Madien Flight SC 2.0

Flight Date: 20Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub 2.0- Mostly Stock Plane Upgraded Electronics)
WX: ~10mph, Temp ~19F and snowing
Ground Conditions: 1inch light snow
Field: (#2 Baseball Field)

Flight Summary

First some background....

I have been working on a top secret project for the last few weeks. After I lost the esc/receiver from the stock SC, I had decided that I wanted to upgrade the electronics to work with my Spektrum DX7 transmitter.

When I purchased the new SC esc/receiver, I went ahead and purchased it within a fuselage that contained all the electronics for channel 1. I pulled out the esc and put it in SC 1.0 and used the fuselage for SC 2.0. This was more cost effective. For an incremental $25, I obtained the new fuselage, motor / mount, and front cowl. I had to purchase a new wing, tail, sticker set, and landing gear with (larger wheels to complete) the SC flying platform.

I have made a few minor modifications to the SC fuselage which primarily consist of changing the internal batery box and strengthening the battery box with aircraft- reinforcing spars (also known as Popsicle sticks) and epoxy.

The stock servos were removed as well as the Anti-crash Technology. I ended up using the following electronics with the stock motor.

ESC: Electrifly C-25 Mini Brushed ESC w/ BEC
Receiver: Spektrum AR6200
Servos: Hitech HS-55
Battery: Stock NI-MH

A few pictures show the reinforcing spars and the internal location of the electronics.

If you are interested in obtaining more information on how to do these minor modifications, as well as others, you can see how it is done through these youtube tutorials. I generally followed the approaches on strengthening the battery box, but I ended up just epoxying on the cover instead of using screws.

Now, on the flight...

This was a maiden like a maiden should be. The plane took off from a rolling start easy and climbed stably to a good altitude. I felt that this SC had tighter controls than SC 1.0. I was able to make shallower turns and control the plan better with the upgraded electronics. For the most part the flights where uneventful and enjoyable. I kept kept them slightly short as not to run out the batteries completely. On the 2^nd flight I had a perfect landing. The plane came in nice an level and rolled on the ground until coming to a complete stop. Because the landing was so good, I thought I would go for another- the last landing of the evening. Well the last landing was not a smooth as the previous one and ended a little rough and nose down in the snow. Although a little rough, nothing was damaged.

Another thing I noticed was a lack of motor stitching. I have had no issues with the stock TX/RX in terms of flight controls, however the motor does occasionally glitch. When it glitches it is typically at full throttle and for a brief moment the motor reduces back some and then returns wide open. Given the mostly windy conditions I have been flying in, I had noticed this a lot recently with the stock TX/RX/ESC as I run WOT a lot. I noticed this did not occur on SC 2.0.

Things I learned from these flights
The Spektrum electronics are a significant step up from SC Stock
When you have a great landing towards the end of the flight call it good

Damage
None

Stats
SC 1.0 Cumulative Flights: 14
SC 2.0 Cumulative Flights: 2
Cumulative Hrs: 3.0
Successful Landings: 25
SC Maintenance / Repairs* ~$48

*Cost to replace items broken in flight (SC 1.0 and extra Battery cost: ~$150)

Rain

Here is a picture of SC (also know as Rain as named by my 5 year old). I wanted to point out a recommended upgrade and that is the wheels on the landing gear. I believe this is a requirement if you are going to be landing on rough grass, snow or ice. I installed these wheels after the first day of flying.

The stock wheels are a little over an inch in diameter and the new wheels that I have put on are 2.5 inches in diameter. I find that the larger wheel roll well on rough terrain. The cost was ~$6.50

I picked up this and other tips off a nice youtube video series by NeCubFlyer. The pilot that put these videos together has a wealth of knowledge related to the Super Cub.

Also, I wanted to point out my battery box fix- which is what I fondly call red airplane tape. So far the tape is holding up as is the battery box. I'll admit that this is not the most aesthetic solution but it fits with my primary intent which is to use the SC flying platform to get up the learning curve of RC flight efficiently- as quickly as one can in the middle of a MN winter.

I have added the cost of wheels to the running stats:

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 14
Cumulative Hrs: 2.7
Successful Landings: 22
$ to date: $202

Depth Perception

Flight Date: 19Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: ~8mph, Temp ~19F
Ground Conditions: 1inch light snow
Field: (#2 Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
I decided to try a different field today. This 2^nd field is primarily a baseball field and is probably around 600X600 feet. On one side it is lined with trees which makes a nice buffer between the “flying field” and the nearby homes. Oddly enough I had the whole field to myself this evening around 5:15 as the sun began to dip behind the horizon casting a yellow glow on the field that was just recently dusted with snow.

The pictures above illustrates one unfortunate incident that occurred during the first of 2 flights. At 9minutes, 12 seconds into the flight SC landed in a tree at about 25 feet. Now a slight digression....

For those of you SIM users I am guessing you may occasionally find yourself colliding with the trees in the background only to say to yourself “how fake, I was nowhere near those trees”. Well, oddly enough, the first thought that crossed my mind was, “I was nowhere near those trees”. While in the sim the plane breaks into pieces in real life the plane just lands in the trees as if to say: “I am ready for the next flight if you can get me down”

This is when you also begin thinking to yourself “what if that had been a nice balsa kit that I had spent the last 6 months building and equipping with the latest and greatest electronics instead of a relatively inexpensive piece of foam and plastic from China.

