First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

A 75% replica of the original J-3 Piper cub.

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Jean Crous
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

Another two flights made..... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: very nice indeed, lift off at 60mph climb at 63mph @1200-1300fpm. Very nice control harmony, which the other pilot confirmed. Very effective trim tab, which is what we aimed for.
Stall at 42mph...well sort of....it just sits there and mushes down :D
Approach at 60mph feels too fast, I think 55mph my be just right.
Floats a llllooonnnggg time before touchdown , and that with no flaps fitted. I think the next model with flaps and vortex generators may very well have a stall of + - 30mph.
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Pilot Dreamer »

Jean Crous wrote:Another two flights made..... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: very nice indeed, lift off at 60mph climb at 63mph @1200-1300fpm. Very nice control harmony, which the other pilot confirmed. Very effective trim tab, which is what we aimed for.
Stall at 42mph...well sort of....it just sits there and mushes down :D
Approach at 60mph feels too fast, I think 55mph my be just right.
Floats a llllooonnnggg time before touchdown , and that with no flaps fitted. I think the next model with flaps and vortex generators may very well have a stall of + - 30mph.
Jean.
Jean, with the flaps and VG's, sounds like she will be a nice STOL machine. Hopefully we can soon send a few to Canada for those "Back Country" fly boys :wink: :D
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Based in Somerset West
Jean Crous
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

:lol: :lol: Something to aim for.
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by HansH2 »

Hi Jean, haven't been on this part of FB for a long time so good timing.
The a/c looks good and so do the performance figures. With the aerodynamic
clean up flaps are essential or else guys landing on short strips being lulled
into a false sense of security by a lower approach speed might suddenly
find themselves farming at the end of the runway or forcing it down on
the runway after floating for a long way, especially if the runway has a
marked downslope. With flaps and VG's it should have good STOL performance.
Then all it will need is a pair of Alaskan takkies.
Just confirm you are talking mph in which case putting the knot figures in
brackets would make the numbers even more impressive.
Is DMU still in the plans?
Hans
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

Hi Hans, yes we are talking miles per hour. And yes DMU will get all the upgrades to the newest model.
I do begin to think that we will be stepping up on the fitting of flaps to DRO and of course DMU and all the other aircraft to follow. I am in agreement with you regarding the float and land too deep on a short strip.
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Kat »

More Jean,
Is dit 'n standaard romp, of is dit "gerek" ?
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

Kat wrote: Mon Jul 09, 2018 10:48 am More Jean,
Is dit 'n standaard romp, of is dit "gerek" ?
The first three frames are the same length as the MK1.That being said, by changing the upward sloping floor of the MK1, and widening the firewall, and moving the rudder pedals foreward we created enough space for a 6ft4 person in the front seat.
The two newest MK2 frames are 100mm longer. 50mm from the instrument panel to the firewall, and rearward 50mm from behind the rear seat backrest.
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by ppakotze »

Sy bene is ook nog bietjie kort, kyk hier... viewtopic.php?f=1&t=188110&start=60
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

ppakotze wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:25 am Sy bene is ook nog bietjie kort, kyk hier... viewtopic.php?f=1&t=188110&start=60
Stadig broer ...stadig :lol: This development thing costs a lot of bucks :wink: :wink:
There are more developments coming , first of which is the flaps (soon to appear) 8) .
Watch the LSA survey in the African Pilot next month, we will have a nice ad with an editorial.
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Flooi »

Once it has flaps and a nice panel.... and a nice price =D> =D> =D>
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

Flooi wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:34 pm Once it has flaps and a nice panel.... and a nice price =D> =D> =D>
Oom Flooi, what would you say a nice panel should contain,....and pray tell what constitutes a nice price?
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Flooi »

Jean Crous wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:25 pm
Flooi wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:34 pm Once it has flaps and a nice panel.... and a nice price =D> =D> =D>
Oom Flooi, what would you say a nice panel should contain,....and pray tell what constitutes a nice price?
Jean.
Jean. Is EFIS nie goedkoper as stoom nie? As a backup, a/h is a must..
Prys met Revmaster? Jy sal beter weet. Ek glo daar is i mark vir Cubby2.
I, for one, would love to see the end product... =D>
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

Flooi, the idea was to use analogue ASI, VSI, ALT and a slip ball,and a compass,... BUT.....also install an MGL Extreme mini EFIS, which fits in a normal 3and 1/8 hole. So one has the best of both. Also using a mix of MGL and analogue for engine instruments.
The price of a turnkey-fly-away Cubby with a Revmaster will be R560k. That is R124k cheaper than with an 80hp 912 Rotax.
:D :D Does that sound like a "nice price" Oom Flooi ?

For those that wonder at performance, I have a Revmaster in my Bushbaby and get the same performance as a similar configured Bushbaby with a 912 S Rotax.
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Flooi »

Tx Jean. Luv it. That price is much better than competition. =D>
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Re: First New Cubby Frame . Now ZU-DRO

Unread post by Jean Crous »

We have the ATF for this Cubby, and of course more flights followed. An update on performance,take off is at 60mph , climb at 65mph with rpm at 5500 and 1200-1300fpm climb. At 4200rpm level flight the speed return was 78mph. At 5500 rpm straight and level as the speed went past 110mph I throttled back.
We changed the tailplane angle of incidence to 7deg negative to be able to solo from the front seat with the rather heavy VW Cubby engine. Now , with the much lighter Rotax 912 S the elevator is trimmed to "down elevator to facilitate level flight, so a lesser degree of incidence of the tailplane will be set.
The horns on the elevator and the larger trim tab does make a marked difference to trim and slow speed controlability , as does the slightly bigger cord of the rudder.
We are very satisfied with the result of the changes that were done to the Cubby.
Next job in progress is the Revmaster engined Cubby.
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