Not another Super Cub!!!!

quorneng

Master member
I decided on a simple 'high contrast' paint job.
Painted1.JPG
At 7.5oz all up and with 1.6 sqft of wing area it is no speed merchant! It has plenty of thrust from the slow revving 7x4 prop but runs out of aileron power to hold against the motor torque at really slow speeds.

On such a light plane this is always likely to be an issue but increasing the wing nose radius a bit should improve the airflow at high angles of attack so maintaining better aileron control.
 

quorneng

Master member
I actually managed to achieve a complete take off/landing sequence on my rather rough grass field this afternoon.
Note how long the grass is compared to the diameter of the wheels.


Pity the STOL build comp is over! ;)
 

quorneng

Master member
You may notice the motor sounds completely different between the two vdeos almost as if it was now running with a gear box.
In fact as I feared the front bearing on the motor had failed. The first time this has happened in 5 years!
The motor cut out of the fuselage.
MotorOut.JPG
This is the penalty for using a 'super light weight built everything in' type construction. :(
It looks brutal but it does give me the opportunity to build in some down thrust!
 
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You are the master of depron bowdown.gif That is a sweet build. In spite of the Cub's apparent foibles, I still like them. Are there better planes, you bet, but there's just something about a cub. I might have an opportunity to buy a share of a full scale Cub. Something like a Kit Fox is probably a better choice, but I still like the Cubs. My dad had some hours in a Super Cub, and in spite of its strong desire to ground loop, he still really liked it.

A Kitfox with an owner that clearly has much larger stones than brains!


Not to hijack the thread, but it's just a cool video! Right before he gets off the slope, you can see a rather large rock looming on the horizon! I don't think that would have made for a successful take off if he hit it:eek:;)

Almost any bush plane is cool, in my estimation, and a Cub is the quintessential small bush plane.
 

quorneng

Master member
With the front bearing replaced and the motor tested it can be rebuilt into the fuselage with a new slightly larger diameter motor tube.
MtrMntMk2.JPG
With the planking replaced , the nose block rebuilt and a bit of paint you can't even see the join!
PaintedMk2.JPG

Unfortunately this is as far as it got - first test with it all complete the ESC failed!
The motor tries to start but almost immediately cuts out (in fact without the prop it will sometimes run).

Being a very cheap 10A job I am not entirely surprised so a new slightly better 12A is on order but it will require some further surgery (probably on the underside) to fit.

In the meantime I can start thinking about what to build next!
 

Ronsplanes

New member
Interesting......another case of cub hatred. I like the fact that they had to rewrite the rules to eliminate the best contender. That's funny. Kind of like saying only white guys can play basketball lol.

I think you're a bit off on the super cub. The clipped cubs were built without flaps for better cruising speed and range only. The super cubs retained the long wing, added an electrical system, flaps and a bigger engine. They kept getting more power throughout their production.

I'm guessing that you've never experienced a ride in a cub yourself. I doubt that you would have such contempt for them. The Super Cub is the most revered plane in Alaska for good reason. There isn't another plane that was available at any time that could do what the cubs have done. The light weight (700-1000 lbs) and high payload (gross takeoff 1500-1800 lbs), slow stall speed due to large wing and flaps, excellent visibility, durability and ease of repair and maintenance made them as usefull as any old pickup on the farm. They are still the only way some people get into town and back. With all of the mods available for STOL, they get better and better and because they are so loved, they get more expensive. A fully modded 250hp super cub can run you 180,000 used. I can get much larger planes for less. If you really have deep pockets, you can a full carbon fiber fuselage and turbine engine. A carbon cub with a 200hp engine holds the record here at the May Day fly in at 17 feet takeoff.

Here's a picture of my grandfather using a cub in the 70's to carry materials into the lake they built their cabin on. The lake is so small that even still not many planes can get in there. Not bad for a big old dogs dingleberry don't you think? And yes, they really do carry lumber that way.

View attachment 11811
my clipped wing never flew good after 3 grass crashes and repairs it just wanted to Yaw so I had to give some rudder on turns, it was so twitchy on landings and impossible to keep stable, do you think it was the flat clipped wing.
 

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