After surveying the situation, I thought I had 3 options. 1.) Go buy another SuperCub, 2.) Check back every 1-2 hours to see if the wind picked up enough to blow the SC down. 3.) Go back to my garage and load up the car with my trusty plastic conduit and see if I could get lucky.

Well, as much as I wanted to go with option 1, I new I had to return to get a picture for the blog. So, I loaded up the car with 3, 8 feet sections and a few shorter pieces of plastic conduit and a roll of electrical tape.

To make a long story short, after a lot of heaving and struggling I finally managed to dislodge SC from her perch. The result was bent landing gear and a few more chips on the wing edges. No big deal....

I was cold, It was almost dark and I was not happy, what better conditions for flight number 2!

I went ahead and conducted some repeated take off and landings. All told I completed about 12 new landings and at least half where great. The others where fine but resulted in minor undesirable qualities like a gentle nose or wing tip.

Things I learned from these flights
Depth perception can be and issue with trees
For field flying choosing your flying position can help avoid a depth perception issue- e.g. stand between your flying area and the objects of concern and don't allow the plane to pass
My 10 dollar leather lined work gloves are warmer than my 40 REI gloves
Wielding 25 feet of plastic conduit in 20 degree weather isn't an attractive aspect of RC flight

Damage

None

Stats

Cumulative Flights: 14

Cumulative Hrs: 2.7

Successful Landings: 22

$ to date: $195.5

Surfing the Wind

Flight Date: 16Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: ~14mph, Temp ~40F
Ground Conditions: Visible ground
Field: (large Soccer / Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
Overall flights were good. I had one nose in landing the first flight due to wind. I didn't gain altitude fast enough and lost control. This resulted in my first broken prop. Everything else was intact.

I had to fly full throttle into the wind to make progress. At first I the elevator was flat and the plane was trying to climb too much and was hard to control. I added a little down elevator (1 or 2 clicks) and the plane would then make steady forward progress and was much easier to control.

I had 2 nice landings into the wind and a couple hard landings.

Things I learned from these flights
In windy conditions, use down elevator trim to stabilize the plan and allow it to make forward progress at high throttle. Convert thrust to ground speed instead of elevation.

Damage
Broken Prop ~$3.50

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 12
Cumulative Hrs: 2.4
Successful Landings: 10
$ to date: $195.5

Tale of Two Cities

Flight Date: 15Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: ~3-5mph, Temp ~20F
Ground Conditions: Visible ground Ice encrusted
Field: (large Soccer / Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
It was the best of times......
This was my the first day of real flying. The wind was relatively low and the plane handled well. I practiced a number of touch and goes. I was able to consistently fly circles and figure of 8 pasterns. I was also able to control the planes altitude well. I would estimate at least 7-8 good landings. I also practiced cutting the motor at altitude and bringing the plane in with no power. Although SC isn't particularly loud, “there is a certain satisfaction that comes from a non-powered approach when all you can hear is the sound of wind and servo”

Things came together and I was even able to pull of a couple of loops. Cool!

It was the worst of times......
Later in the day I tried landing in a more precise way near the dirt in the baseball diamond. This is where the scene changed on me. I was getting too close to the tall fences and had to make some difficult corrections resulting in a rough landing that snapped the tail. This was a let down compared the otherwise fantastic day of flying. I did simply push the tail back together and took another short flight, but the plane was not as controllable so I took SC back to the hanger for an assessment.

The good news is I was able to fixed the break with some Devron 5 minute Epoxy and adjusted the control surfaces while I was at it.

In the time it took to charge one battery again, I had the SC fixed and was able to make one last sunset flight!

Things I learned from these flights
You can absolutely fix the SC with Epoxy
The repairs help you learn about the plane- in this case how to adjust the control surfaces
It is easier to fly in low wind

Damage
Tail Snapped: Fixed with Epoxy in less time than it took to charge batteries ~$8.00

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 9
Cumulative Hrs: 1.9
Successful Landings: 8
$ to date: $192

A Glimmer of Hope

Date: 14Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: Windy ~15mph at altitude Temp ~20F
Ground Conditions: Snow 1 inch with visible ground
Field: (large Soccer / Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
I was able to sneak out on Valentines day for a couple of quick flights. It was a solo, as there as no one else was interested in experiencing all this fun at the cost of standing in an icy field in 20 degree weather.

It was still a little windy, but I was determined to gain some stick time. The title says it all in that these two flight did give me a glimmer of hope. I still had my share of landing-gear-bending moments, but I also experienced some steady flying and was able to execute some circular patterns at a steady altitude.

The 2 main keys to my new-found success was that I worked on the trim of the plane and did my best to keep the stick movements minor.

I was able to capture a few moments of real piloting and it was way better than the SIM.

Things I learned from these flights
A trimmed plane is a happy plane
Minor adjustments allows the plan to fly
A little Red Tape works miracles

Damage
None!

