Slow Stick Enthusiasts

[pizzano]

I've started a new Group section: Slow Stick Enthusiasts

All "serious" Stick, Pod & Boomer fliers/builders welcome to join, display and pass on info.

This is my first attempt at such here at Wattflyer. I've done this at other heli forums where I performed "moderator" functions...it was very successful and informative.

I realize the Slow Stick has it's own dedicated section (sections) here, but I thought a Group arena might interest those who have the same "serious" passion I have for light weight, sticks, boomers and pod craft.

Any tips, suggestions or general feed back is welcome, especially since I do not know the all the ropes here and hope joining is not a complicated, restricted feature.

Thanks all....hope to see ya there.....

[Beemerider]

Cool!

I have two SS's, a red one with more than it's share of battle scars and a new blue one under construction. I fly the red one almost daily and the blue one will be a night flyer. Bought a few rolls of led's last summer for just such a project. The SS is a winner all around!

[Rockin Robbins]

Woooooo Hoooo! I have a battlescarred red one that needs a rebuild. Crashed from 50' when I glitched out for some still unidentified reason and didn't even break my 11" prop. But I did splay my fuselage real well.

It's carbon fuse time and I'm looking really close at that canard Slow Stick kit from Radical RC!

[Beemerider]

Yeah my red one had a rough life last yr. Couple of crashes, had to cut 6" off the fuse, so now it's a Short Stick. A few cracks and creases in the wing, my cat chewed on the rudder a bit, etc. But it still flies well and is probably my most dependable plane. It carries my little #16 cam and is just a ball to fly. I love it on a windy day. Put a 3s1200 in it and I fly it like a kite.

[1320fastback]

Me and most of my unofficial club have them.
Mine is stock and also have a flat wing a friend built for me.
Other include a Canard SS, a extended stick with a parasol wing, a older new aluminum stick, a Stevens Aero stick and a few modern stockers.

[pizzano]

Glad to see the company starting to filter in here.....lol

So far a great crowd to pull, pool and post resources...!

I've just completed (what I hope is) the last of the committed Slow Stick builds I promised, only have a couple of photos....(took to many of the others), got bored....now onto one of my own...lol....but I'm still thinking about that Tiger Moth.
The Canard ideas look intriguing...my only concern there is my abilty to enjoy the flying without another learning curve to overcome...lol...what's some thoughts on the flying aspects for an advanced begginer with a ton of Piper Cub (4ch) and Slow Stick rudder only experience.....?

[hayofstacks]

tiger moth really isn't too hard to fly. the style of airfoil and wing loading will be harder to get used to then anything.

[pizzano]

Here's a summary of some of the power system combinations I've used on the stock Slow Stick:

I've tried these combinations....all stock frame and wings, 9g servos, 20amp esc's brushed and brushless, stock dihedral:

1) GWS GWBL03008 1118kv outrunner 400/450 size brushless direct drive, 11.1v 1000mAh 30/40C battery, 10x5E APC, GWS EP1040, and Eflight 9x6 props

2) Stock GWS EPS 400D brushed/gear box, both 11.1v 1000mAh 30/40C and 7.4v 1600mAh 40C battery, 10x5E APC and GWS EP1040 props

3) E-545 Power Up 400 Sport Brushless, both 11.1v 1000mAh 30/40C and 7.4v 1600mAh 40C battery, 10x5E APC, 9x6 Eflight and GWS EP 1040 props

4) Dynam C2830-21 1200kv brushless, 11.1v 1800mAh 30C battery, GWS EP 1040 and Eflight 9x6 props

All of the four combos flew decent (plenty of lift and decent in-flight power)....mind you, I did not invent any of these combo's......I spent hours researching and asking friends questions!

That said, my favorite combo and the one I still prefer and recommend is #3 with the 10x5E APC, 7.4v 1600mAh, 400 Power Up outrunner. Here's why:

C/G is touchy on the Slow Stick and changes after every flight due to wing shift and servo action.....I've found that combo #3 is not as sensitive to in-flight C/G changes since the combo is relatively light and forgiving (I tend to set-up a little nose heavy to compensate for wing shift and wind)...and I get longer flight times (30min on average) than using the 3cell battery, with ample power and no ESC/motor overheating........I do glide 1/2 the time and seldom run past 3/4 throttle even on ground take-offs.......and the brushless 400 and APC prop are bullet proof.

Here's an example of the 2nd Stick with the GWS EPS 400D and Gear Box w/APC 10x5 prop in flight (vid quality forgiving): If you have a RealPlayer video player, Photobucket likes it best...lol

[Turbojoe]

I was digging around for something else yesterday and stumbled on my old Slow Sticks. I really thought I had given them away a long time ago. I figured what the heck, drug one out and threw some old parts at it. I went old school and used an Astro Flight 10 turn 010 in a GWS gearbox w/"D" gearing and an APC 11x4.7 slowfly prop. A 10 year old Castle 10 amp ESC and a 72mhz Electron 6 RX. The combo pulls 5.6 amps and 74 watts at WOT so I'm going with 3S 800mah packs to keep it light. I used to fly this same combo with 7 heavy Kan cells and it flew just fine.

Was hoping to take it out today but every time I looked out the window the trees were blowing around like crazy. Tomorrow the weather calls for winds over 12mph all day. Maybe next weekend.....

