well and make landing a breeze with the extra weight and speed due to the addition of the paint and all the extra servos and all. The plane flies and feels more scale now with the brushless conversion. all the work is very much worth the rewards. All the best with your Mono Cote Project, please let me know how it goes. I was considering it but, decided to paint instead. The paint cost me like $60.00 , I wonder what it would cost to use mono cote. Thanks for stopping by. |
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Slick 371,
Thanks for the compliments! The spackle didn't add too much weight, because most of it got sanded away. My spackle idea worked like a miracle. I have always taken note of how well spackle sticks to foam. And we all know that paint sticks amazingly to spackle. So I coated the whole plane with a very thin layer of spackle and gently dry sanded it with very fine sandpaper. I sanded it carefully being sure not to sand through the very thin plastic membrane that coats the foam. The results came out great and I'm so happy with the results. Going forward I will always use this method to paint my foam planes. I left the wing struts stock. They are not even needed because I have the carbon spar in the wing. I sharpied them black and leave them on for looks. Thanks for your interest and stop by anytime. |
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Well I'll tell you what Rcbyair, How about I take a few pics and post them for you?
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My plane isn't even in the same class as yours, mine fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, then got run over by a Mack truck.... Lol. I'll have to post them tomorrow because my phone is being stupid and I can't get the pics off of it... Basicly you remove the front portion of the top webbing of the battery box and slide the battery in vertically, the battery sits snug against the wing and battery bay hatch, but pics are worth a thousand words and I'll get them up for you as soon as I can.
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Last edited by mattthomas78; Jul 27, 2012 at 09:47 AM.
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