Help! Real beginner here, no luck with FT Simple Cub

[FrancisDeSales2021]

Hi everyone. I'm very new to RC planes, and this is my first time posting here, and I need a little help. I've been having a great time flying around a little Hobbyzone Sport Cub S2 for a few weeks, but I can see that this little fragile plane isn't going to last me too much longer. I built a FT Simple Cub using DollarTree foamboard. The build seemed to go pretty well. I used THIS (link) CF2822, 1200KV motor from Amazon. It seemed pretty underpowered so I bought another motor (LINK) and 40A ESC. This time a D2836-6 1500KV. Now I've got power, probably a little too much power. It is FAST, at least to me. Here's the thing though, I am basically having to fly with full up elevator the entire time just to stay level. It doesn't glide really, and so far I've kept it in the air for maybe 20 seconds. I think I built it too heavy, using a 2200 mah 3S battery, and too complicated, 4 channel with a HobbyEagle A3Super3 flight controller (I'm not great without the safemode on the hobbyzone plane yet).

I need something that flies SLOW AND EASY. Can you please give me some recommendations? It would be great if I could use one of those 2 motors I have, but I completely understand if I need to just start over and buy a different motor and battery. One other consideration: when I saw my Simple Cub rocket off this morning, I came to realize that my flying area is pretty SMALL. Its about the size of a football field scaled up by 1.5.

Thanks So Much!

 

[Corsair714]

Hi everyone. I'm very new to RC planes, and this is my first time posting here, and I need a little help. I've been having a great time flying around a little Hobbyzone Sport Cub S2 for a few weeks, but I can see that this little fragile plane isn't going to last me too much longer. I built a FT Simple Cub using DollarTree foamboard. The build seemed to go pretty well. I used THIS (link) CF2822, 1200KV motor from Amazon. It seemed pretty underpowered so I bought another motor (LINK) and 40A ESC. This time a D2836-6 1500KV. Now I've got power, probably a little too much power. It is FAST, at least to me. Here's the thing though, I am basically having to fly with full up elevator the entire time just to stay level. It doesn't glide really, and so far I've kept it in the air for maybe 20 seconds. I think I built it too heavy, using a 2200 mah 3S battery, and too complicated, 4 channel with a HobbyEagle A3Super3 flight controller (I'm not great without the safemode on the hobbyzone plane yet).

I need something that flies SLOW AND EASY. Can you please give me some recommendations? It would be great if I could use one of those 2 motors I have, but I completely understand if I need to just start over and buy a different motor and battery. One other consideration: when I saw my Simple Cub rocket off this morning, I came to realize that my flying area is pretty SMALL. Its about the size of a football field scaled up by 1.5.

Thanks So Much!

I would have to say that the FT tiny trainer is an amazing plane and probably right up your ally for a good beginner plane. You can also fly some arebatic stuff with it once you become a better pilot. You probably wouldn't be able to use the current electronics you have though. I know some people say the FT spitfire is also a decent plane to learn on and I think your current electronics would work in it. I would also suggest that you learn to fly without that flight stabilizer. As far as you always needing to apply constant elevator on your plane to fly, I would check the cg (center of gravity) where does your plane balance? Also did you try adding some up trim?

 

[Ketchup]

I am going to second the tiny trainer. Possibly the FT Speedster (it's actually slow despite the name) or Old Fogey too if you want to use the same electronics you have. You want to get off the flight controller and safe mode as soon as possible. The more you get used to that the harder it will be to fly without it later.

 

[FrancisDeSales2021]

Thanks! The more I've been reading, the more I'm looking at the tiny trainer. I think I'll head to town and get me a "Power Pack A".

 

[CrashRecovery]

Have you tried to see if it will glide if you just throw it? If it will not glide you need to adjust the CG. I would start from there and report back to let us know what you find.

 

[Corsair714]

Gliding is a good way to figure out if yo plane is balanced correctly. I was also just thinking you might like the FT explorer too. It's a good plane since it's virtually impossible to break the prop. It's pretty stable too.

 

[sprzout]

Well...

Let me start by saying that a Cub SHOULD be able to fly with a 3S 2200 battery in it. I know; I've done just that and it flies pretty good, provided I have it balanced properly. That's probably my biggest problem with the Simple Cub - if the plane isn't balanced, it can porpoise as I put throttle to it or cut it completely.

So there are a lot of questions I have based on what you've given off the start that might help explain some of your problems with flying:

1) When you said you were using the 1200kv motor from the Amazon link, what size prop were you using with it - the 8 x 6 prop that came with it, or were you using a different prop? The 8 x 6 should have been sufficient for it to fly smoothly, provided you had the plane balanced correctly.