Joe

[pizzano]

Turbo......Same problem here in So. Cal.....wind and SS just don't mix well....lol....and there's so much smoke in the sky right now I'd probably loose it....!

[Turbojoe]

That's one of the things I miss least about So Cal. It seemed the whole state was always trying to burn itself down. Nearly lost our house in Fallbrook.

Joe

[pizzano]

Yep....my son has had enough. He's moving to Peoria AZ in July. Going to a fire academy in Phoenix then comming back here to work....plenty fire jobs here...lol

[Turbojoe]

Hmm, coming to AZ in July..... Should be consistently over 110 degrees by then. He's going to feel like he's on fire!

Joe

[pizzano]

Nah....were in the San Bernadino/Riverside (inland empire).....lol...it gets hot here and the air quality sucks all the time....lol

[BroncoSquid]

Does anyone have plans, or a link to plans to build a flat bottom wing or a symeterical wing for the SS? I don't need a kit or a built one. Just plans.

[Turbojoe]

Originally Posted by BroncoSquid

Does anyone have plans, or a link to plans to build a flat bottom wing or a symeterical wing for the SS? I don't need a kit or a built one. Just plans.

I built the Stevens Aero Slow Stick wing package several years ago. Flew it once and sold it. Hated it. All it did was turn it into a fast Slow Stick. I'd just build a completely different plane.

I've spent the last 4 hours servicing and detailing my motorcycle waiting for the wind to die down. (I haven't washed the poor girl in two months so it took a while. ) I just went out to re-hang the saddle bags and was met with a blast of wind as I stepped outside. Shoot! The wind is getting faster. To top it all off there's now a 40% chance of rain. That's obviously because I washed the bike....

Looks like I'll discharge the batteries and try for weekend after next. Forgot I have to work next weekend.

Joe

[pizzano]

Take a look at this site:

http://www.stevensaero.com/StevensAe...g-p-18450.html

Go to the bottom of the page and click the manual....you'll find a parts plan that shows the wing materials (no scale or dimensions) and other pictures of the build....one could, with some design build skills, determine the sizes by scale ratio to an original SS wing.....or modify to taste....if you've got CADD ability.

I'm still searching as well....for my own purposes......a foam option.

Edit:

Check this out to.....I'm considering this:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1373183

And still reviewing this:

http://www.rcfoamieplans.com/free-plans/401-500.html

[Turbojoe]

Thanks for posting that link to rcfoamieplans. Quite a ways down is the RCBirdz Eagle plan. I've always wanted an R/C bird and I may build this one soon. I'm a balsa snob so the Slow Sticks, an Edge R/C Mini Bird of Prey and a never to be completed Depron F-18 kit are all the foam I have in my hangar. I'll have to try to get by the LHS to see how much a sheet of 6mm Depron costs. I have everything else I need.

Joe

[pizzano]

No problem Turbo....

I'm still thumbing through the foamie plans....lots to pick from.

[Chucksolo69]

Here's an idea. One of the older pilots in our informal club flies his Slow Stick with the wing from a Hobbyking Bixler held on with rubber bands. He has the ailerons setup and it flies great!! He's 83 years young.

[BroncoSquid]

Originally Posted by Turbojoe

I built the Stevens Aero Slow Stick wing package several years ago. Flew it once and sold it. Hated it. All it did was turn it into a fast Slow Stick. I'd just build a completely different plane.
Joe

That is what I am kind of hoping for. I feel the SS is an excellent "Test bed" to expand my first hand knowledge on R/C aircraft. To be able build wings with diffrent lengths, airfoil shapes, alerion sizes, flaps, and even airbrakes. Then swap them out with relitave ease.

[Gofer303]

Originally Posted by Chucksolo69

Here's an idea. One of the older pilots in our informal club flies his Slow Stick with the wing from a Hobbyking Bixler held on with rubber bands. He has the ailerons setup and it flies great!! He's 83 years young.

Got both more info on this please!!!

[Chucksolo69]

The week before the pilot was buddy boxing his daughter and she augered his slow stick in and wrecked the wing. Well, the following week he showed up with the same Slow Stick, but in place of the stock wing, he had installed a wing from a wrecked Bixler. He didn't do anything other than connect the ailerons to his RX and put on fresh rubber bands. He didn't know if it would fly, and frankly, none of us thought it would. Well, he has flown it like that ever since and it flies really nice. It still thermals pretty good, but doesn't "kite" like a regular Slow Stick. He has to have at least 50 flights on it now. You still have to check CG and all, but, it will work.

[Rockin Robbins]

Look, it's a bit expensive at $65.00 but Stevens Aero makes another wing kit called the SoarStik upgrade kit. Looks like it won't turn your SS into a speed demon, will still lower drag while increasing lifting capacity greatly.

[Gofer303]

Originally Posted by Chucksolo69

The week before the pilot was buddy boxing his daughter and she augered his slow stick in and wrecked the wing. Well, the following week he showed up with the same Slow Stick, but in place of the stock wing, he had installed a wing from a wrecked Bixler. He didn't do anything other than connect the ailerons to his RX and put on fresh rubber bands. He didn't know if it would fly, and frankly, none of us thought it would. Well, he has flown it like that ever since and it flies really nice. It still thermals pretty good, but doesn't "kite" like a regular Slow Stick. He has to have at least 50 flights on it now. You still have to check CG and all, but, it will work.

Thanks for the info I have a crashed on of each and now will bash them into a new plane!