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 6
Cumulative Hrs: 0.6
Successful Landings: 0
$ to date: $184

Take 2

Date: 07Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: Windy at altitude- high gusts, Temp ~20F
Ground Conditions: Snow 3-5 inches
Field: (large Soccer / Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
Determined to shake off the ill-fated maiden, I took to the sky's again after brushing up a few quick simulated SC flights on my Clearview R.C. flight simulator.

As mentioned, the SuperCub sustained almost no damage from the maiden flight. With my hopes high I took another swing. Little did I know that my 5 year old's words of wisdom "ground Daddy" mentioned in the maiden flight log would be prophetic description of what was to come.

I decided to try the hand launch and this worked very well. The problem I had was now an aversion for altitude and the control-loosing wind that I had experienced before, so I kept her low. This caused its own set of problems as the many mistakes I made where amplified by the plane striking the ground- sometimes violently. Nevertheless I persevered with several re-occurring thoughts going through my head such as: "$130 dollars for a new plane will not be so bad as long as you can get this one to fly for a few 100 yards" and "your good enough to fly this thing it's only a 3-channel set up and you have at least 50 hours on the Sim with at least as many SC landings"

Toward the end I did get a few nice circle passes and just about the time I thought I had it down. We had a "rough landing" which resulted in the well known dangling battery box issue.

Hey it still flies with a dangling battery box! It just doesn't land very nicely that way.....

For those that don't already know, the battery box looks like this:

Things I learned from these flights:

• It is hard to learn to fly in the wind- start when its calm if you can wait

• Those plastic pieces on the SC landing gear get in the way when you are learning to land- or rather learning to bend the gear back after landing- take them off

• When you start off fly high enough that a single mistake doesn't result in a forced landing- start when the wind is calm if you can wait

• I think the wing struts are aesthetic- she'll fly without them...

• The SC is remarkably durable

Damage
Wing- leading edge received some damaged- fixed with nice red "airplane" tape
Wing Struts- The hooks broke off of one side. I flew the plane anyway ~$1.10
Battery box- The batter box broke loose- fixed with red "airplane" tape ~$3.50
Electronics- Super Cub ESC / Receiver went bad- ~$26

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 2
Cumulative Hrs: 0.3
Successful Landings: 0
$ to date: $184

HobbyZone Super Cub Maiden Flight

Date: 07Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: Windy at altitude- high gusts, Temp ~20F
Ground Conditions: Snow 3-5 inches
Field: (large Soccer / Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
It was a crisp, sunny MN morning. And my flying career was about to begin. With the plane, and 5 year old daughter in tow, I headed to the flying field which happens to be directly behind my backyard.

Since, I couldn't decide if I should hand launch the Cub or go with a ground rolling start, I asked my 5 year old co-pilot and her confidence inspiring reply was- "Ground Daddy".

The plane took off well from a snow packed ground. Yes!! I am flying-- all that SIM experience has payed off! Trying to be conservative, I cut the power back to about 1/2 throttle. The SC made its way up to about 25-30 ft ( in about 30seconds into the flight ) and I lost control. In more descriptive terms, The plane ended up on the wrong side of home plate. Between me and the plane was a 25 ft tall fence and netting- designed to keep the errant foul ball from nailing the spectators. I had hit a foul...

My pilot mind began to race. I tried plan A which was add more power and try to make it over the large net- this wasn't working. Assessing the situation I looked for a plan B- with a distinct desire not to exit my flying area and with no water landing possible my only choice was Plan C. Turn off the transmitter, fold up the antenna and plan to spend another $127 dollars on a new SC.....

The plane glided away out of site in a scene reminiscent of one of my many model rocket experiences from the summer before. I had a sinking feeling that my flying career had ended before it ever began. On top of that my 5 year old didn't seem too impressed with the whole take the plane up and let it float away flying style I had just demonstrated.

Ultimately, I had to use a plastic pole to get the plane out of a tree which out of an apparent act of grace was cradling the once-lost SC about 10 feet above the ground. No collateral damage, I was relieved

Key Learnings

• If it is windy on the ground it is even windier in the air

• It is hard to learn to fly in the wind- start when its calm if you can wait

• Fly the plane up wind (you are down wind)

• The plane will stall / become uncontrollable at low airspeed turning back into the wind

• Fly well within your field boundaries

• Don't run off looking for your plane without bringing your 5 year old with you

Damage
Amazingly, no damage other than the hopes of a slightly un-impressed 5-year old daughter. I'll win her back!

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 1 (sort of)
Cumulative Hrs: 0.01
Successful Landings: 0
$ to date: $154

Gaining Experience With the Super Cub

Goal: Use the Hobby Zone Super Cub as an economical and efficient means to develop basic RC flying skills without expert assistance. I intend to use only the Super Cub flying platform until I have completed at minimum the following:


# of Flights: 100
# of Flight Hours: 16hours (each flight is ~ 10 minutes with stock Battery)
# of Landings: 100

In this blog will track the overall cost and time to achieve this result in this log along with key leaning points.

06Feb2008- Purchased Super Cub and 1 Extra Battery:

SuperCub: ~$130
Battery: ~$24