World Model 1/5 Scale J3 Cub?

[root]

Applying the decals and tapping the wing tube for frequent on-off's as per manual is what's left to do.
The crap instructions only give you 3x18mm numbers to go by so I had to phone Airborne in California and just found out that the screws are M3 X .5 size.
The Dubro authentic Cub wheels look better but the hub caps have to be painted white from yellow.
Besides applying more epoxy to the firewall joints and using a better fuel cap and putting in 3 washers worth of down thrust, I also did some mods to the hatch to make it safer to keep shut and easier to access with only 2 screws. I also made a ledge on the hatch side for the black deck.I'll shoot some pictures soon.
The elevator set up w/ the 3 control rods joined by the plastic contraption worries me cause I already had to tighten it cause it came loose while dialing in the throws.
Can any body tell me of a way to make this more dependable besides abandoning the set-up and wire wrapping & silver soldering the 3 rods?
***************Elevator rods UPDATE
I just brushed on some Gorilla Glue all over the little box and the control rods after sanding the pieces to assure a permanent hold. It looks like a tan cocoon around the whole section. Hopefully it will work better than epoxy which I heard can get brittle over time and the bond could crack especially w/ the planes vibration egging things on.

I'm done and ready for a maiden flight if the weather holds up.

[root]

I'm done arf-ing......ready to fly.....tomorrow if the weather permits.

[BountyHunter51]

Hey Root, way to go man! How about a few pics?? Good luck on your maiden!
Cheers! BH

[root]

Hey Bounty Hunter, I flew the Clipped Cub today (I beat you) . It needed a few clicks of down elevator and that's with 3 washers behind the engine mount and the CG spot on at 3-3/4's behind the leading edge along side the fuse. Otherwise not a tad bit of rudder or aileron trim was needed in order to run straight and true. Quite a bit of rudder is needed on take off but once the tail is up, it tracks pretty straight. I had to use a few clicks above idle in order to land smoothly.I found this out on the second landing attempt where I tip stalled but rescued it at the last moment. Loops are really smooth and very wide if you want them to be and rolls are quite scale with the ailerons set at 3/4 inch up and 3/4 down for low rates. Elevator was set to 1 inch for both directions because of others reporting the factory setting of 1-1/2 too much. Rudder at 1-1/2 instead of 2.3 factory and was very effective at slip and slide flat turns. The plane feels almost like your on a simulator most of the time. My Saito 82A w/ 14x6 APC at full throttle doesn't really pull the plane as non-scale as one might think. Maybe you just can't GO that fast because of the aerodynamics of a Cub - even a Clipped Wing version. The only thing I did when I got home was put on a Dubro chrome covered Brass spinner hub to give it a little more nose weight to compensate for the down elevator that I had to dial in. We'll see how that goes t'morrow. All in all I would recommend this plane to anybody with intermediate skills that wants a relaxing yet slightly challenging model.

[BountyHunter51]

Hey Root!
Congrats on the maiden. I'm glad that all went great for ya. Sounds like you had a blast!
I wanted to get some things done on mine this evening, but again, that didn't happen. It sounds like this plane is going to be right up my alley......old and slow. LOL
Keep me informed on how things go tomorrow. Post some pics man. LOL.
Cheers! BH

[root]

Took 4 more flights today without a hitch. The Dubro weighted spinner hub adjusted the CG perfectly ...I'm guessing it's moved to 3-1/4 from 3-3/4. Regardless, following the factory recommendations at 3-3/4 are not going to give you level flight. (and I have 3 washers of down-thrust added)
The flat deck and pilot aren't in yet because I was impatient and wanted to fly as soon as possible.
Gotta love Hazel Sig.

