A giant-scale Cub with flexible power options
By Ron Hull | [email protected]
As seen in the July 2025 issue of Model Aviation.
THIS YEAR was my third trip to Joe Nall Week. Every year, I make it a point to get myself a new airplane to fly off of Lake Montana because this is the only chance during the year that I get to fly a floatplane. If you’re not familiar with Lake Montana, it’s the huge lake at Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina, which is where Joe Nall Week is held. It gives attendees a chance to float-fly from a big body of water.
When I started my new airplane search this year, I knew I wanted something that was a big, powerful, classic design, and had floats as an option. I kept coming back to the new Hangar 9 10cc J-3 Cub. It had been a while since I had a larger Cub in my hangar, and the thought of a relaxing evening flying from the pond during Joe Nall Week had me a bit giddy.
The 10cc J-3 Cub is the most recent Cub offering from Hangar 9 and is available in two versions: as an ARF or a PNP. It’s a classic design with some modern-day features, including toolless field assembly. There are optional add-ons available for this airplane, including wheel pants, a float set, and a clipped-wing set.
The clipped wings give it a 68.5-inch wingspan for improved aerobatics and offer the option of adding decals for a black starburst pattern. This airplane can be flown with several power options. The ARF version was designed to fly with a .62 fourstroke glow engine, 11cc four-stroke gas engine, or a 4S- or 6S-compatible electric power system. Having so many power choices makes this airplane appealing to many people.
At a Glance
Specifications
Wingspan: 82.5 inches
Length: 56 inches
Motor: Spektrum Avian 4260-480Kv brushless outrunner motor (installed)
ESC: Spektrum Avian 70-amp brushless Smart Lite ESC (installed)
Servos: Spektrum A6380 digital, metal-geared aircraft servos (installed)
Propeller size: 15 × 10E wood (4S); 14 × 7E wood (6S)
Recommended battery: 4S to 6S 3,200 to 5,000 mAh LiPo (EC5 or IC5)
Weight: Without battery, 8.5 pounds; with recommended battery, 9.6 pounds
Needed to complete: Receiver and flight battery with EC5 or IC5 connector
Flight time: Up to 12 minutes, depending on the battery selected and flying style
Price: PNP, $729.99; ARF, $449.99; floats, $119.99; strut set, $19.99
Pluses
- High-quality construction with UltraCote film.
- Preassembled PNP design for quick setup.
- Versatile performance and suitable for both scale flying and aerobatics.
- Optional floats for water-based flight.
- Telemetry-enabled Smart ESC for real-time monitoring.
Minuses
- Float struts are slightly wobbly.
Manufacturer/Distributor Horizon Hobby
What Is in the Box?
The PNP version includes everything you need except the receiver and flight battery. Because I prefer the simplicity of going electric for an airplane such as this and would have made it electric anyway, the PNP version was the perfect option for me. Delivery only took two days, which was fast, considering that I placed my order around 8 p.m.
The PNP version comes preassembled and requires no glue. This makes it an excellent choice for those who want to get in the air quickly. It is equipped with factory-installed, digital, metal-geared servos, a Spektrum Avian 4260-480Kv outrunner motor, and a 70-amp Smart Lite ESC. Designed to be powered by a 4S or 6S LiPo battery, it comes with the correct size of propeller for either battery size that you prefer. I like to have extra power, so I chose to go with 6S.
Assembly and First Impressions
The airplane was packaged well, and assembly was straightforward. I was slightly concerned at first because the shipping box had a couple of dings in it, but the contents were well protected and undamaged. I had the airplane assembled and ready to install the receiver in a couple of hours.
There were no major hiccups during assembly, but I did have to enlarge a hole in one of the lower wing brace mounts so that the pin would fit. Each wing half was nicely packaged in its own box that ended up being handy to keep and use for safe storage and transport. The wing also included foam tubing that slid over the jury struts to protect it.
This model comes with two seats, a pilot bust, and a removable scalelike fuel gauge. The fuselage is designed to hold the wing tube for safe transport and storage. One thing to note is that when the pilot is in the airplane, it blocks access to the internal storage for the wing tube, so be sure to install the pilot with hook-and-loop tape so that it can be removed.
Battery access is through a removable hatch that includes a windshield that is held in by four strong magnets. I ended up adding some tape to the top of the hatch to use as a handle because I was worried about damage while trying to remove it. Did I mention that the magnets are strong?
I had an extra AR637T receiver that I used for this model. Although this airplane doesn’t need AS3X+, it does benefit from it with smoother flights in windy conditions. Radio installation went smoothly because there’s a good amount of room in the fuselage.
