Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Eflite Piper J-3 Cub Certified for Flight Testing

Today has been a busy day. There will be a post after this on on my continued adventures trying to stop the seizures on the HDX 500se heli, which I frickin' finally have done...

Finished the work and set up on the Eflite J-3 Cub! Finished installing the windows, installed the wings and set up the servos system. I decided that the 12x6e prop just didn't give me the ground clearance that I want, so I changed to a Master Airscrew 10x8 that I think used to fly on an Eflite PT-19 Cornell I used to have, a couple of years ago. I think I've crashed a couple... I have one NIB and will likely start on it after the Sopwith Rebirth Project. I don't think you can get them anymore. I didn't recheck the watts, probably should. I suspect the 2" in pitch balance the 2" in length, but I made that up.

Windows on, awaiting wings.
 
 
Wings and struts done.
 
 

I had to add 1/2 oz to the nose to make her just a bit less tail heavy. Now her CG is spot on. I guess we'll know for sure on maiden flight.

 

I put slightly larger tires on her. I like the rugged look of these treated DuBro tires for this plane. I also have the skis I can toss on in place of the wheels.
 
 

The stock taile wheel is that measly thin POS. I replaced it with a more manly tail wheel. I had to fabricate the entire tail wheel strut to support it.

 

She now rests with the rest of the flock, awaiting a decent flying day!

 

Next plank project is to rebuild the slightly damaged Sopwith. Between the cat that jumped off a ledge onto the hanging plane in my old apartment in Jersey, and the move damage, she will take some time. There were also likely some initial build things I will change. She was a great flyer, once one got past the wicked prop torque on the ground that pulled her hard left, gone the moment she left the ground causing a hard right turn (or was it the other way around?). In the air she flew like a massive WWI plane.

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