Loving the Simple Cub!

The Fopster

Master member
I recently built the Simple Cub from a speed build kit (European shipping courtesy of Graupner) and I LOVE this plane! I'm an inexperienced and not very confident pilot, but with it set up on three channels (at the moment) I can go out and fly a few batteries and come home with the plane the same shape as when I left. I did find that it doesn't like the CG being behind the recommended point, but with an 850mah three cell all the way up front it balances out perfectly and is really easy to fly. I was so pleased I even did some simple painting and finishing (stripes with electrical tape, and some military markings drawn on paper with a marker pen) and it looks great in the air. If you're a beginner pilot and are hesitating I'd say based on my experience go ahead and build one.

Next job is to convert it to 4 channel, and then I must get around to building the Spitfire kit I bought at the same time (given the cost of shipping to the UK it seemed crazy only to buy one...).

Happy flying, Cub fans.

PS - before anyone mentions it, I did eventually get around to trimming that landing gear wire.
PPS - yes, I only have the rear BBQ skewer holding in the powerpod. Hasn't fallen out yet...


Cub - 1.jpg
 

mayan

Legendary member
Nice build! Happy that you are getting along well with it. I didn't get aliong it with as a first plane but will surely give it another try in the future.
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dodgebob

Junior Member
Very nice... I also have built a cub . I'm not sure it will fly. I have never flown but have many hours on sim. It handles nothing like a sim. When I take it out it won't go straight during taxi. It basically wants to do donuts. Left or right doesn't matter. As big as the rudder is I wouldn't have seen that coming. When you take off , how long does it taxi before flight? Does it want to go straight? Maybe I'm not giving it enough throttle? Anyway...great looking plane.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob
 

mayan

Legendary member
Very nice... I also have built a cub . I'm not sure it will fly. I have never flown but have many hours on sim. It handles nothing like a sim. When I take it out it won't go straight during taxi. It basically wants to do donuts. Left or right doesn't matter. As big as the rudder is I wouldn't have seen that coming. When you take off , how long does it taxi before flight? Does it want to go straight? Maybe I'm not giving it enough throttle? Anyway...great looking plane.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob
Check that your wheels are moving freely and not binding with the landing gear. That’s why mine never flew.
 

ThatsALotOfPlanes

Active member
Very nice... I also have built a cub . I'm not sure it will fly. I have never flown but have many hours on sim. It handles nothing like a sim. When I take it out it won't go straight during taxi. It basically wants to do donuts. Left or right doesn't matter. As big as the rudder is I wouldn't have seen that coming. When you take off , how long does it taxi before flight? Does it want to go straight? Maybe I'm not giving it enough throttle? Anyway...great looking plane.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

The simple cub is a great beginner build and flyer, but not the friendliest ground handler. It's mostly the wheels being so close together and being kind of far back. Try hand launching it.

Hope this helps!
 

PoorManRC

Master member
If you'd like to, take a look at my Thread on here about moving the Landing Gear forward...
Plus a few other things I've picked up from Flyers much more experienced than I am.

I wasn't even going to mention the long Landing Gear Wire... Or the single skewer... Experimentation is the main joy of FF Aircraft! At least in my case.
Mine is undergoing a couple of radical mods... including adding Right and Down Thrust.

It's a great Trainer right out of the box! I'm just seeing if my own take on it might yield something worthwhile.

Yours looks fantastic! Like an Army Jungle Jumper.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Very nice... I also have built a cub . I'm not sure it will fly. I have never flown but have many hours on sim. It handles nothing like a sim. When I take it out it won't go straight during taxi. It basically wants to do donuts. Left or right doesn't matter. As big as the rudder is I wouldn't have seen that coming. When you take off , how long does it taxi before flight? Does it want to go straight? Maybe I'm not giving it enough throttle? Anyway...great looking plane.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob
Firstly ensure that your wheels are pointed forward and are free to turn without binding.
second thing is to ensure that you are attempting to take off directly into the wind.
third thing is to hold the "up" elevator at maximum up until the plane has attained a fair bit of speed but not enough speed to fly. With the tail held firmly on the ground it helps to stop the plane from veering wildly.
Be gentle with the throttle and accelerate smoothly using around half throttle and increasing to around 75% throttle after the tail lifts.
Ensure that your plane has a considerable speed, (above flying speed), before trying to lift off, and lift off and climb gradually.

Now a few extra checks!
Ensure that you have or add side thrust, (right if using a CCW prop).
If the plane is heavy or a suspect build add a little main wing incidence by fitting a paddle pop stick under the wing LE as this will improve lift and slow its flight speed.

Just my experience!

Have fun!
 

PoorManRC

Master member
That's Sage advice!!!
Personally, the last bit especially, as I'm certain that mine is coming in a little "porky"...
 

kdobson83

Well-known member
I see you attached your decal on the wing with tape? I kinda found a good way to put on any decal your ink jet printer can print. First, download your picture, any picture you can Google really. Get it to the size you want with basically any software, I use simple windows paint with print preview to get the size right but I'm sure there are more accurate ways. Print. Take the print and add tape BEFORE cutting to both the back and front. Then cut out using scissors for the easy parts and a xacto blade for the smaller/inner/precise parts. Then, lightly sand the back side (helps the glue stick). Then use simple spray glue (3m super77 spray glue is what I use) and glue decal where you want. That way it's water proof/resistant, looks good with no tape overhang, and options are unlimited! All you need is a printer and you basic plane building tools!
Anyway, your cub looks great, just thought I'd share a decal tip to help up your game. Lol
 

Brickman

New member
Just flew my Cub today. It dropped bombs perfectly. Its so easy to fly you can watch the bombs as you fly. Landing gear works great. Im a beginner and having trouble hand launching so the gear is a great idea.