Each of the servo leads was conveniently labeled from the factory with the port number and function. All of the servos came with extensions that were long enough to reach the receiver, so I didn’t have to worry about supplying anything extra. I was pleased that this airplane is a true PNP model, and I didn’t have to supply anything other than the receiver and flight battery.
Field assembly is quick, and I really like that no tools are needed. The wing halves are held on with nylon thumbscrews and the struts are secured with clevis pins. All of the parts needed for field assembly fit in a small bag and can be stored inside the airplane along with the wing tube, making it less likely to forget any hardware at home.
Flights
The takeoff on the maiden flight was a bit hairy, but it was my fault. I had the throws set too high on the rudder with no exponential and there was a heavy crosswind. This airplane has plenty of power to get out of tough situations. With full throttle, it was able to pull itself out of trouble without any issues. This is the most powerful Cub that I have owned and it can take off in roughly 15 feet.
Other than the first takeoff, the maiden flight went off without a hitch, as did the rest of the flights that day. It didn’t require much trim to fly hands off, and the AS3X+ was dialed in within a few minutes of flight.
This airplane flies beautifully, and it looks great in the sky. It’s fun as a lazy Sunday flier, making slow circuits and flying in a scalelike manner, but it is also capable of some impressive aerobatics. I was surprised with the roll rate and how well it handled some high-stress maneuvers. It always felt stable, and its behavior was predictable. I didn’t find any bad tendencies in the way that it flies.
Float Flying
Let’s be honest. The real reason I bought this was to fly it on floats! After getting a few flights under my belt with the wheels on, it was time to put it on floats. There were a couple of things that surprised me about the float set. I didn’t realize that I also had to order the strut set separately. That’s on me because it is made clear online that the strut set is not included with the floats.
The floats are foam. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by that, but I was hoping for fiberglass because this is a balsa airplane. The floats have a water rudder that is controlled by a built-in servo.
Installing the floats was easy and took me roughly a half hour. Now that they’re assembled, switching between the floats and landing gear only takes 5 minutes. Be sure to read the directions to understand the installation because the directions that come with the floats have information that supersedes the instructions that come with the airplane.
Because the floats use a different rear mounting slot than the landing gear, there was some exposed balsa in the original landing gear mount. I put Blenderm tape over it, but I plan to fill it with covering or epoxy to make it more waterproof.
It is necessary to cut a hole in the side of the airplane so that the servo wire can get to the receiver. The floats came with a Y harness, so I tried using it to split the rudder channel since every slot was filled on the six-channel receiver (dual ailerons and thrust reverse). Unfortunately, the water rudder was moving in the opposite direction of the rudder, so I ended up using the Y harness on the ailerons to free a receiver port.
I also had to use a 4-inch servo wire extension because the water rudder wire wasn’t long enough to reach the receiver. The float struts don’t seem to be as stiff as others I’ve had, and the airplane does have a slight wobble when it’s on floats and sitting on land, but nothing is noticeable when it is on the water.
Now for the fun part—the first float flight. I always get the jitters when I put an airplane on the water for the first time, and this was no different. In all of my time at Joe Nall Week, I have not had to use the "boat of shame," which is a little johnboat provided for airplane retrieval from the pond. Wanting to keep that streak alive made me even more nervous. Luckily, there weren’t many people around when I pulled away from the shore and lined it up for its first takeoff. As I slowly raised the throttle, it built up speed and lifted out of the water with no hassle.
After I made a couple of laps, my nerves died down, and I was able to really enjoy my flights. There were some slight changes in the flight characteristics with the floats on but nothing detrimental. The roll rate is slightly slower, but that’s to be expected with floats.
I was surprised that there were no trim changes needed when switching from landing gear to floats. It still flew hands-off without any adjustments. This airplane looks amazing in the air, and it flies so well. It putters around at quarter throttle, and there were a couple of flights where I never went full throttle. My main goal with this airplane was to have something fun and relaxing with which to float-fly, and the Cub met that goal with flying colors.
Final Thoughts
The Hangar 9 10cc J-3 Cub is a great airplane, and I look forward to getting many more flights on it. I’m happy that Hangar 9 decided to offer this in a PNP version and hope to see more large, balsa airplanes offered this way.
As someone who likes building but lacks the time, this is an appealing way to quickly get in the air. This is a beautiful airplane and it is a good size. It’s big enough to look impressive and handle well, yet it’s small enough to easily transport.
If you’re looking for a nice, relaxing Cub that can also perform some aerobatics, the Hangar 9 10cc J-3 Cub should be high on your list.
SOURCES:
Spektrum RC
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