piper cub electric

I will start with the Piper Cub. This plane is a classic and a great flying plane. I got the Opportunity to take a ride in a real Cub last year. If anything were to attract me to the full scale aircraft the Cub would be my choice. The plans seem easier and a easy project to get started with considering all I have built are kits so far. I haven't decided what covering to use because the current planes I fly I have used plastic shrink coverings but the standard type are too heavy for this small of a plane. There are coverings that are lighter for this type of plane but they make both fabric type and plastic shrink types. Usually the plastic types are easier to work with but are limited in selection in the lighter types. I will try to find out my options to try and duplicate a yellow close to Cub Yellow. I may deviate from the plans a bit on little things. I really would like a tail wheel instead of the wheel shaped tail skid. As I progress I will document those sections that I have adapted for my own uses. I have always wanted a cub and here is my chance.

Fuselage looks simple but will be challenging to build. It has solid formers with Balsa Stringers running the length. Landing gear look strong but lightweight. I might add little scale touches along the way. The real plane this is modelled after has a 4 cylinder opposed engine. Its one of the characteristic details of the cub. I plan on also making the landing gear have little non working shock absorbers like the cub uses as well. Since this plane needs to be so light I may leave out a pilot. I will definitely cover this plane in Yellow and add the characteristic lightening bolt in black down the side which are also characteristic touches to this plane which make you automatically think of the real plane.


The wing as I mentioned before is 46 inches long. The plans are really detailed and come with a section detailing the ribs so that you do not have to cut anything from the plans. It has two different ways of mounting the wing servo. Not sure how I would go about doing it yet. Most common way that the plan recommends is using a flexible control wire that is curved though the wing until it attaches to the aileron. I am glad this wing has no dihedral. All though it is suppose to make the plane more stable its slightly more difficult to build and makes trimming the plane difficult later when flying. It also adds weight because the plane has to either be built in two halves or needs more material to create the amount dihedral required for the plane. It has two hooks in the front of the wing and a single bolt in the back to attach to it to the plane.

Most of the balsa in this plane is of one eighth inch thickness with three sixteenth thick pieces in spots that require extra strength. This plane also requires Plywood in certain areas for strength. The guy who designs these has a neat way of securing struts in which he uses clothing snaps to get then to be put together with. This not only makes it so you can detach the struts easily but also makes it come off easily in a crash to minimize damage. Most models of the piper cub the struts are non functional. In the full scale Cub the struts add strength to the wing. In this model it is no different than other models in that the struts are merely for show.

These plans are wonderful and I am eager to get started but I estimate I will not start building until after the first of the year. But I am determined to continue to document the process here.