[BountyHunter51]

Root,
Glad to hear that you've gotten things sorted out. I'll definately keep an eye on my CG. I don't think that I put as much down thrust in mine (I'll have to check). I'm suspect that mine will be a bit nose heavy with my motor anyway.
The blue sunburst pattern is one of my favorites. I can see why you were in a hurry to fly yours. That's one great looking Cub! Now I want one of those too, LOL!
Your build has gotten me motivated again to finish mine. I don't have a great deal to do to complete it, I just over-stress on the details. I'll do my best to finish up on mine this week and keep you posted on the progress. Keep me up to date on how yours is flying.
Congrats again on the sucessful flights. Your Cub is definately a 'looker', and sounds like a sweet flyer.
Cheers! BH

[root]

Hey BH51,
DON"T FORGET to make bends in the 3 elevator rods and insert them in the little UNNOTICEABLE holes (THAT MUST BE REAMED OUT) in the 3 rod connecting box before you tighten it.
I didn't do that because the instructions don't mention it and the picture does not show it. The results were that one half of the elevator came loose and I ballooned like crazy until I fixed it.
Lucky for me, a club member who put one of these together a week before figured it out and showed me what I did wrong.
I had to scrape off the gorilla glue that did not hold worth a @#$% anyway and start all over by bending the rods and reaming them out at the feild and using a new 256 rod to replace the factory rod that I already had Z bended and was too short. All this was done in about an hour at the feild and I was able to fly that day thanks to DENNIS MALONEY.
A friend of mine just bought and started putting together the yellow AT-6 Texan by World Models.Sure enough, he did the same thing I did, forgetting or not realizing the right angle bends needed to be made and inserted. He epoxied the hell out of the straight wire inside the "box" and screwed it shut. He's hoping and praying it will hold up to the stresses of the servo. I told him that he's CRAZY for not re-doing the whole thing with a tube and silver solder if the epoxied plastic box doesn't survive prying it apart. We'll see........Any ways, mine is fine and I'm confident it will stay that way with the bends showing sticking out the bottom.
I hope I got to you before you made the same mistake I did.!!!!!!!!!!!
It's an awesome cub and I'm thrilled with its performance.
root aka Bob G

[root]

Ha ...it's me again, after 3 weeks, no more clipped model to talk about but I have the 83 inch model now. In fact, I'll be flying it for the first time after some sleep and a cup of Joe. I'll be sure to give you a report if all goes well...Hey BH did you ever get that Cub of yours off the ground?

root aka Bob G

[BountyHunter51]

Hey Root! No more clipped wing??? ......should I dare ask?
Definately keep me up to speed on the 83. I think that my Cub is destined to never be finished. It seems that I can never get back on it. Between all of the 'have to do's' and starting a new job, I might have it done sometime in 2010. LOL

Cheers! BH

[root]

BH,
The Clipped wing version was flown far enough away from these old aging eyes in combination with a crap pair of sunglasses and I lost orientation. Then the trees grabbed her and cracked her fuselage in half along with the plastic windshield and cowl. The wing survived with a little bruise here and there and is being stored for recovering and re-use as a second "clipped alternative".
The 83 inch non-clipped version was maidened today and flew great - maybe even better than the clipped wing in that it was easier to keep in the air. It didn't drop out of the sky as easy...although It also did NOT want to roll without using down elevator like the clipped wing could. Flat turns, take-offs and landings were the same along with the CG at 3-3/4. I'm using the same throws and same parts from the previous plane...3050 servos, 1650 mAh battery, rx and even the clipped wing's landing gear and Dubro 1/5 scale Cub wheels and tires. I used 256 rods for the controls and had to use longer screws for the elevator "box" but that's about it for mods.
All in all a great plane ---I hope this one lasts longer than a dozen flights. I'll be sure to keep it closer visually and will no longer be using the "crash" sunglasses. I'll shoot some jpegs when I cut the cowl in a day or two.
Good luck on your new job. I guess "life" comes before flying RC planes (sometimes)?
root aka Bob G

[Old Fart]

Anyone have any thoughts as to an appropriate gasser that would work? I'm considering this plane (after I finish my WM 1/7 P-47), but want to go gasser - and paint/recover to a L-4

[root]

Even the smallest gasser would have trouble in the very narrow cowl.....and would be WAY overpowered..........WAY

[Old Fart]

I would have thought an 8lb/73" wingspan bird would have been fine with a G20 Zenoah as far as power - but if the cowl area is that tight

[root]

Great as far as poundage to power goes but the cowl goes from 4-3/4 inces at the fire wall to 3-1/4 at the nose /prop hub ....From what i remember about the G20, youd have to butcher the thing in order to fit it. Maybe a rear carb design like the Evo's but that big square carb would take one side away and the cooling fins would take out the whole bottom ...that would leave you with one side intact....maybe....