2) Is your plane balanced? Is the elevator flat when you power it on? Is the horizontal stabilizer flat on the fuselage, or is it cocked at an upward angle? And if you power up the plane, is the elevator level with the horizontal stabilizer, or is it angled down? If you were having to hold it to almost full up elevator to get it to fly, it sounds like you may not have had the plane balanced properly (the plane was very nose heavy), or your elevator wasn't in the proper position, or there was an initial issue with the build of the plane (i.e., the servo wasn't centered, or the servo arm wasn't set to give it neutral flight from the start). I'm guessing on these things, but I've had those issues with my own builds, so it's certainly possible that you might have fallen into those same issues.

3) The 1500kv motor might be a little more than what you need for a Cub, unless you want it to be fast - and from your comment about feeling like you're running out of room with 1.5 lengths of a football field, you're flying something that's a little too fast for you. Yes, it has more oomph, and it's moving through the air faster; but you might be better served by going to something where you're using that 1200kv motor on the Simple Cub with a 9 x 4.7 or 9 x 5 prop (especially if it's a SF or Slow Fly prop), depending on what you can find. It'll move through the air a little slower, but should definitely give you the thrust to put your plane smoothly into the air.

You can certainly go with something like the Tiny Trainer, but they will likely require smaller batteries than what you currently have - and a 3S 2200 battery is pretty standard for most of the FliteTest planes, whether it's the Spitfire, Mustang, Scout, P-38, Sea Duck, Duster, Racer - you get the picture.

 

[RokrRJ]

The CF2822 is an excellent motor for a trainer plane. The 8x6 prop, however, is a very bad choice, and it will eventually burn the motor. This motor can handle 15A max, and the 8x6 prop will make it go to higher amps.

A 9x5 prop provides ~850g of thrust on that motor (15A full throttle), but I suggest an 8x3.8 SF (10A Max, not sure about how much thrust), as it would fly very slow and the 2200mah battery will last around 30 minutes of flight using half throttle.

PS.: As a rule of thumb, the higher the "second number" on a prop (which indicates pitch), the faster the plane is going to be. A 8x6 will make a plane faster than a 8x4 and so on.

I'm currently using a 2822 + 8x3.8 SF myself on a cub (different plans, but close to FT's), and I get 25min flights using a 1600mah 3s battery. My ready-to-fly weight is 536g on that setup.

I suggest you drop the flight controller and try to lower your weight in general, as a light plane tends to fly slower and more gentle, which is exactly what you need.

Also make sure you have the plane balanced on the proper CG, as others have said.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[mdcerdan]

What is the weight of your plane? Maybe it is too heavy.
A 2200mAh 3S battery is a bit heavy for a little plane like the Simple Cub, you should go for a 1000-1300mAh 3S. The lighter your plane, the slower it will fly.

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

Ive built 2 Cubs a std size and a Tiny version, neither have been what you would call easy to fly. I found the same as you, under powered and doesn't glide well I upgraded to a Sunnysky far better motor. It also liked to tip stall particularly when coming in too slow for a landing.
An experienced flier at my club said it wasn't an easy plane to master and said if you can fly that thing you'll fly antything.
Maybe its because my grade of foamboard I use is more dense and heavier than the Flite test stuff. Unfortunately its all I have to work with. However, I have built quite a few FT planes now and its strange that the Cub's the only one thats a pain in the arse to fly.
I would go with the Tiny Trainer every day if your just starting off, its far more forgiving. My personal favorite is the Bushwacker, just give it a little dihedral to give it stability, it makes a great trainer.

 

[Hai-Lee]

When the first reports of the simple cub were posted on the forum many made the same complaints as posted herein.
The cub must be built very light in its original form BUT if you increase the wing incidence angle slightly it suddenly becomes a docile and floaty with great slow handling characteristics.
With a paddle pop stick under the wing leading edge I used mine for flight instruction for more than a year and eventually gave it to a newbie of limited means.

The cub is good if you actually take the time to set it up properly.

Have fun!

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

When the first reports of the simple cub were posted on the forum many made the same complaints as posted herein.
The cub must be built very light in its original form BUT if you increase the wing incidence angle slightly it suddenly becomes a docile and floaty with great slow handling characteristics.
With a paddle pop stick under the wing leading edge I used mine for flight instruction for more than a year and eventually gave it to a newbie of limited means.

The cub is good if you actually take the time to set it up properly.

Have fun!

Good tip I will give it a try on both my versions

 

[1958 MGA]

When the first reports of the simple cub were posted on the forum many made the same complaints as posted herein.
The cub must be built very light in its original form BUT if you increase the wing incidence angle slightly it suddenly becomes a docile and floaty with great slow handling characteristics.
With a paddle pop stick under the wing leading edge I used mine for flight instruction for more than a year and eventually gave it to a newbie of limited means.

