Slow Stick Help

[bdison]

Ok!.... I am brand new to RC flight, and have never posted on anything before. But.... I have a GWS Slow stick that I just can't seem to get set up to fly correctly. I have trouble every time I try to fly.
I try to make sure everything is set up correctly, but it always seems to be out of control.

The set up is as follows: GWS 350D moter and gear box, Servo's are micro from All eRC.com, 3channel Fm transmitter and matching reciever.
I try to make sure the CG is as close as I can get it.

I suspect the problem is with the servo throw and or alignment of rudder and stab.
Has anyone had trouble with this plane and it's tail system??
Any suggestion will be appreaciated.

[Tweet]

Can you be more specific about what kind of trouble you are having when you try to fly?

[mikerenz66]

Ok!.... I am brand new to RC flight, and have never posted on anything before. But.... I have a GWS Slow stick that I just can't seem to get set up to fly correctly. I have trouble every time I try to fly.
I try to make sure everything is set up correctly, but it always seems to be out of control.

The set up is as follows: GWS 350D moter and gear box, Servo's are micro from All eRC.com, 3channel Fm transmitter and matching reciever.
I try to make sure the CG is as close as I can get it.

I suspect the problem is with the servo throw and or alignment of rudder and stab.
Has anyone had trouble with this plane and it's tail system??
Any suggestion will be appreaciated.


You really should not have any problem If its set up right. Could you be more descriptive of whats going on when you hand launch/rog the plane??

Mike R

[j.t.]

You might just be over controlling. Do you know someone that has been flying for awhile that could help you out, that was my problem with the slow stick, after some coaching I did fine. j.t.

[bdison]

I may be over controling, but it seems that it doesn't respond to the radio inputs. Thats why I was wondering if I had enough throw on the control surfaces? The receiver is out of a previous plane from Hobico (can't remember the name, having flat brain waves). It, the reciever, and radio seem fine. Everything seems to work fine.

I had a sixteen year old who can fly try it and he did better than me but he had trouble getting it to respond also.
Wondering if a new reciever and radio might be the answer.
No doubt though that I am a novice.

[j.t.]

On my ss the linkage is set up as follows, the outside holes on the servo's and the inside holes on the control horn. I have plenty of throw. The manual shows the distance of travel for the elevator to be 20% and 30% for the rudder. Check that all out and see where you are at. Hope this will help you out J.T.

[flypaper 2]

If you were to measure at the trailing edge of the EL, rudder how much movement do you have in inches from the neutral point?You would need at least 1/2 an inch as this is a slow flying plane. Anything less and it wouldn't have much affect.

[Steve]

Have you done a radio check?
Have you checked the contol rods to see if they are slipping?
Sounds like a receiver problem to me, but the radio check should give you a clue....antenna down...walk away at least 50 feet. If your servos aren't chattering at 50' and are functioning correctly, then your rx is good.

It would be helpful to know if you lose control at take off, or farther out while your flying.

It would also be helpful to know what size prop and battery you're using

BTW, your still haven't told us exactly what the plane is doing when you say it's flying "out of control". Is it nosing up....down...turning to the right...left? We need more info if you want us to help

[bdison]

I am using a GWS ep1080 prop.
I have done a radio check, I was having problems with the servos, but now I have new servos.
The plane goes nose up at take off then it is a fight to keep the nose down. I have tried different trims but I continue to have this problem.
The last time I flew it went nose up and started going into left circles,
I had to cut power and let it crash.

I think you guys are correct I need someone who can really fly help me get things set up properly.
Is the ep1080 a proper prop fot the Slow Stick?
Would a larger prop help?

[Reformed Nitroaddict]

The 1080 might be a little small. I used both an 11x7 and a 12x6 when flying mine.

[flypaper 2]

Bdison:
Tail heavy is why it's flying like that. I'm teaching a fellow to fly with the slow stick and on the first launch that's what it did. Slide the wing back about an inch and move the batt. forward if you can. Set it about half throttle and keep pushing the down trim till it flies level. Full throttle should climb a bit. Hope this helps.

[bdison]

Thanks guys, I will try a larger prop 12/6 and I will also move the wing and battery
so I can get more weight forward.
Thanks again. I'll let you know what happens.

[Steve]

A tail heavy plane flies very erratically and is a real challenge to fly...in fact, it's impossible to fly with any kind of real control.

Setting your center of gravity correctly is an absolute must with any plane. You need to be right on...no guessing allowed.

I found that I needed to mount the battery in front of the landing gear in order to balance mine out.

[bdison]

Thanks Steve, I was trying to decide if I could put it forward of the landing gear or not.
Also, I was using a flat battery pack which I believe was pushing the weight back, now I have gone to a bump pack and I will experiment with the best location for it.

[TaSaJaRa]

I use LiPo's on my slow stick so I put the batteries in front of my wing.
Using NiCd's you may need them closer to the CG it just depends on where you put your servos. Mine are under the wing.

My wing is located about 5" from the tip of the fuse shaft where the GB is.
One other thing to look at once you get it balanced is the control horns.
On the older kits the control horn had 3 holes. So I added a extra hole closer to the elevator and rudder making it have 4 holes. On the newer kits I have put together they have this 4th hole. Using the closest hole gives you much better throw and control. And as said before a good setup for the D geared 350 would be a 12x6 Slow Fly prop.

[bdison]

Thanks TaSaJa, I will try moving to the closer hole I have had it at in the first hole. Ok, I'm learning!!!

[TaSaJaRa]

Glad I could help.That will make a big difference in the way the plane flys. I made the mistake of not having my control rods in the best place to begin with myself when I started with a slow stick. It accounted for 2 crashes because I didn't have enough rudder to right my plane when it got to doing the death spiral as we called it at my field. It is the tight circle the plane does when the wind pushes one of the wing tips up, and you can't seem to get the wings back parallel with the ground.

Let us know how it turns out with the new adjustments......