Bottom view of the Carbon Cub(above left) with the hinged hatch open. Note rear float attach fitting. Here’s what’s inside the Carbon Cub (above right),
ounces/square foot wing loading. It has a DSM2 6-channel Ultra Micro AS3X receiver BL ESC (EFLU4864) which has a built-in
brushless ESC driving a 2500 Kv BL180 brushless outrunner motor (EFLUM180BL2). It turns a 5–2.75 propeller like that used on the Beast and Sbach 342. It has five long stroke linear servos, two built into the receiv- er for rudder and elevator, two aileron servos and a flap servo. The ailerons are on channels 2 (aileron) and 2R (reversed aileron) and the flaps are assigned to channel 5 so a DX5E transmitter can be used. It also has wing nav lights and a landing
light, but no tail light or strobe. (So I guess it’s not really legal for night flight.) The model is BNF which means it comes with a 2-cell 180 mAh Li-Po and a balancing charger that runs on 12 V. How does the Carbon Cub SS fly? Just
like a Cub should at moderate throttle set- tings. Half throttle results in a normal take- off. Full bore gives STOL performance. The model slows down nicely, and remains con- trollable at low speeds. Approaches and landings are a piece of cake. You just have to remember to control speed with elevator and descent rate with throttle. No need for flaps, but they will lower the landing speed by about 20%. The instruction manual recommends mixing in 40% down elevator with the flaps to prevent ballooning at higher speeds. However, if you only use them at low speed the Cub won’t balloon even with the mixing off. The problem here is the use of channel 5 which is the gear channel for flaps. They are either up or down immediately. If you have a computer controlled trans-
mitter (DX6i, DX7 or DX8) you can change the flap control from the gear switch to the
actually plenty of room inside the spacious fuselage to slide the battery around for correct balance.
flap switch and get intermediate settings switch by mixing. You can also slow down the action. Since separate aileron and re- versed aileron connectors are used rather than a “Y” harness to the aileron alone, the capacity exists to program for differential ailerons and flaperons. I haven’t tried this, but it’s a nice option to have. The ailerons are effective, but it’s not a
bank and yank model. You need to use rud- der as well as ailerons in the turns. This means it’s a rather good aileron trainer. The AS3X is a 3-axis damping system. It doesn’t fly the plane but rather smooths things out and makes the model fly like a larger plane. When doing scale Super Cub aerobatics, it looks rather like the full-scale airplane, and there is enough power on tap for large loops from level flight. This is a scale general avi- ation plane—not a pattern or 3D ship. One problem is that when landing on
grass the plane may nose over. The full scale Carbon Cub SS has a “Tundra Tire” option which, if applied to the model, would help al- leviate this tendency. Horizon Hobby has wheels for the E-flite
Piper L-4 Grasshopper 250 (EFL5031) which come pretty close to scale “Tundra Tires” when applied to the Carbon Cub SS model and will slip right on. The Carbon Cub SS converts to a floatplane quickly with the op- tional E-flite float set (EFLUA1190). The fit- tings are built into the fuselage and it can easily be converted back to a land plane. You can take off and land on reasonably short cut grass with floats and it won’t nose over. The EFLU1180 Carbon Cub costs $169.99
or $100 more than the Telemicro, but is a much better aileron trainer. Besides, it comes with a battery, charger and an AS3X receiver and it’s not the least bit twitchy.
The Carbon Cub SS also includes a top- mounted, ultra micro-size sailplane tow hook if you are interested. While the in- struction manual suggests maneuvering for release, it’s easy to implement a positive glider release at the glider end of the tow. If your glider uses an AR-6400, just use a ser- vo on the throttle with the ESC option se- lected. If you are using a Vapor brick, there is no ESC option, so a motor with a high gear ratio and a scroll thread on the output shaft plugged into the motor connector makes a nice release. Solarbotics
http://www.solarbotics.com
GM15 25:1 6mm Planetary Gear Pager Mo- tor is a great candidate. Turn down the pul-
ley to a small cylinder and press a section of 1⁄4–20 nylon screw that has been bored out to fit over this. A loop on the end of the tow line looped over this screw will be scrolled off when the motor runs. That releases the tow. This combo is capable of releasing the line with over an ounce of force on it. Last time I said I need more testing time
before I can fully recommend Hobby King Super Micro systems. I have now had more time to evaluate these. If you are prepared to replace and/or stress relieve the battery connector leads and antenna, the Super Micro Receivers seem to work well and the range is adequate. The servos are occa- sionally noisy due to slop in the output screw shaft. Move the stop in to correct this. If you have an old Futaba or Hitec transmitter with a round DIN connector on the trainer port, and don’t want to make up a connector, use the Tactic Anylink adapter cable (TACM0003, $2.95). Tower has these if your local hobby shop doesn’t. The flange on the Berg (servo) connector is the signal.
Hobby King’s Telemicro. Note the ballast (above left) and wing LE extensions. Beat-up spinner is a result of Stew’s finding it’s beyond his indoor capabilities. Bottom view (above center) of the Telemicroshowing all four 5320 servos. Not much room for the orange receiver or battery. Solarbotic’s gear motor with scroll installed (at right). Above it is the hex standoff used to bore the 1⁄4–20 nylon bolt to make the spiral scroll.
FLYING MODELS 57
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68