The cub is good if you actually take the time to set it up properly.

Have fun!

The Simple cub was my first FT scratch build. I can honestly say it flew perfectly from day one. I never experienced any issues as mentioned above. It is very aerobatic when on High rates. On low rates I found it very docile. I never had any tip stall tendencies, the only thing I could not get it to Knife edge very well. I have crashed this thing a few times when flying very aggressive. It takes a good hit with minimal damage.
As noted above the most important thing is to make sure that the CG is right on or slightly nose heavy.
I would agree that the Simple Scout is easier to fly when set up correctly.

 

[1958 MGA]

I forgot to mention that when I built the simple cub I took out the dihedral on the wing and made it flat.
I just can't leave things the way they are. I always change something on every build.

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

I forgot to mention that when I built the simple cub I took out the dihedral on the wing and made it flat.
I just can't leave things the way they are. I always change something on every build.

I plan to re-vist the cub in the future and was planning to lengthen the wings on my next version.

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

I also intend to check out the wing incidence before I fly mine again. As its been recommended that an incresed 1mm in leading edge wing incidence, can significantly improve the performance .

 

[1958 MGA]

If you can, switch to a 1300 to 1500 3s Battery and double check you CG. I find the 2200 a bit heavy. I use 2200's in my war-birds.
As many have mentioned above it sounds like you are very nose heavy Hence the (gliding like a brick) The incidence could be off but I would start with the CG. I have had a blast with this Cub lots of touch and goes and none of the bad tenancies mentioned. Mine has a 1400 KV with a 9x6 prop. Maybe I was just lucky?

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

If you can, switch to a 1300 to 1500 3s Battery and double check you CG. I find the 2200 a bit heavy. I use 2200's in my war-birds.
As many have mentioned above it sounds like you are very nose heavy Hence the (gliding like a brick) The incidence could be off but I would start with the CG. I have had a blast with this Cub lots of touch and goes and none of the bad tenancies mentioned. Mine has a 1400 KV with a 9x6 prop. Maybe I was just lucky?

Been that long ago since I flew it can't be certain what I flew in it now, might have been a 2200 come to think of it more likely a 3s 1300 or 1500 due to the space. Although if it was with a 3s 2200 (thats what I have most of in my battery stock) the CG was spot on I assure you of that.
I have a routine: I alway check the RX range before I fly any plane and check all my control surfaces are working correctly and in good condition. Before I fly I always check the CG. By that I mean literally every time I fly, even if the plane has just flown and all I am doing is changing a battery and flying again I test the CG again, things can shift or move.
My Cub was a bit like a Squirrel on the ground while taking off, needing plenty of rudder control until airborne. After that it was fine flew as stable as any other plane and on half throttle too. Lowering the throttle to a 3rd it was fine on the straight but would dip a wing on the turns, lower than 3rd throttle you needed to take care on the turns the tip stall got very pronounced. With plenty of airspeed I could cut the throttle and fly it dead stick. However, I couldn't glide the cub into land it needed some throttle, but generally landings where fun and in one piece, worst case scenario would be a nose down after hitting a large clump of grass.

 

[1958 MGA]

Well that doesn't sound so bad. I find that many of these foam planes don't glide like the old glow powered ones. You need to put the nose down quickly to keep the speed up and get them on the ground ASAP. Sometimes not too pretty but they live to fly another day.
I find with these foam planes I don't have any pre-flight nerves weather or not its a maiden flight.
I put a brand new build FT Spitfire in camouflage colours right into the ground on its maiden because I had the ailerons backwards.
Rookie mistake!!
(30 years ago I was a test pilot and instructor at a large RC club) I've been building models for nearly 50 years so you think I would know better. LOL But in the big scheme of things we are only talking a couple of dollars worth of foam and a couple hours to build another plane.
Enjoy the flight time you get and learn from every tip stall. If every plane flew perfectly we would never learn anything.

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

To be fair a lot of my foam models glide great: Versa wing (that suprised me the most, superb glide), Spitfire again text book landing nice decent, Bushwacker lovely plane amazing flight brilliant STOL aircraft.
The Tiny trainers 3 and 4ch no problems, Old Fogey another suprise great glide characteristics, the F22 again good glide, Sportster, FT Flyer etc
Only the Cub, Tiny Cub and the Delta I have had issues with gliding at low speed. The Delta maybe due to set up, plus it has a KF step so may need more airspeed for lift.
I haven't finished the new motor set up on my Tiny Cub so can't honestly give that a fair evaluation yet. I need to add some down and side thrust to get the thing flying straight first (just a couple of degrees).