The Herr Piper J3 Cub and the Hobby Hangar 1/2A Super Cub

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<td width="50%"><p align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs00.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs00_small-1.jpg" alt="cubs00.jpg (30930 bytes)" WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="50%"><p align="center"><big><strong>Herr ½A Cub</strong></big></p>
<p><strong>Specifications:</strong><ul>
<li>Wingspan: 48 in.</li>
<li>Wing Area: 328 sq. in.</li>
<li>Flying Weight: 1 lb., 9.7 ounces</li>
<li>Motor used: 6V Speed 400, geared</li>
<li>Speed Control: Kontronik Rondo 400</li>
<li>Props: Aeronaut Elektro Glas 8.5 x 5</li>
<li>Cells: 8 Sanyo 500AR's</li>
<li>Receiver: Hitec Micro 555</li>
<li>Servos:&nbsp; Hitec HS81</li>
<li>Manufacturer:&nbsp; Herr Engineering Corporation, <a href="http://www.iflyherr.com/">http://www.iflyherr.com/</a>
</li>
</ul>
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<td width="50%"><p align="center"><big><strong>Hobby Hangar 1/2A Super Cub</strong></big></p>
<p><strong>Specifications:</strong><ul>
<li>Wingspan: 40 in.</li>
<li>Wing Area:&nbsp; approx. 240 sq. in.</li>
<li>Flying Weight: 1lb, 7.7 ounces</li>
<li>Motor used: 6V Speed 400, geared</li>
<li>Speed Control: Jeti 10</li>
<li>Props: Aeronaut Elektro Glas 8.5 x 5</li>
<li>Cells: 7 Sanyo 500AR's</li>
<li>Receiver: Hitec Micro 555</li>
<li>Servos:&nbsp; Hitec HS81</li>
<li>Manufacturer:&nbsp; Hobby Hangar, <a href="http://www.hobbyhangar.com/">http://www.hobbyhangar.com/</a>
</li>
</ul>
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<blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>A friend from Maine once told me the story of a man from New York that was driving up
in Maine. He came to an intersection with a signpost that had two signs that said
Portland, but pointed in different directions. So he asked a local fellow walking by,
&quot;Does it matter which road I take to Portland?&quot; </p>
<p>The local fellow replied, &quot;Not to me it doesn’t.&quot;</p>
<p>Well, it seems that there is more than one way to build a 1/2A Cub, too. Among the
offerings are a J3 from Herr Engineering and a Super Cub from Hobby Hangar. I have built
both, and I’d like to report on the experience. </p>
</blockquote>

