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The Piper Cub
The Piper Cub
The Piper Cub is an iconic civilian plane that has been the go to for both beginner and experienced pilots. The plane's simple and lightweight design makes it ideal for relaxed cruising, and I thought it would be the perfect plane to model my first RC plane off of. After taking a look at FliteTest and reading through their forums, I decided that their Piper Cub would be my next project.
Research
Research
This was my first time building, let alone flying, an RC airplane. I had a lot to learn! I began by understanding the fundamental parts of a plane. The control surfaces of a typical plane include the airlerons for roll, rudder for yaw, and elevator for pitch. Finally, the motor would help control the speed of the plane. While conducting my research, I also wanted to know how a plane's wing actually produced lift. One obvious answer was Newton's 3rd Law, where air particles bouncing off the bottom of the wing created an equal and opposite reaction that pushed the wing upwards. The other and more controversial answer involves Bernoulli's principle, but that is a discussion for another day. I found that this video was helpful for my research.
Build
Build
Fly
Fly
Successful maiden flight, a smooth cruiser!
Final Notes
Final Notes
After a successful maiden flight, I found that the Piper Cub is indeed a smooth flyer and lives up to its reputation as a reliable beginner plane. After trimming the control surfaces to fly true, it was a pleasure to just put around and enjoy the blue sky.
Additionally, this plane remained durable enough to remain air worthy after multiple crashes as I gradually learned to fly. Although I had to replace quite a few broken propellers, any damage to the wings or fuselage were minimal and were easily fixed with some packing tape.
The only change I would potentially make in the future is to try using a battery with a higher voltage and a propeller with a smaller diameter. This would help increase the speed envelope of the plane for getting out of stalls, and it would also help reduce the chance of breaking a prop. Regardless, I am eager to continue flying and trying new airplanes!
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