bsbauman Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Well, this is my time in this forum and it looks like it could be a helpful resource for me. I have a giant J-3 Cub that I have been working on, and could use everyone's input on schemes and how to finish it up. Right now, I am undecided on whether or not I would like to finish it as civilian or military. The only direction I would like to give to your suggestions, is that if possible I would like to keep the base color of the plane Cub Yellow. Now, a brief bit about the aircraft and my background. I got my first RC airplane a few years out of college, and I have been hooked ever since. Scale was my particular interest that got me into the hobby, but that has expanded to other areas like 3d, sport flying, speed, EDF, and rotary aircraft. I have now come full circle and am back hooked on scale- only this time around my toys have gotten a bit larger :D The aircraft below started out as a 1/4 scale Hangar 9 ARF covered in shinny yellow plastic monocote. The wingspan is 106 inches and the plane has been entirely recovered in fabric. All the stitch detailing and rib work was fabricated using a nail board, string, paper, and glue. The stitching and detailing was applied based on two drawings I have (profile and top views). All factory CA hinges were replaced with metal hinges, scale door and semi scale interior- I should recover the seats with black leather instead of white leather with black piping. Scale dash. All electronics, power systems, and radio control components are installed out of sight under the floor and forward of the dash display. There are constraints in keeping everything hidden. For example, I only have a 4.25in. X 4.25in. X 3in. space in which to conceal my battery requirements. This is not much space to work with when considering I need enough battery to fly a 20 lb model! The solution was to go with 16 cells of A123 batteries wired as 8s2p 4400mAh, paired with an E-Flite Power 110 motor, Castle ICE 50amp ESC, 20x8 prop. This setup fits the confined space and gives me 1121 Watts (weak, but scale for a plane this size) at Wide Open Throttle (WOT is the term for you non-RC guys) I pull 47amps on the ground. It is expected to pull less amps in the air as it unloads. I have approximately 11 pounds of thrust which provides scale flying and about 35-40 degree climb outs. How do I attach pictures?? I want to show some photos too... Right now, I am leaning towards a Piper AE-1 Navy Cub scheme. But I am open to more suggestions and different options. I am still undecided if I will airbrush or make vinyl decals... All input is welcomed! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Otto Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Greetings fellow RCer. The only military cubs that I know of that staid yellow were air ambulances. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsbauman Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 The AE-1 is the designation for an ambulance, I would attach my pics if I knew how but all I see is an option to insert a url... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Otto Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) You first have to place your pictures in a host like "Photo Bucket" Than you use the URL from there to post the pictures. I joined Photo Bucket when I joined this website. I use it for nothing els than to post pictures here. It costs nothing.BTW all the stuff I build in RC is either 1/12 for electric or 1/6 for Recip. Edited June 4, 2012 by Otto Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prop Duster Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) Looks like you have found us just in time. There are many folks here that will be glad to give you their help and input; and as a plus we can learn from you (??16 cells of A123 batteries wired as 8s2p 4400mAh??) Had not been a consideration for me 'til now, guess I'l have to figure out if my MiniScale 1/72 GMC duce and a half needs some of that-wheew modeling get more complex every day Seriously Welcome and post some pictures of your builds as soon as you can. Edited June 7, 2012 by Prop Duster Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsbauman Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 My main build threads and logs are generally at rcgroups.com (it is simply so much easier to deal with media attachments when it can all be done on one site...) under the name bsbauman. This weekend, I was shooting some touch and goes with the cub at my buddy's airport and I had two cells poop out on me, thankfully it happened just after touch down. I went to throttle back up to WOT (wide open throttle) and with the loss of cells did not have the voltage to even taxi the 18+ pound model back to the pits... This is going to be a PIA as I have to figure out which of the 16 cells are bad, then replace and rewire the entire configuration. I expect it could get costly and certainly time consuming. The first pic is of my model, taken at a full scale airport; the following pics are of potential schemes I might go with- right now I am still leaning towards the Piper AE-1. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?p=21798791 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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