Herr J-3 Cub w/Floats Build

jsknockoff

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I took a good look at the Cub and decided against the battery hatch. I considered the bottom hatch which was the only real option, but since it will be spending some time on water I want to keep the bottom sealed up as much as possible. Quick flight turnaround time is not a priority for me on this one.

I’ve had some busy days working this week but I took some time this morning to frame up the first pontoon. It went together very easily. I used thin CA for most of it besides the very bottom sheeting. Parts fitment was top notch.

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nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
I love float planes, someday I may tackle a build like this. For now my Tundra on floats fills that fix.
 

jsknockoff

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I’ve never flown a plane on floats so I’m really excited to try this, I wish there was a larger body of water near me that I could fly off from. I’d absolutely love to build a Balsa USA Super Cub on floats.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
I’ve never flown a plane on floats so I’m really excited to try this, I wish there was a larger body of water near me that I could fly off from. I’d absolutely love to build a Balsa USA Super Cub on floats.

Your going to want a large body of water your first few time out as landing can take up space. You need to fly it onto the water gently and if your short on space it is tempting to drop it down wich can result in a nose over. Otherwise water operations are pretty easy and fun. I always hold up elevator when taxing around too as it will prevent nose overs.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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Or... if you've got a good open approach and can touch-down without having to dodge brush, cattails, etc. you'll be surprised how fast a plane stops on water. As you probably guessed, stopping on water is even quicker if you come in at a 90* angle to the water! :) Take-off is just the opposite as you need the space to gain speed, get the floats up on-step, and then lift-off and climb. The area I float-fly at is about perfect for it - shallow water, long open approaches, and sized perfectly to walk around in case you need to manually retrieve a plane. The ponds are man-made retention ponds, about 75' x 300' rectangles maybe 4' deep at most.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
I always bring one of my white water kayaks for a rescue boat. I can perform rescues really fast and have had to a few times now. Learning curve...
 

jsknockoff

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Probably not a bad idea to bring the kayak along for the test flight. For maiden day I’m going to take it to the city reservoir. It’s massive so there shouldn’t be an issue with obstacles but I’m guessing that flying airplanes off of it is frowned upon so I’ll have to pick a time when there is no one around.
 

jsknockoff

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Hi guys, just updating my thread with a little info since I haven’t been contributing much lately. Shortly after thanksgiving I found out my wife and best friend of 10 years had decided to leave me for a guy she met at work. Needless to say that brought a pretty abrupt end to any activities outside of trying to figure out what to do with my life and how to explain the situation to my 8 year old son. I’m at the point now where I’m trying to get things to a level of normal again. All my stuff is currently in storage till I figure out a permanent living situation, which I hope happens soon. I still check in here on the forum regularly and hope to get back into the flying stuff very soon.
 

jsknockoff

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So sorry! I hope you can resume some semblance of normalcy soon. Focus on that boy, he's what really matters now.

Thanks for the kind words. It’s difficult to understand how hard a divorce can be until you go through one. I never expected this to happen to me and would have never guessed it would feel the way it does. The one good thing to come out of it for me is that she mainly just wanted to walk away and she was willing to give up almost all time with my son so he will be living with me. It’s tough to comprehend how someone you think you know so well can be that different in the blink of an eye.
 

TexMechsRobot

Posted a thousand or more times
Man that's rough. I'm watching a family member deal with this as well and it's terrible. I'm glad to hear that you're recovering and looking to the future.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Thanks for the kind words. It’s difficult to understand how hard a divorce can be until you go through one. I never expected this to happen to me and would have never guessed it would feel the way it does. The one good thing to come out of it for me is that she mainly just wanted to walk away and she was willing to give up almost all time with my son so he will be living with me. It’s tough to comprehend how someone you think you know so well can be that different in the blink of an eye.

That certainly comes close to pegging the Suck-Meter, sorry to hear about it. In the long run it'll hopefully be better for you and your son had it been an ugly or resent-filled split. People can change in an instant and to extremes people can't understand. About 30 years ago, the day after I left for college, my mom packed up and left my dad and 3 kids (we were basically adults at that time, but my younger sister was still living at home). She flipped and just wanted to start over, I guess? I had some contact with her for about a year and then she got re-married & moved to Florida. The last time any of us saw her was at her mom's funeral a decade ago. Hell, she met my daughter once when she was 2 and has never met my son - they're 19 and 17 now and have zero relationship with her. Same with my brother's two kids, she's only met the oldest many years ago. Leaving a spouse is difficult, but it amazes me that somebody can leave their kids and have no interest in seeing their grandkids? I know her parents were very stern and her upbringing has a ton to do with her actions (I learned a LOT listening to Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew on Loveline and their new podcast), but damn...! :confused:

End rant.
 

jsknockoff

Active member
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The drastic change is the hardest part to deal with, the other relationship was only three weeks old. She has since moved on from him and has been going out trying to meet new guys at the bar. I tried pretty desperately to reconcile and she has no interest. Claims she is not happy with herself so is unable to be happy with us. Literally went from a loving mom and wife to completely new person in a few weeks. Nothing I did or said made a dent in her decision. I question the amount of involvement she will have with our son moving forward. I hope she can keep it together and stay involved with him. It’s so strange watching it happen because my son and I were the pride of her life. Then it just turned off like a switch.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
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I'm sorry to hear this - it's tough as hell and every situation is unique. I was lucky to not have kids when my first wife left me for a mutual friend and can't imagine how I'd deal with that now that I do have a new spouse and daughter.

One thing I sort of wonder with how quick the switch has been is if there is a physical reason that might be triggering the personality change. I have read (but not personally experienced) that some types of tumors can cause dramatic and rapid personality changes, and it might be worth investigating a bit and see if she'll check into it with a doctor.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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“It’s not a tumor!” Said in the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
 

jsknockoff

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There are so many unanswered questions with this whole thing I’m not sure what to think. Unfortunately she isn’t willing to talk or listen to anyone. At this point the damage from the cheating has already been done, it’s multiple different people at this point so there is no chance of reconciliation. It’s just heartbreaking to watch someone who you’ve cared about for so long destroy the life that they created and cared about. The things that are happening are so uncharacteristic of my wife that it does make me wonder if it’s a mental or medical issue but that is for her to figure out now.
 

agentkbl

Illegal Squid Fighting?
I'm certainly praying for you. I hope you can get things straightened out eventually. Nothing can describe the level of suckiness that that must be.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
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There are so many unanswered questions with this whole thing I’m not sure what to think. Unfortunately she isn’t willing to talk or listen to anyone. At this point the damage from the cheating has already been done, it’s multiple different people at this point so there is no chance of reconciliation. It’s just heartbreaking to watch someone who you’ve cared about for so long destroy the life that they created and cared about. The things that are happening are so uncharacteristic of my wife that it does make me wonder if it’s a mental or medical issue but that is for her to figure out now.

I sympathize with the pain. Know you're not alone - and a bunch of us virtual weirdo's are here pulling for you, and cheering you on for keeping your son the primary focus. With luck father/son hobby time will be something that brings you both some joy - once you get time and place to unpack it :) And hopefully things will be in a better place come summer time and you can both come over to FliteFest East for some healing fellowship.
 
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jsknockoff

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I truly appreciate the kind words and support guys. Hopefully once the legal stuff is out of the way, things will start to level out. It’s a lot to take in all at once and there are a lot of decisions to make that I haven’t had to deal with since before we met. Life is literally starting over for me. I feel like I’ve handled things the best way that I could’ve and I have no regrets.