Great Planes Piper J-3 Cub 60 Kit - GPMA0162 - Manual (Page 50)

I FLYING I
The best place to fly your R/C model is an AMA (Academy
of Model Aeronautics) chartered club field Ask your hobby
shop dealer if there is such a club in your area and join
Club fields are set up for R/C flying which makes your
outing safer and more enjoyable The AMA can also tell
you the name of a club in your area We recommend that
you join AMA and a local club so you can have a safe place
to fly and also have insurance to cover you in case of a
flying accident (The AMA address is listed in the front of
this instruction book)
If a club and its flying site are not available, you need to
find a large, grassy area at least 6 miles away from any
other R/C radio operation like R/C boats and R/C cars and
away from houses, buildings and streets A schoolyard may
look inviting but it is too close to people, power lines and
possible radio interference.
The J-3 CUB is a great-looking scale airplane and a great-
flying sport airplane Like its full-size counterpart, the Great
Planes Cub 60 is capable of graceful aerobatics It does
not have the clean lines and smoothness of a "pattern
ship" nor the self-recovery characteristics of a primary
trainer Therefore you must either have mastered the
basics of R/C flying or obtained the assistance of a
competent R/C pilot to help you with your first flights.
Do a low speed taxi test before your first takeoff If the
plane does not track straight, bend the tail gear with two
pliers Don't adjust the ground steering with the rudder
trim! Although the J-3 CUB has good low speed flight
characteristics, you should not lift the model into the air
until it has built up sufficient air speed, as this will give you
a safety margin in case of a "flame-out" As the model rolls
down the runway with the tail off the ground, continue to
build up speed and gently apply up elevator Throttle must
also be added smoothly in order to avoid a torque induced
roll to the left upon takeoff Just climb out gradually and let
it gain some airspeed before hunting for the clouds For
safety's sake, always remember to make your first turn
away from the pit area.
We recommend that you take it easy with your J-3 CUB for
the first several flights and gradually "get acquainted" with
its flying characteristics as your engine gets fully broken-in.
Work on trimming the airplane for straight and level flight
with the transmitter trims at neutral, adjusting the clevises
after each flight, as necessary. Also, take note of the
responsiveness of the elevator, ailerons and rudder, and
adjust their throws to your preference Add and practice
one maneuver at a time, learning how it behaves in each
one The Cub is a surprisingly lively model - especially
with a 91 4-stroke You will rarely use more than 1/2
throttle and the airplane is happiest cruising around at
scale speeds While there are maneuvers where full
throttle is required, avoid "boring holes in the sky" and try
to stay within a sensible and realistic scale-like flight
envelope With a model of this size, high speed dives that
can lead to flutter and structural failure should be avoided.
We don't know of any maneuver that this airplane is not
capable of performing The roll rate is authoritative yet
easy to keep up with due to the large wingspan Inverted
flight requires little elevator to maintain straight and level.
Full-throttle snaps are not recommended, due to the
extremely high stresses they place on the airframe
CAUTION (THIS APPLIES TO ALL R/C AIRPLANES)
If, while flying, you notice any unusual sounds, such as
a low-pitched "buzz," this may be an indication of control
surface "flutter" Because flutter can quickly destroy
components of your airplane, any time you detect flutter
you must immediately cut the throttle and land the
airplane' Check all servo grommets for deterioration
(this will indicate which surface fluttered), and make sure
all pushrod linkages are slop-free If it fluttered once, it
will probably flutter again under similar circumstances
unless you can eliminate the slop or flexing in the
linkages Here are some things which can result in
flutter Excessive hinge gap, Not mounting control horns
solidly, Sloppy fit of clevis pin in horn, Elasticity present
in flexible plastic pushrods, Side-play of pushrod in
guide tube caused by tight bends, Sloppy fit of Z-bend in
servo arm, Insufficient glue used when gluing in the
elevator joiner wire or aileron torque rod, Excessive
flexing of aileron, caused by using too soft balsa aileron,
Excessive "play" or "backlash" in servo gears, and
Insecure servo mounting
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