<p><big>Herr ½ A Cub </big></p>

<blockquote>
<p>Recent ads have announced the arrival of a series of laser-cut 1/2A planes from Herr
Engineering. Among these are a Piper Cub, a Texan, a Cherokee, a trainer, and an
amphibious plane, the Aqua Star. Several people have written in to the E-flight list about
converting some of these for electric, so I knew it had been done before. I had been
wanting to build a Cub for a while (actually, since I saw someone fly an Electra Cub on
skis three New Year’s Day E-fly’s ago.) So, the Herr Cub was the one I chose. I
even e-mailed Tom Herr to let him know that a lot of us were converting the 1/2A’s
for electric, and later found out that future kits will be supplied with motor mounts and
instructions for e-conversion. </p>
<p><strong>Kit Contents</strong></p>
<p>The kit arrives in a bright yellow box with a photo of the model. Included are the
laser cut parts of both ply and balsa, a plastic cowl and plastic sheeting for the
windows. The nicely complete hardware package includes the control horns, pre-bent wire
gear, gear straps, screws, and wire pushrods. The plans come in two sheets: one for the
fuse and another for the wing and stabilizer. The instructions include diagrams of all of
the laser-cut sheets, to aid in identification of the parts. The instructions are not
photo-illustrated. A set of peel-and-stick decals includes the lightning-bolt stripe for
the sides. </p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs01.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs01_small.jpg" alt="cubs01.jpg (15167 bytes)" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Herr kit contents</td>
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</center></div><p><strong>Wing, Tail</strong></p>
<p>The wing starts with ¼&quot; square upper and lower balsa spars. The laser-cut ribs
practically fall out of their sheets, and the wing goes together nicely. The laser cutting
is a thing of beauty. Shear web-like pieces are laser cut as well, and the wing tips are
D-shaped pieces of lite-ply. There are four dihedral braces, uppers and lowers for each
end of the flat center section. These are also laser-cut, and the process of building the
dihedral is easy to do accurately. The wing is held in place by two dowels up front, and
two nylon bolts in the rear. The leading edge is made from ¼&quot; square stock, and must
be shaped by hand to final profile (not exactly my favorite operation in the building of a
kit.)</p>
<p>The stab and rudder are sheets of 1/8&quot; balsa. I was tempted to drill some
lightening holes, but decided against it, figuring the weight saving would be minimal. </p>
<p><strong>Fuselage</strong></p>
<p>The sides of the fuselage are sheet balsa, with each side consisting of three main
pieces, which are then reinforced by lite-ply doublers. The formers are balsa and light
ply. Constructing the fuselage is straightforward, and during the construction it is
necessary to bend the sides together at the front, to accommodate the cowl. If I had it to
do over, I would not glue the front third of the bottom doublers until bringing the sides
together; this would enable the glue joint between the fuse side and doubler to assist in
holding the front of the fuse together, and might help avoid the small cracking sound I
heard as I brought the sides together to meet the firewall. </p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs03.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs03_small.jpg" alt="cubs03.jpg (14635 bytes)" WIDTH="141" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Herr Cub fuselage with gearbox in place</td>
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</center></div><p>One problem I had to solve was how to mount the motor/gearbox assembly.
In the end I used a piece of .032&quot; aluminum sheet, available from the local hardware
store, to make a mounting plate. The aluminum was thin enough to go in between the motor
and the gearbox. I used a file to flatten the back surface of the gearbox, to make it a
tight fit. I bored a hole in the firewall to allow the motor to pass through, and mounted
the aluminum plate to the firewall with small screws and T-nuts.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs02.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs02_small.jpg" alt="cubs02.jpg (10078 bytes)" WIDTH="141" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">ModelairTech gear drive with mounting
plate</td>
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</center></div><p>The area at the top of the fuselage (at the front of the wing saddle)
looked as though it could use a bit of strengthening, not so much as due to design
weakness as to my uncertainly of my flying skills (I know, &quot;Build to fly, not to
crash,&quot; but I’m not past the possibility of a hard landing or two.) Therefore I
applied strips of carbon laminate at the front wing plate and along the wing saddle.</p>
<p>For mounting the battery, I glued a piece of EPP foam in the floor of the fuse and used
Velcro on the foam to hold the 7-cell, 500mAh pack. </p>
<p>The fuselage and wing were then covered with Cub Yellow Ultracote (which was labeled
&quot;Oracover&quot; on the backing, which I had heard was the case.) I beveled the edges
of the stab and fin, and utilized my favorite hinge material: 3M Scotch ¾&quot; Extra
Strength Crystal Clear tape. It’s easy, strong, removable, and makes an airtight
joint. The all-up weight was 1 pound, 9.7 ounces.</p>
<p><strong>Flying </strong></p>
<p>The first flight was left to the infinitely greater flying skills of Steve Kranish. I
tossed the plane, which climbed very slowly, struggling to gain altitude. A couple of
turns around the field convinced us that the plane was a bit under powered with the 7-cell
pack, and that perhaps a better prop than the standard MA 8X4 could be found. A later
flight was undertaken using an 8-cell pack and the Aeronaut 8.5 X 5 electric series prop
from Hobby Lobby (cat. #HLAN2824), and the overall performance was much better.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs00.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs00_small.jpg" alt="cubs00.jpg (30930 bytes)" WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">The Herr 1/2A Cub against a beautiful
blue sky (apologies to the scale purists among you, but the dummy engine and struts were
deemed non-essential for flight.)</td>
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</center></div><p>Once I had finished the Herr Cub, I had a problem. The plans had called
for two rolls of covering material, but I hadn’t touched the second one. Now, when I
had ordered the Herr Cub, I had also looked at 1/2A Cubs from Hobby Hangar and House of
Balsa. With the extra roll of Cub Yellow Ultracote, there was only one thing to do: build
another Cub. The Hobby Hangar kit is also listed as laser cut, so I decided to order one.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs08.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs08_small.jpg" alt="cubs08.jpg (19468 bytes)" WIDTH="144" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Herr Cub in flight</td>
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</blockquote>

