MICRO-FLYING
COOLBANK MODEL PIPER
J-3 CUB
By Joe Malinchak | joemal@echoes.net
IT HAS BEEN one year since I upgraded to the left seat of the Airbus with American Airlines, and it has been an interesting one. My seniority dropped, which led to a busier work schedule and working most weekends and holidays. I have much more responsibility but more pay, and it’s basically a better job.
Flying for the airlines is not for everyone. You live out of a suitcase on all of the multiday trips, try to eat healthily while on the road, and try to get good rest at all of the different hotels. However, it is a rewarding job, and every day is a new experience.
If anyone is thinking about a career in aviation, now is a good time. With all of the pilot retirements and the current pilot shortage, the airlines have been forced to give us better work rules and pay, making the job more attractive for those who are interested.
CoolBank Model Piper J-3 Cub
When I saw the CoolBank military version of its ready-to-fly Piper J-3 Cub on the Banggood website, I had to purchase one to test it out and compare it with my full-scale L-4. It was on sale, and I paid a little more than $100 for it to be shipped to my home.
The model comes with everything needed to fly, including a transmitter, battery, charger, sticker sheet, instructions, an extra propeller, and the screws needed for assembly. It is a nicely sized aircraft with a 26.8-inch wingspan, and it has a brushless motor installed. The four-channel model has an attractive paint scheme with invasion stripes and features a gyro stabilization system.
The J-3 is fairly easy to assemble, with everything held together using the provided screws. The stickers are rub-on dry transfers and are applied by cutting out the desired markings and pressure-rubbing them with a burnishing tool. I used one that I purchased from Woodland Scenics. I was a little disappointed that the nose-art graphics that are shown on the box were not included in the sticker sheet.
How does this model compare with the full-scale L-4? The obvious is that the windows on the model are the same as a Piper J-3, not the beautiful, large greenhouse windows on the L-4. However, I have seen some J-3s that were painted in an L-4 military scheme. The wing struts look great and closely resemble the full-scale aircraft.
The main landing gear is also well done, with springs to resemble the bungees. You can cover the springs with some black heat-shrink tubing for a more realistic look. The cowling and engine also look good with the muffler, eyebrows, and cylinder details.
So how does this model fly? I had high hopes that it would have good flight characteristics. I charged up the 7.4-volt 650 mAh LiPo battery and proceeded out to the field for its first test-hop. The transmitter has a toggle switch for three modes of flight: beginner, moderate, and advanced. I left the model in the beginner mode for the first flight.
I tested the flight controls, making sure that the gyro was functioning, and gave the model a toss. It climbed out nicely. I made several circuits around the field, testing how it handles stalls, as well as some slow flight. It has a gentle stall in the beginner mode, just losing altitude with no apparent wing drop. The J-3 flew well in this mode but has a slow-turning radius.
I climbed up to get some altitude and turned on the advanced mode. In this mode, the model can easily be overcontrolled. It is aerobatic and capable of doing loops, rolls, and inverted flight. I would highly recommend that anyone who purchases this model fly it for the first time in beginner mode.
This is a nice model for the price. It’s not really a beginner’s model, but anyone with a little RC experience should be able to handle it. You can watch my video review and see it fly on my YouTube channel that is under my name, Joe Malinchak.
NEAT Fair 25th Anniversary
The Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) Fair will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. It will also be a special event for micro RC. Micro RC at the NEAT Fair dates back to the beginning of the event, when we started the very popular micro RC seminars that helped grow interest in smaller flying models. For this year’s event, we are planning to bring back the micro RC seminars, which will be held at the field.
We will also have some of the world’s best modelers returning to fly at the Indoor Night at NEAT event, which will be held at Downsville Central High School on Friday, September 13, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday, September 14, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Only micro RC models that are built from kits or scratch-built from plans will be allowed to fly. It is free for spectators to watch, so please come and check out some of the best in micro RC. For more information, see the NEAT Fair website, listed in “Sources.”
SOURCES:
Banggood USA
https://usa.banggood.com
Woodland Scenics
(573) 346-5555
https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com
Joe Malinchak’s YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/user/joemal214/featured
NEAT Fair
www.neatfair.org
