The promised Sport Cub S review is finally here.
Is the Hobbyzone Sport Cub S really the new Champ (click here to see my review on the Champ)? This question was really bugging me, so I preordered it in early September. On the 28th of September, it finally arrived, as I said in the Sport Cub S first look.
In this review I’ll be following the same format that I’ve tweaked a bit since my first review. Oh, and I’m going to include pictures.
Here’s the first pic:
The poor SC S in a previous sad state. I’ll explain in part two…
Alright. Backstory time.
Backstory:
I have long wanted a 4 channel Champ. Floats and FPV are an added bonus for me. I have been wanting to get into floatplane flying since I have a large body of water behind my house, so the floats intrigued me. FPV did, too…
First Impressions:
In the box, the SC S looked just like a Champ that was painted blue (and had ailerons!). As I untaped the tape holding the Styrofoam plane holders in place, I noticed the battery in one of the battery slots in the Styrofoam and a USB charger in another battery slot. The plane was as nicely packaged as the Champ was.
The plane was a bit heavier than the Champ; it felt more solid than the Champ. As I mentioned in the Sport Cub S thread over at RCGroups (I’m John234), it was raining when the box came.
Assembly/ First Flight Preparation:
The SC S required NO assembly. I just had to plug the included 150 mAH E-Flite battery into the USB charger, plug the charger into a USB port (I used my iPad’s charging USB wall adapter), and wait about 15-20 minutes. Subsequent charges took about 20-30 minutes.
Takeoff:
The SC S took off really well. It tracked perfectly straight. Hand launches with the Panic Button enabled (see my write-up about SAFE) kept the plane going straight as it left my hand. Hand launches were still uneventful with the Panic Button disabled.
Flying:
In Beginner Mode, the flight was limited to small pitch/roll angles and had self leveling. This mode really worked well; self leveling is crisp and the pitch and roll angle limits were perfect, in my opinion, for a beginner. I flew my first flight in this.
After landing in Beginner Mode, I switched to Intermediate Mode, and I promptly took off again. Flying in Intermediate Mode was a perfect step up from Beginner Mode, yet it was a perfect intermediate step to Advanced Mode. There was no self-leveling in this mode, but there were still, though less restricted than in Beginner Mode, pitch and bank angle limits. I was able to fly around very well, but I could not get the plane in a bad attitude.
Advanced Mode removed all flight protection and self leveling from flight. I felt completely unrestricted. I am going to increase control throws to really see what the SC S can do in Advanced Mode soon.
Flight in all modes felt locked in and superb. AS3X, active in all modes, dampened the effect of the wind. In my opinion, though, the UMX Radian is still the most resistant to wind.
Landing:
Landings were excellent. If you turn the Panic Button on at five feet or so in the air, you can easily make a great landing, HANDS OFF!!! Of course, you still need to manage the throttle, though. Nothing more to say on the landings.
Recommended timer settings if using a Spektrum computerized transmitter:
Dx6i transmitter:
Timer: 5 minutes
Any Other Spektrum Computerized Transmitter:
Timer: 5 minutes; start/stop at 10% throttle
The Specs:
Skill Level: Beginner
Wingspan: 24.3 inches
Length: 16.3 inches
Flying Weight: 2 oz
Equipment I Used:
1. Thunder Power TP103CQ-ACDC Charger (link
2. Spektrum DX6i DSMX Transmitter Only (link)
Verdict:
This is a great all around plane. But, it doesn’t handle wind as well as I thought (my UMX Radian handles wind better) in my opinion.
Total Rating:
9/10
Thanks for reading! Part two will be here by next Sunday. Promise!
Please share and subscribe (you can subscribe to umFlight over in the sidebar, or you can subscribe to the RSS feed). I hope that you enjoyed the Sport Cub S review!
Edit (12-17-2014):
Visit Part 2! Link:link
I’m sorry I didn’t put the link in sooner (as soon as I posted part 2)!
5 Comments
Josh · January 11, 2015 at 9:24 am
But is the Sport cub The new champ?
johns2345 · January 11, 2015 at 10:50 am
I would say that the Sport Cub S is the Champ replacement, and to an extent the new Champ because it is different to fly with the ailerons, but still almost as easy as the Champ in beginner mode.The Sport Cub S does do almost everything better, but it is still different.
It completely slipped my mind to actually write if it was the new Champ. I was focused on reviewing it…
So, it is the Champ of the four channel trainer category in my opinion, but, because it’s slightly different, it is not a direct Champ replacement. However, it is still a great first plane in my opinion, which makes it the new Champ in a beginner’s eyes.
Thanks for commenting.
John
Walt · February 27, 2015 at 4:09 pm
A lot of reviews have been written about this plane and deservedly so. It is a great plane and does fly well in beginner mode. I have had some issues in intermediate and advanced mode which caused some crashes. I never owned the Champ but I would recommend that a beginner start with a 3 channel plane; so the Radian might fit the label of the new Champ; it’s easy to fly and hard to crash. This was my first plane. I just think to get a completely hassle and stress free experience as a beginner you need 3 channels. The 4 channels and 3 modes can make trimming this plane quite tricky. I also had to do quite a # of repairs within the first month and for a beginner found challenging. Now that I have had the plane a few months, I’ve really appreciated the experience gained from repairs but again probably not something a beginner wants to hassle with. Also a key thing for beginners to know is there is not a lot flight time gained from a wrecked plane.
Is the Sport Cub S the new Champ? (Part 2) | umFlight · October 26, 2014 at 5:07 am
[…] Part 1: link […]
5 Great First UM Planes | umFlight · November 23, 2014 at 5:12 am
[…] 3. Hobbyzone Sport Cub S: For newbies who want more of a challenge than the Champ/Duet. It is definitely a great second plane, but a first time flyer could fly it. (my review) […]