
Now for something a little different, with the emphasis being on fun. An electric Piper Cub. It is built from the Great Planes kit, specifically designed for electric. The motor in question is a Graupner speed 600, with a 2.5:1 gear ratio, a Jeti 35 speed controller and a 7 Cell battery pack. Micro servos are used on all flying surfaces. Colin has advised me that building the Cub was an interesting couple of months in the art of Balsa Bashing...not a plane for ARTF fans.
I'm not sure on the exact size of the model, but I guess it's somewhere around the 48" wingspan mark...please correct me if I am wrong Colin. Airframe weight before covering was approx 1.5 lbs, with all up weight expected around 3 lbs.
Well, since these photos were taken, the model has been covered and test flown. IT flies very much like a full size cub, steering primarily with the rudder, then using the ailerons to help it round. Its not going to win any speed records, but what do you expect from a Piper Cub? Being electric it is very quiet, but the sound of the gearbox does give it a little more presence sound wise. The colour scheme is not true to scale, but what the heck, it still looks and flies like a Piper Cub, and that's what really matters on a model like this.
Here are a couple of new pictures of the cub, and a few words from colin about what he thinks of it:
After having tried a couple of standard Graupner Speed 600 motors, I decided to go for a hotter motor to get a bit more oomph for take off. Having read an article in RCME by Nigel Hawes (electric Tucano designer) I decided to buy a Fanfare 24T motor with an MPJ gearbox. After a slight problem with a pinion gear stripping its teeth, which the supplier replaced very quickly at no charge, the set up has proved to be a complete success with power to spare on take off and half throttle flights being the norm. Mild aerobatics are possible (as much as a Cub will do anyway!) and the general flying characteristics are great. I generally get about 8 minutes flying time on a 7 cell 2000mah pack, and even throwing it about a bit doesn't reduce the duration to less than 7 minutes. The extra power from the motor has meant that I can confidently stick my small digital camera in the plane and tootle around snapping pix to my heart's content without running out of power. At less than £50 for the combined power set up, I am very happy with the result and can thoroughly recommend this route for anyone who is looking to upgrade from a standard 600 set up. I think I will be looking to build the RCME Tucano in the new year and will put the same motor / gearbox combo in this aircraft as it had such a good review in the magazine
27/12/2003. Colin has been kind enough to send me a dozen or so of the aerial photos he has taken from his Piper Cub to be featured on this website, so here they are, in no particular order:
Over Chouet looking SE over Ladies Bay:
Over Chouet looking downwards SE at the bay:
Over Chouet looking E at Landfill site:
Looking down at Chouet flying site from the South:
Over Bordeaux looking S towards St. Sampsons:
Looking down on Le Mare de Carteret school and tennis courts:
Over Le Mare de Carteret looking W over Cobo beach:
Over Vazon tea-rooms looking North:
Over Pembroke looking ESE over L'ancresse golf course:
Over L'ancresse looking SW:
Looking down on Chouet Shooting Range from the North:
Looking down on the Western side of the Chouet Flying site from the North: