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Choosing the Cub 400EP greatly simplifies these ac-
tivities. First, it takes very little thrust to overcome the
drag: the airplane will actually glide without any motor
power at all. Second, the wing is a high lift design that
easily overcomes the weight, which means that the airplane
can fly very slowly.
Flying the Cub 400EP
Check the controls. Make sure that the throttle, el-
evator and rudder are all working properly. The flight
battery should be fully peak charged and ready to go. First,
let's lay out the basic maneuvers that will make up your
training flights.
1)
Hand Launching
2)
Climb-out
3)
Level Flight
4)
Standard Turns
5)
Descent
6)
Landing
All flight is based on these few tasks. Here, we've
laid them out in the same order they will be during flight.
Learn these basics and you will soon fly your airplane
with great success. Now look at each maneuver individu-
ally. Before your first flight, make sure that you are com-
pletely familiar with the functions of the transmitter in-
cluding all of the controls and the trim levers.
Hand launching and climb-out require that the air-
plane be facing directly into the wind. To hand launch
the airplane, grasp the fuselage between your thumb and
forefingers, at the center of gravity location. Hold the
airplane at about shoulder level, apply full power, and
firmly toss the airplane straight ahead and level. Do not
throw it hard or up at an angle.
Fly the airplane level for about 30 feet, allowing the
speed to pick up. Use the rudder to keep the airplane
tracking straight. After the airplane has picked up some
speed, begin a shallow climb by applying a small amount
of up elevator. Be gentle. You don't want to overcontrol
the airplane. Allow the airplane to climb on its own.
Climbing too fast will cause the airplane to pitch up and it
will stop flying (called a stall). If this happens, allow the
nose to drop slightly (which will give the airplane more
speed) and then apply a small amount of up elevator to
bring the nose level.
Once the airplane has reached about 50 to 100 feet of
altitude, it is time to level the airplane and try a turn. To
level the airplane, simply move the elevator control stick
to neutral. Keep the wings level using the rudder control
stick. If the airplane still climbs or turns, adjust the eleva-
tor and rudder trim levers on the transmitter until the
airplane flies straight with no stick input.
Now try a turn before the airplane gets too far away.
To turn, apply rudder in the direction you want to turn
until the wing drops about 15 degrees (or the wing tip is
just below the fuselage). As the wing drops, begin to
apply up elevator. Up elevator will maintain the plane's
altitude and will hold the airplane in the turn. To prevent
the airplane from turning too steeply, as soon as a good
bank is established release the rudder control stick and
use only the elevator control stick to maintain altitude and
hold the airplane in the turn. Once the airplane has turned
enough, apply opposite rudder to level the wings. As this
opposite rudder is applied, slowly release the up elevator.
Now continue level flight, which will be a small se-
ries of tiny corrections of elevator and rudder to keep the
airplane straight and level. If you lost altitude during the
turn, this is a good time to climb again. Before the air-
plane gets too far away, try another turn. Continue making
standard turns and keep the airplane over the flying field.
The next maneuver will be descent. Usually one pairs
descent with landing but, in fact, most model airplanes
are constantly descending and climbing. Having the abil-
ity to perform a good controlled descent is important. To
descend, simply throttle back to turn off the motor. As
the motor is turned off, allow the airplane's nose to drop
some.
The descent should be gentle, so let the nose drop
about 10 to 20 degrees. Keep the wings level unless a
turn is required. If you must turn, bank as usual to start
the turn but only hold about half of the normal amount
of up elevator you usually hold to maintain a turn. In
doing so, you will not slow down the airplane too much.
When you've reached your desired altitude, level the
wings and add throttle as you add some up elevator to
level the airplane.
The final maneuver will be landing. For your first
landing, the goal should be to get the airplane down any-
where on the field without hitting anything. Landings
should always be made into the wind. Usually, it is easi-
est to set up for a landing by making a landing approach.
The first part of the landing approach is the descent. De-
scend going with the wind, opposite the direction you will
be landing. Once you've descended to an altitude of about
30 feet, turn into the wind. At this point level the wings,
throttle back until the motor turns off and allow the nose
to drop. When the airplane is about 10 feet off the ground,
or just above eye level, apply small amounts of up eleva-
tor to slow the descent and slow the airplane. Remember
to keep the wings level. At this point the airplane should
descend but it will seem like the nose has not dropped
much. If the airplane doesn't descend, allow the nose to
drop a little. Just before the airplane touches down, apply
some up elevator to level the airplane with the ground.
Things to Avoid
1)
Stalling. Stalling is when the air stops flowing
over the wing properly. This only happens when the air-
plane is flying very slowly. A stall normally results in the
nose dropping rapidly. If a stall does occur, allow the
nose to drop, which will increase the airspeed, then apply
up elevator to level the airplane. Remember to not pull
too much up elevator or the stall may occur again.
