First Flights of Multiplex Easystar

I recently received my Multiplex Easystar Ready to Fly (RTF) from Hobby-Lobby. I decided that I spend so much time waiting on parts for my Super Cub that I need a backup plane. I went with the RTF instead of the Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) for two reasons. First the RTF is cheaper and it fits my budget, second I honestly barely have time to fly much less build the plane. That will come later when I get into building Balsa planes. The RTF kit required little assembly; the most time consuming part was cutting out the decals.

I headed out to the park the next day with the plane all charged up. As has happened to me before, I got to the park and the wind was blowing a little more than I wanted. I gave the plane a hand launch and it quickly jumped into the air. Very soon after I realized I was going to have problems keeping it in the field and away from the trees and marsh beyond. I made a rather rough emergency landing that caused a small crack behind the cockpit opening. I decided to head home while I still had a plane and come back another day. A little CA glue quickly patched up the crack after I got home.

Feeling a little doubtful that I would ever fly without crashing I decided to head back to the park early in the morning to try and beat the wind. This time the conditions were perfect and things went much better. The plane was very easy to control and very forgiving. The rudder is a little small which evidenced itself in the slow response to turns, but I think that is a good thing for me right now. This plane has a 54" wingspan and excellent gliding properties. This makes for some really nice flying with the motor off. It also means you need a lot of space to land it if you let it glide down. Now that I have some confidence back I look forward to getting back out the park another day.

Hobbyzone Super Cub; 50% Sucess

I would like to say I am on a steady upward curve here but the results don't agree. I had two very successful days of flying in late August/Early September. Kept the plane up the whole battery worth of flying and had several perfect landings. Then it happened, two incredibly bad days of flying. The first one I will blame again on wind...;) Much like my first time out the plane got downwind quickly and got out of line of site. As soon as I realized it was about to end up in the bay I shut the engine off and it went down on the other side of some trees. Luckily it landed in a small tree and was mostly undamaged. By this time the battery box and landing gear was almost completely ripped out as is common for super cubs (at least while the pilot is learning!). Since I fly at a grass field (if you could call it that) I deiced to upgrade the wheels while I repaired the battery box. I pulled the battery box out and re-glued it so it was secure. I changed out the stock wheels for Dubro Super Lite Wheels 2-3/4" and replaced the propeller with a GWS 10X8 which is much cheaper than ordering the stock prop. The GWS prop requires some drilling to get it to fit on the stock motor.

So with the upgrades and repair completed I headed out the the park to give it try. Shortly after the hand launch something very strange and bad happened; the throttle slider on the remote control broke off!! My first thought was just fly the plane until the battery dies. Whether it was wind, pressure, or problems as a result of the upgrade I'll never know, but the end result was a fairly bad crash while trying to make a turn to keep it in the park. The battery box was completely ripped out, propeller broken, firewall broken, and several stress fractures in the fuselage. Long story short I replaced the prop and glued the firewall and fuselage back together. I decided it was time for more extreme measures to fix the battery box. I glued it back in and reinforced it by running cable ties completely around the fuselage at the front and back of the battery box. To keep the opening at the top of the fuselage from caving in I put two wooden dowels for support. This does add some extra weight; hopefully not to much. I called Horizon Hobby and explained the situation with the remote control. They had me send it back and agreed to replace it for free. The catch is they are back ordered until Mid-October!! If anything this R/C plane obsession is turning into a lesson in patience, something I probably need anyway.

The Repairs: