Hobby zone carbon cub 1.3

[Greg w]

My new carbon cubs motor started smoking the first time it powered up. When we went out to fly it had trouble with the gps system so I elected to turn it off. The airplane flew fine . On the next flight after I turned the gps off the motor started smoking again I removed the battery and let it cool down . Reinstalled the battery and got tones from the receiver but no control movement .Does any body have an idea what is going on? I’m new to this and am getting discouraged!

[xviper]

More information please. RTF? BNF? Details on the battery used? Did you read all the manual and do all the steps regarding compass calibration, etc?
If is was the motor that was smoking, then I'd say you've burned it up. But you say you got "tones", (which by the way, comes from the motor, not the receiver), then the motor may not be "dead". Perhaps it was the ESC that was smoking? In either case, something got damaged. You should have taken it back to the hobby shop once it started to smoke the first time. I don't know if they'll honor any warranty since you kept trying to make it work. Give it a try anyway and see what they say.

[Skyboom]

If there's a way to make my motor beep Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics?

[ebb-fly]

Had something similar happen (though it was after I augered the cub into the ground. Ended up being the ESC that was burning up. Believe I had a slightly bent prop shaft as well. Replaced both and it's been fine since.

[xrigger]

I am having trouble getting off the ground with my Carbon cub s+ RTF with optional GPS. I got the GPS to go and went through all the instructions for compas calibration and now the motor surges like a LVC is kicking in.
Batteries check out (tried multiple batteries and even an ESC at the hobby shop).

It's the same with my Apprentice STS RTFwith GPS.
I have to be doing something wrong.

Any ideas?

[Flyman]

I am having trouble getting off the ground with my Carbon cub s+ RTF with optional GPS. I got the GPS to go and went through all the instructions for compas calibration and now the motor surges like a LVC is kicking in.
Batteries check out (tried multiple batteries and even an ESC at the hobby shop).

It's the same with my Apprentice STS RTFwith GPS.
I have to be doing something wrong.

Any ideas?

I have the same model. Take it to the field as normal. Hold the bind button until the tail does the wag. The plane will surge the motor just like you described. Again, hold down the bind button once again until this time you get a quick wag. The plane is happy now and the motor will go full bore. I do this every time I fly mine. I think its for the GPS so that the autoland knows which direction and where you took off from. Take a note of that because if its not clear behind the tail of the plane, the plane is going back to that exact same spot regardless of cars, building trees, etc.

[mshagg]

As above, you need to set the home position so the plane knows where to land if you ask it to. The correct procedure is: plug in battery, sit plane back on wheels. Elevator will cycle whilst it looks for gps. Elevator will waggle quickly once GPS is locked. Taxi to home position, hold GPS button until control surfaces wiggle. You're now good to go.

Also worth doing the compass calibration on your first flight.

And while youre at it, learn how to disable the GPS with the tx. It might come in handy if you ever have a fly-away.

[F22trainer]

Read all of the instructions - especially the parts about selecting the fence modes (that will explain the surging) and the responses from the aircraft, if you really have to use those features.
We would rather see you get some assistance from knowledgeable instructors at an AMA sanctioned facility.
The truth is you should not use / need these features unless you teach new pilots how to fly. Best approach is remove the GPS and you can still use the SAFE modes (Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert) without the auto land / hold / virtual fence. While the instructions are quite clear you really have to study them thoroughly and understand the proper responses, which if they don’t agree or don’t happen - don’t fly it.
I figured it out but it took several thorough read and re-reads, several power cycles and switch tests, and several more confirmations once I got the desired results to be sure I could duplicate the starting sequence, fence mode and then could disable the GPS to take full control quickly if necessary.
Since then, I have taught several “Instructors” how to properly set up and fly the plane - some before they crashed, some after, some during a panic mode when they thought the plane would not respond and was certainly headed for a loss as a young aviator watched his new craft heading for the next town.
I took all of the Guts out of mine, I mean everything except servos. Now it has a 6 channel Spektrum RX with AS3X, a 40 amp ESC and new motor. I have different rates set up and that is it. The GPS etc is in a bag...
I did fly it for a year with all the stock electronics- only to find I really didn’t need them. The auto land / etc. was fun for a few demonstrations, but really nothing else but a few good laughs.

[mshagg]

Lol yes the auto land is great for a laugh with the guys (get a particularly good response if you perform worse landing manually!), but Im not sold on its value as a training tool. If anything it incites a sense of panic as it flies off to set itself up for an approach - I think you need to be confident enough to intervene before messing around the autonomous stuff.

Similarly I think the default fence setting is unhelpful. This was my trainer plane - I learned a lot and still enjoy throwing it around the park, but the first time it hit the virtual fence my heart started pounding - the exact opposite mindset you want to be in when learning to fly - as I thought I had lost control and was a bit flustered when it handed control back.

