Hangar 9 Supercub ARF

Model Airplane News, Jul 2003 by Yarrish, Gerry

Perfect for the bush pilot in all of us!

Super Cub! What a perfect name. The ever popular Super Cub is just that: a Piper Cub with super abilities. Contrary to popular belief, the Piper PA-18 Super Cub isn't just a standard J-3 Cub with a bigger engine in its nose; it is the end result of countless improvements and design changes that led to its becoming one of the best bush planes ever produced. With more than 50 years of refinement under its belt, it isn't any wonder that this versatile high-wing cabin aircraft is beloved by so many pilots. From the mountainous terrain of the rugged Alaskan frontier to the desolate destinations of the Australian outback, the Super Cub is a welcome sight for thousands of people living on the edges of civilization. Whether you call it a flying dogsled, a tundra taxi, or a pickup truck with wings, the Super Cub is an important lifeline that transports the suppliers, tools and cargo so important to wilderness life. With floats, skis, or giant tundra tires attached-and weather permitting-the Super Cub can go just about anywhere!

THE KIT

Hangar 9's new ARF is an excellent representation of the famous Super Cub. It has rugged, lightweight construction and hardware, and with its effective wing flaps and a new Zenoah G-26 under the engine cowl, the model has fabulous short-field takeoff-and-landing capabilities. The kit comes with everything plastic-wrapped and nicely packed. When I opened the box, I found nothing damaged or missing. The well-illustrated construction manual offers detailed photos and easy-to-understand instructions, and all the hardware is bagged for specific use. It took less than 10 hours for me to completely assemble the test model.

ASSEMBLY

Start construction with the wings. The instructions recommend that you first install all the control surfaces and then the servos and control linkages. I found it a bit easier to install the servos and long wire leads and then dry-fit the flaps and the ailerons into place. I then assembled the pushrods and attached them to the control horns. Once I found the proper locations for the control horns, I removed the control surfaces and attached the horns. Working with the separate control surfaces on the workbench is a lot easier than having to move the entire wing structure. When the horns were attached, I reinstalled the flaps and ailerons, and then I glued their hinges into the wing.

A large-diameter-aluminum carry-thru tube that fits into a cardboard socket tube at the top of the cabin area supports the wing panels. Nylon attachment bolts hold the wing panels against the sides of the cabin, and the 1/4-20 blind nuts for the bolts are already installed in the wing root ribs. The aileron and flap servo leads pass through holes in the top of the cabin. The factory-built lift struts are bolted into place in the bottom of the wing panels. The blind nuts for the bolts have been installed at the factory; all you have to do is cut a hole in the covering with a hobby knife to expose the bolt holes. The attachment tabs at the ends of the struts have slotted holes to offer a bit of adjustment when you position the struts between the wings and the landing gear. Instead of being attached to the bottom of the fuselage, the bottom ends of the struts are bolted to the aluminum landing gear. This strengthens the attachment point and eliminates a weak spot in the wooden fuselage structure.

To make it easier to work on the fuselage, I attached both the main gear and the tailwheel before I worked on the rest of the structure. The kit comes with a rudder-attached tailwheel gear wire and attachment bracket, but for a more scale-like appearance, I installed a Klett molded-plastic assembly.

The tail surfaces come built and covered and are easily attached to the fuselage. Simply remove the covering where the surfaces are to be glued to the fuselage slot, and use 20-minute epoxy so you can adjust their alignment before the glue cures. As with the flaps and ailerons, I attached the rudder and elevator control horns before securing them to the fixed surfaces. The slots for the rudder and elevator pushrods are already cut out; just cut away the covering to open them.

Install the servos before you make the rudder and elevator pushrods. The pushrod assemblies are made out of 3/8-inch-square spruce and have threaded-metal pushrod wires and metal clevises at both ends. After I attached the wire ends to the spruce pushrods, I wrapped thick packaging string around them and used thin CA to reinforce the wire-attachment points.

Instructions for engine installation cover both gasoline and glow-powered engines. The kit comes with plywood spacers to set the gas engine at the proper distance from the firewall; when installed, it should be 6 1/2 inches between the prop hub face and the firewall. Engine offset is already built into the firewall, so be sure to offset your engine's vertical centerline 1/8 inch to the left so the prop shaft will be centered when you install the engine cowl. A plywood shelf is provided for the included 16-ounce fuel tank, which I secured with PFM adhesive. The provided fuel-tank plumbing is compatible with both glow fuel and gasoline, so you won't have to buy a new tank stopper.