jlandon

I found a lot of great information here on converting my super cub to a brushless setup. I have spent the last week tearing out my T-28 motor, ESC and servo's and putting them into my cub. I also added a carbon fiber rod to my wing that has made it very rigid and removed a lot of the dihedral in the wing. The 480 brushless motor packed a pretty good punch on the T-28. Has anyone used a similar setup? I'm just wondering what to expect the first time I take this plane up.

Pics of the setup

Any information is much appreciated.

Thanks,
jlandon

pburt1975

That big of a motor may affect the balance of the plane. Make sure when you place the battery that the COG is kept in the right location.

Also, thats a pretty powerful motor. If you have a wattmeter, it may be better to use a 2s and try some different props. I'd bet on 3s it would be unlimited vertical at half throttle, lol. may be fun tho, lol. If all you have is 3s, you may try a similar prop size but a lower pitch to keep the speed down.

if all else fails, put it on as is, and be easy on the throttle!!

jlandon

Thanks for the info Pburt1975. The power of the motor does have me wondering a bit. I would have liked to put a smaller size in, but the 480 is what I had on hand. I've got a 2s that I might test out with it.

Any ideas on how the change in dihedral may effect the flight of the plane?

Thanks

pburt1975

Yeah, the rudder wont seem as responsive. You'll still have some left/right control with it but it wont be the same. The dihedral and rudder work together to make the plane turn. When the dihedral comes out its almost impossible to turn without having ailerons.

groundrushesup

Removing the dihedral on a high-winged plane reduces the lateral stability, so you will notice that it does not settle back to level flight by itself like it did before. This also means you will have to pay more attention to the plane in flight as it now lacks some of the inherent self-righting ability it once had.


Coupled with the almost absurdly powerful T-28 motor, you might find it to be a little squirrely. Be careful - I think one of the first issues you will run into is that the motor has so much thrust that the cub will want to pitch up under power (less powerful motors use downthrust angles to load the wing and maintain lift at low speeds). be ready for it to try and loop back into the earth on ya.

jlandon

It sounds like I may be better off using my old wing for the first few flights

groundrushesup

I recently convinced a compadre of mine to go from the stock motor and GB to this one - the 2409-18T from headsuprc.com and he says it has plenty of power. He's not a hot dog like me, but it gets it done with a 10x5 APCe.

There are other more powerful motors on that website - so if you decide that the Trojan's motor scares the bejaysus out of ya, there are options.

Rob Cline

I've done some tweaking in this realm myself too - I have a T-28, Corsair, and 3 HZ SuperCubs, 2 of which are brushless now.

I don't think you'll be overwhelmed by the 480 motor, as long as you keep the throttle down for the first while and get the feel for it. I put a Turnigy motor into my first conversion, which isn't as powerful as the 480, but still, I kept the throttle down and adjusted the elevator for a reasonable speed and I think you could just do the same.

On mine, going WOT causes the cub to climb, but it's not out of control or anything, yours will just be a little more so. I may just move the 480 from my corsair over to my 3rd cub if I'm bored, unless you tell me it's a disaster ;o)

I realize that you don't have anything smaller, but it's still worth mentioning that the 480 is really heavy for the HZSC, you will lose a little in run times of course.

I used Spektrum gear, turnigy motor/ESC and 2150maH 3S Rhino battery and can fly for 30 minutes if I'm just doing lazy circuits.

Best of luck!

jlandon

Thanks Rob, that puts my mind a little more at ease. I'm going to try, weather permitting in ohio, to maiden the brushless cub this weekend. I'll let you know how the 480 pushes the cub if I can get out.

flydiver

I STRONGLY urge you to use the OLD wing. Rudder without wing dihedral and a massive new motor will be a package you won't like. No dihedral makes rudder only not work well. You need ailerons on that wing.

You've been focusing on speed and forgot to pay attention to flying.

jlandon

My original intention was to not remove the dihedral, but when I put the carbon fiber rod in, glued it and set my toolbox on it to dry...it never went back to the old form. I will definitely use the old wing until I have the time to add ailerons to the new wing.

Thanks
Joe

wblacker

I used the same set up on my Super Cub and did the aileron mod too. I am really happy with the mod and how it handles. With the upgraded motor and the ailerons, I would put in the same class as the T-28 and F4U by parkzone. The ony catch is to ensure there is enough air getting to the electronics for cooling. I noticed an increased drain on the battery and wound up puffing one. I have since cut out the foam around the esc to increase the air flow and cooling for the electronics. I will see if I can get some time to take some pictures and post them for you.

flydiver

A puffed lipo has likely very little to do with cooling. You probably exceeded the battery draw capability or over discharged it.

wblacker

I think you are right, I just got a Watt meter to measure the amp draw. I thought since it was all a stock set up from the Trojan, it would be fine. We will see later today when I have some time to try out the new meter. I will let you know. The plane really does fly well and I got all the info on the modifications from people on this web site. There are some really detailed pictures and helpful info here to modify the Super Cub into the Super Duper Cub! Thanks all!

flydiver

If you were using the stock PZ 1800-that's a wimp lipo. Sorry Cap'n-she won't take it. I have one that croaked from normal use.

Let us know the wattmeter readings. Use a better battery (not the puffed one-not likely to show realistic motor data).
Also, what prop, ESC and battery specifics.

You need to be just a little skeptical of Cub modifications. Sometimes the people doing them are pretty new and haven't got a good grasp of how power systems work quite yet. Get used to looking at post counts.

groundrushesup

Yeah um, anything above 700 and you are good to go.

GRU

wblacker

Thanks for the heads up, I will keep a close eye of the advice I take and give. I am still kind of new to RC flying, but lots of experience flying (flew the S-3B Hoover 22+ years). I am having a blast and really have the "bug." So far I have a bunch of planes and just getting into making modifications to them. (Super Duper Cub, T-28 x 2, F4U, Ultimate EP Bipe, Extra 300e, Brio 10)

wblacker

Here is a shot of the Super Duper Cub (has the PZ Stock BL from the T-28 with the 30 amp esc, and receiver from the T-28) And here is a shot of my park planes. These things fly anytime any weather!

mjack777

Get that Cub ready Joe, we are flying this weekend!

jlandon

It looks like the weather is a go for us tomorrow ;o)

jecchile

HI!... What kind of paint did you use for your Super Cub?... looks cool.
Thanks...

wblacker

Actually, it was standard Home Accents spray paint from Lowes. I tried the paint in the small cans from the LHS which did ok, but were $5 and it took like 3 cans. The Home Accents did perfect and cost less than $5. Test out a small area under the wing or on an old broken part before you use it on anything important.

jecchile

THANKS.

nytestalker

So....
What happened?