The regular SAFE features (auto level) are great for learning to fly, but the GPS stuff I'm not so sure.

[Flyman]

Read all of the instructions - especially the parts about selecting the fence modes (that will explain the surging) and the responses from the aircraft, if you really have to use those features.
We would rather see you get some assistance from knowledgeable instructors at an AMA sanctioned facility.
The truth is you should not use / need these features unless you teach new pilots how to fly. Best approach is remove the GPS and you can still use the SAFE modes (Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert) without the auto land / hold / virtual fence. While the instructions are quite clear you really have to study them thoroughly and understand the proper responses, which if they don’t agree or don’t happen - don’t fly it.
I figured it out but it took several thorough read and re-reads, several power cycles and switch tests, and several more confirmations once I got the desired results to be sure I could duplicate the starting sequence, fence mode and then could disable the GPS to take full control quickly if necessary.
Since then, I have taught several “Instructors” how to properly set up and fly the plane - some before they crashed, some after, some during a panic mode when they thought the plane would not respond and was certainly headed for a loss as a young aviator watched his new craft heading for the next town.
I took all of the Guts out of mine, I mean everything except servos. Now it has a 6 channel Spektrum RX with AS3X, a 40 amp ESC and new motor. I have different rates set up and that is it. The GPS etc is in a bag...
I did fly it for a year with all the stock electronics- only to find I really didn’t need them. The auto land / etc. was fun for a few demonstrations, but really nothing else but a few good laughs.

A little background on me. I started using a simulator well over a year ago and have the "flying part" down pat as I have flown all of the planes there and at various fields provided in the program. I fly on a 70 inch TV. It was 3 months before I even tried to fly the Carbon Cub and had a great maiden flight. That was on beginner mode. So now I fly in the expert mode, stunting the plane (which the Carbon Cub is not the best at) and landings are routine. I fly the simulator everyday at lunch. I am aware of the controls, fence, auto land but I never use those features unless I allow my brothers to fly. Then I put it in the beginner mode. No wrecks from that. What I have had wrecks/failures is one; Ailerons "tape" hinges pulled from the wing while in flight sending it down out of control, Two, Battery strap snapped causing the battery to fall out of the plane cutting power to it. I replaced the hinges with a hobby house type hinges for RC planes and fixed the strap problem. I put velcro on the battery to match the CG of the plane and velcro on the plane to keep the battery from sliding forward and backward. I don't have to pull the strap as tight now. It works great. Have I had any other use of the Safe, no or self landing, never. I just explained how to set it up as I used to do that quite often and even now. Eventually, I will add a new receiver so I have one remote control for my other plane and the Carbon Cub. I have a Futaba 6K for my P 38. Its all set up now so I will eventually add a new plane, Carbon Cub to it and use the old remote for just the simulator.

[Flyman]

Read all of the instructions - especially the parts about selecting the fence modes (that will explain the surging) and the responses from the aircraft, if you really have to use those features.
We would rather see you get some assistance from knowledgeable instructors at an AMA sanctioned facility.
The truth is you should not use / need these features unless you teach new pilots how to fly. Best approach is remove the GPS and you can still use the SAFE modes (Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert) without the auto land / hold / virtual fence. While the instructions are quite clear you really have to study them thoroughly and understand the proper responses, which if they don’t agree or don’t happen - don’t fly it.
I figured it out but it took several thorough read and re-reads, several power cycles and switch tests, and several more confirmations once I got the desired results to be sure I could duplicate the starting sequence, fence mode and then could disable the GPS to take full control quickly if necessary.
Since then, I have taught several “Instructors” how to properly set up and fly the plane - some before they crashed, some after, some during a panic mode when they thought the plane would not respond and was certainly headed for a loss as a young aviator watched his new craft heading for the next town.
I took all of the Guts out of mine, I mean everything except servos. Now it has a 6 channel Spektrum RX with AS3X, a 40 amp ESC and new motor. I have different rates set up and that is it. The GPS etc is in a bag...
I did fly it for a year with all the stock electronics- only to find I really didn’t need them. The auto land / etc. was fun for a few demonstrations, but really nothing else but a few good laughs.

So I understand that to disable the GPS, just remove and disconnect it then rebind the plane. Then is all about the control of the pilot. It would still give the flight modes but all the auto functions. That is on my list. I wasn't sure if the auto functions were built into the receiver or the GPS programs. Its annoying now to have the virtual fence show up after I thought I had turned it off. I think its because when you change batteries out, it resets it and I forget to do it again. Honestly, I have not even tried the autoland, holding pattern or any of it. I have more fun "flying" my own plane.