Super Cub on Skis
I bought a pair of Dubro snow skis from my local hobby shop and strapped them on my R/C Hobbyzone Super Cub today. We got about 6 inches of snow yesterday and I took to the flying field today. I was only able to get up in the air from a rolling (or sliding) take off twice, and most landings were pretty ugly. Sorry for the poor video quality and the lame commentary from the camera man. Enjoy.
12 comments to “Super Cub on Skis”
I took the plane out for another round in the snow yesterday. The snow was harder, because it has been sitting in the freezing weather for a week. Landing, take-offs, and taxis were much much better. It was great, but the skis do add significant drag during flight, making it hard to climb and maneuver.
Dave, I love the snow! A 3S lipo will definitely be able to pull your SC through the snow no problem, and through the air. You should definitely pick one up, you won’t be disappointed! Are you still running the stock 7-cell pack?
I am still using the stock 7-cell pack, and I think either it or my motor are starting to show their age. I took it out today and got my weakest performance yet. I think I need to drop the $10 for a new motor and te $60-70 for LiPos.
Can you explain what the “3S” means? How does that relate to cell number or the “C” number that I see so often? (i.e., 12C, 3-cell, 3S).
Thanks!
After a little bit of research, I figured out what the “S” and “C” values mean. The S refers to the number of cells that are wired in Series. You add the voltage for cells wired in series. For 3 LiPo cells, each at 3.7 Volts, wired in series, the total potential is 11.1 Volts (that’s 3.7 times 3). If they were wired in parallel, the voltaget would stay at 3.7 Volts, but the max amperage would be triple that of a single cell. So when you read 3S, it means 3 cells in series, and you can sometiomes see 3S2P, which means you have two sets of 3-cells in series, for a total voltage of 11.1V, but with double the max amperage of a single set of 3-cells in series.
The “C” value has to do with the max discharge rate of the pack. A higher “C” value means you can safely get more power out of the battery over a period of time, usually because your motor pulls more current. A value of 8C, for example, means you can discharge the battery 8 times as fast as its rating. So a 1000mAh battery means that it can provide 1000mA of current for an hour before it runs out of juice. If it has an 8C rating, then you can safely discharge it at 8-times that amperage, but of course it won’t last an hour if you do so. It’ll last 1/8th of the time. More expensive packs are rated at 20C or 30C. Usually they have a continuous and a burst rating, with the burst rating being about 25% higher than the continuous rating.
Let me know if I’ve made a mistake.
Dave,
I have just put a 3 cell 1200 mAh lipo into my cub. Works a treat.
More power, more battery life – not that I’ve ever had it in the air for more than 4 minutes. The lipo is 30 grams lighter also. I had to cut the back out of the battery holder to fit it.
Cheers
Ian
How much more power does the LiPo give, would you estimate? When my cub was new, I once got it to do 7 loops in a row. I can barely squeeze out 2 now. I think that’s a fairly good indicator that either my battery or motor is dying. What kind of performance can you get with the LiPo battery pack? How high can you climb vertically?
Thanks!
–Dave
Dave,
Sounds like I have experienced the same problems you have mentioned.
Got to the point where my cub wouldn’t even climb.
Decided that it was either battery or engine. Replaced the battery
with an 8 cell and this made it worse ( weight I guess ). With this
in mind I spoke to RC Bandits ( local RC shop in Auckland
New Zealand ) and their comments were that a lipo “may” shorten
the engine life but at 15.00 NZD each it really doesn’t matter and it will make he cub really hum.
My thoughts were the engine was already tired ( even though
only 2 months old ( it has clocked up more crashes than air time
though ). With that said I would say there was at least a 25 %
power increase from my gear ( probably 15 % more power than
when new. ) The increased engine power is immediately noticeable
and the lighter battery means even more thrust / weight. Due to
windy conditions only been out properly once but bench tests at
home haven’t shown any sign of engine problems.
You can refer to
http://www2.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13823
on some other views.
Cheers
Ian
As an aside the ads by google while reading your blog are.
RC Bandit Ltd
NZ’s largest Radio Control specialist store.
http://www.rcbandit.co.nz
and
GWS Lipo charger/balancer
On Special $34.95 AUD (2S/3S) Aussie Store, Aussie Stock.
http://www.pldaniels.com/rcshop
Ads by Goooooogle
Well I think on Monday I’ll visit my local hobby shop for a new Super Cub motor and a LiPo battery pack. Thanks for the encouragement!
Whilst at the local shop, be sure to ask for a Lipo Battery charger ( seems obvious but no one said anything to me until I asked.)
You may also need connectors to go from the battery to the charger and of course the battery to the Super Cub.
I had to carefully remove the existing cable ends from the cub to the battery and replace them.
( This was easily done by removing the whole receiving module from the cub and you can cut out the back of the attey compartment as well.)
Luckily the local hobby shop had a handy little pack with all the connectors I needed as well as heat shrink insulation.
The heat shrink insulation is invaluable as you can make sure that you don’t short the battery by having the insulation longer than the female connector.
Cheers
Ian.
i just got my supercub yesterday, i was kinda disappointed how bad it did in the wind but once the wind died down it flew like a charm. what should i do to increase flight time? cause my doesnt go that long….10-12 minutes very maxium
Great to hear about skis for the plane- I didnt know they existed.