<p><big>Hobby Hangar Cub</big></p>

<blockquote>
<p>One of the other Cubs I had initially considered was the Hobby Hangar Super Cub. It is
also a laser-cut kit, and just the right size for electric conversion. I decided I would
build it and use the same drivetrain I had used for the Herr Cub. There is a superb review
of the Hobby Hangar Cub by Ward Shelley on the E-zone (<a href="http://cgi.ezonemag.com/articles/1999/sep/cub/cubrev.htm">http://cgi.ezonemag.com/articles/1999/sep/cub/cubrev.htm</a>),
so I’ll try not to duplicate the information found there.</p>
<p><strong>Kit Contents</strong></p>
<p>The Hobby Hangar Cub comes with laser cut parts of balsa and plywood, and one of the
first differences I noted was that Hobby Hangar labels the parts on the sheets, using a
lighter setting of laser burn so as not to go through the wood. It is therefore easier to
identify each part on the sheets. Also, unlike the Herr model, the Hobby Hangar includes a
mount for a Speed 400 motor.&nbsp; However, I did not utilize this mount, since I was
setting up the model for a gear drive. The cowl is not a single piece, but must be
assembled from two vacuum-formed halves. The windows are vacuum-formed as well, rather
than being simple plastic sheet. There is a complete package of hardware included as well.
The plans are a single sheet, printed on both sides, and the instructions are
photo-illustrated, but a bit less explicit than for the Herr plane, as I’ll explain
later.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs04.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs04_small.jpg" alt="cubs04.jpg (13437 bytes)" WIDTH="147" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Hobby Hangar Super Cub kit contents</td>
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</center></div><p><strong>Notes on Construction</strong></p>
<p>Overall, the construction is very simple, and the model goes together quickly.
Everything lines up beautifully in this kit, and the accuracy makes building a pleasure.
The laser cutting is a bit finer than in the Herr kit, but the interruptions in the cuts
were a bit larger, requiring more cutting by hand.&nbsp; The labeling of the parts helped
immensely. Building the wing couldn’t have been easier. The upper and lower spars fit
into the ribs egg-crate style, and it is virtually impossible to build the wing anything
but straight.&nbsp; Unlike the Herr Cub, this one uses ailerons. The wing has no dihedral,
so it can be built in its entirety on a flat surface.</p>
<p>The instructors seem to be geared towards the more experienced builder. For example,
gear installation is not spelled out quite exactly, and had I not built other planes with
staggered holes for gear legs, I might have had a difficult time deciphering the procedure
from the instructions. I should also mention that the gear leaves room for only very
narrow wheels, and I had to use Lectra Lite wheels to accommodate the short axles. I used
an aluminum plate to mount the ModelairTech gearbox, much like the arrangement I used for
the Herr Cub. Instead of tail wheels I used Great Planes nylon wingtip skids, to save
weight and because I fly mostly from grass, which would tend to catch a small tailwheel
anyway. The total weight, including 7-cell pack, was 1lb, 7.7 oz.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs05.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs05_small.jpg" alt="cubs05.jpg (23816 bytes)" WIDTH="128" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">gearbox installed in HH Cub fuselage</td>
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</center></div><p><strong>Flying</strong></p>
<p>Again, I chose to let a more experienced flyer take the plane up for its first flights.
Jim Sarrette, of the New Hampshire Flying Misfits (I’ve seen him roll my LowWatt,
honest!) was kind enough to assist. On seven cells and the Aeronaut prop, the Hobby Hangar
Cub climbed nicely, and flew gently (this time I actually took over the controls for a
while before switching back to the camera), and made a beautiful landing.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs09.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs09_small.jpg" alt="cubs09.jpg (51255 bytes)" WIDTH="144" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Hobby Hangar Cub coming in for a landing</td>
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</center></div><p><strong>Summary</strong></p>
<p>Both planes were fun to build, and while the Herr had more explicit instructions
(better for the less-experienced builder), the Hobby Hangar had the advantage of parts
labeled on the sheets, and easier alignment of parts during assembly. The Herr is simpler,
using rudder and elevator only; again, a positive for newer flyers. </p>
<p>So, in the end, does it matter which one you build? Not to me it doesn’t.</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs06.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs06_small.jpg" alt="cubs06.jpg (34941 bytes)" WIDTH="168" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Comparison of the Herr Cub fuselage to
that of the more diminutive HH Cub</td>
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</center></div><p>&nbsp;</p>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><a href="/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs07.jpg"><img src="https://static.rcgroups.net/articles/ezonemag/2000/mar/cub/cubs07_small.jpg" alt="cubs07.jpg (54765 bytes)" WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="100"></a></td>
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<td width="100%" align="center"><p align="center">Side by side: Herr on left, Hobby Hangar
on right.</td>
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</center></div><p>&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p align="left"><big>E-mail Contact</big></p>

<blockquote>
<p align="left">Robert Buonfiglio &lt;<a href="http://rcgroups.com/shared/nospam.php?u=krazybob&d=tiac.net">krazybob(at)tiac .net</a>&gt;</p>
</blockquote>