Never disappointed with these FT build kits!! Quick, Easy and lots of fun!!!!
This was my first Flite Test design, and it is great! Everything in the videos is true- great characteristics and simple to build and fly. Just remember to order wheels with your purchase since they are not included.
The FT Simple Cub is, as advertised, the perfect trainer, but is also a great bush plane and sport flyer as well. I have had mine for over a year, and it is still one of my go-to, favorite planes.
When I built it, I already had a firm handle on 4-channel flight, having about a year on a Champ S+ and some experience with a Mighty Mini Sportster. For starters, I built it as a 3-channel, however, because I wanted to try out the bomb drop mod featured on the release video. The build experience was really smooth; it is definitely the ideal first build. The larger size (as compared to the planes like the Mini Scout) offered plenty of working room when it came to installing servos, etc.
The bomb drops I found a little disappointing. The bombs would tend to stick, making aiming sketchy at best. They were fun, but after a few flights, I was ready to upgrade to ditch the bombs and use those servos for ailerons.
This is probably the best part about this Cub: it can grow with you as your skill level progresses. From a 3-channel that could serve as your very first plane, you can add the bombs, then move on up to a 4-channel very easily. This is when the Cub started to really come into its own. Compared to the trainer-type aircraft I had already flown, it was very responsive and aerobatic. I made great strides in my skill level as I practiced loops, rolls, hammerheads, and some inverted flight. I also programmed flaperons to enable it to fly even slower. They are 100% not needed, but it gave me another avenue of advancing my skill with the same airplane.
Now, a year later, my skill level is well beyond finding this plane challenging, but I still love to fly it because it's just so docile, relaxing, and capable at the same time.
While this plane is designed to be a primary trainer, I personally would advise a ready-to-fly package like the Sport Cub S or similar as a "teach yourself to fly" plane. If you have someone to help you, or access to a simulator, then this would be a good plane to go to. If you do crash it, I have found that it takes a hit pretty well. I've crashed it for real a couple of times (once into a tree and once when I accidentally hit the throttle cut on takeoff) and had countless hard landings, and it hasn't showed more damage than just a little scraping on the nose and a couple broken rubber bands.
About the only thing negative I have to say about the FT Simple Cub is that, while easy to fly, it is challenging to land, particularly on grass. With its high center of mass, it is very difficult to put it down without nosing over. Possibly some large tires (larger than the 2.75" ones shown in the picture) would assist in roll outs on the grass.
So that's an overview of my experience with the Cub and what I think of it. It makes a good trainer, but shouldn't be overlooked by more experienced flyers either, as it offers some great flying characteristics and personality.
Hope this helps!
SpekitLe#1
I have been wanting to get this kit for a few years now and finally decided to give it a go. This will be my first plane and first time flying a plane. I really liked the foam board approach, cost effective and easy enough, took me about a full day to build the plane. Stoked for my maiden, still deciding if I should paint first or not, we shall see!
The instructional video was good, though it seems to need an update as the kit varied a bit from when the video was shot. I firstly noticed the power pack did not come with a motor mount or wood screws, luckily I had some laying around that fit from my drone spares. My only other complaint would be spare parts - it would be nice to see a spare set of control horns, one of my mounting holes split, a spare set would remedy something like this for a first build. The control linkage for the rudder gets a wild deflection that I am having trouble getting proper, I think this might be due to my linkages not being crossed (that part of the video was not very clear). As much as I hate to knock a star for this I'm gonna have to, someone new to R/C would have been delayed waiting on the proper parts to mount the motor straight out of the box.
I am overall very happy with the kit and the way Flite Test does it's best to get the community involved with flight for a good price. Thank You Josh, Josh, David (love my Tri-Copter) and the rest of the crew!
Amazing plane ! really easy to build and fly. i've learn to fly with this plane, he's really strong and easy to repair.
Great flyer! Fun and easy to build.
Ready to build the floats next.
Great plane to start on and learn how to do repairs upon repairs to the front of the plane. :) I recommend using props that would be used for a drone that way they bend easier and last easier.
Started with foam builds back in 2006 but after my first child free time became a rarity. Nearly 10 years later my kids are old enough and have shown an interest in the hobby and this was a great first build. We did the scratch build and the kids traced the parts while I did the cutting. Plane flew great right out the gate, even survived the few crashes we had. Suggest forgoing the wheels in even medium grass since it tends to nose over despite my best efforts. Can’t wait to build another DIY aircraft!
Easy to build and it flies really good! Easy to fly and only took a couple hours to build. One of the foam boards came cracked but did not seem to effect it.
great deal with power pack perfect for a first flight plane
I have scratch built this one. It flies great as a 3 channel. Very athletic and easy to fly. Program some flaperons and you can do some really slow flying with perfect control. I would imagine that the speed build kit would work even better due to its laser cut components.
I have not flown this plane yet, but the build experience for me was excellent. Josh did a great job explaining everything, and all the parts went together perfectly. The plane looks great, and the optional ailerons went on without a hitch! 100% worth it, I am glad to say!
Bought this for my son for Christmas after he had interest in watching your youtube channel. He loves it. Went to dollar store and bought foam to make a replica. Flew for 2 hours at family farm. Lots of crashes, but was easily repaired with tape. My older son made a video of it here: https://youtu.be/nIjdF_ZMDI0
Purchased everything but controller through flitetest. Bought controller here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0744DPPL8?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Flysky FS-i6X and it works great for beginner.
Very well done guys!
Great first flite test model to build. Building video was great abd easy to follow. Can't wait to build another model. Only thing that would make this easier is to have some examples of battery and receiver placememt in planes. Overall great build.
I've been building model airplanes for about 25 years or more. I took a little break from building in the past 2 years. So I decided this will be a good jump back in. I built the plane this morning and flew it all day. I built it 3 channel and no landing gear, and I built it in about the time it took to watch the video (1.5 hours). I highly recommend this to beginners, retreads, and people that just like to cruise. I only stopped flying it today because it got too dark!
Great plane! Received mine yesterday came really well packaged, and was built in a few hours great beginner plane. Would recommend!
This was my first Flite Test build and I’ve been flying for 22 years. The plane turned out better than I expected and flys even better! My little girl took an interest in helping me with this build which was awesome! Will be starting another build soon!
The kit was very well organized. The build video was very detailed and easy to follow. Will be buying many more models in the future.
Awesome design, easy to scratch build and to fly. What an amazing plane! I'm 45 but when I was young (10-15), people were flying cubs near my house. They were gaz airplanes and everything costed a lot. Things have changed with Flite Test and Ebay. Thanks to you guys! I realized my young dreams with this great addition to your squadron.
I scratch built this plane for my son to fly. I am happy to report that he flew it great. Everything was perfect thank you Flight Test.
