boomerace

Over the past several years I have had requests to do a build of the Slow Stick my way not as the manual dictates. This is the 13th Slow Stick I have built and this is using the new upgraded kit GWS has recently placed on the market which I consider a 400% improvement over the old kit. I am also building it as light as possible but using the upgrades I like. So Here goes..... Please post only comments or questions relative to the build thread and not get off topic.
Most of the items I used are available from several suppliers however here is where I placed my orders.
From EPYAYA.com:
1 x Brushless Aluminum Motor Mount 28mm (2pcs) (GWEMM28A) = $4.00

1 x NEW SLOW STICK No Power System (yellow) w/FIBERGLASS FUSELAGE (GWAEO018F) = $21.00

1 x FM-RX (72MHz) UM-1 MICRO CRYSTAL (for R4PII/R6NII receivers) w/ channel Options (GWX1/UM-1(72MHz, Receiver crystal)) = $5.40

GWS UM-1 Micro 72MHZ Crystal Ch CH.44/72.670MHZ

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Sub-Total: $30.40

United States Postal Service (1 x 5.81lbs) (PRIORITY (2 - 3 MODULE_SHIPPING_USPS_TEXT_DAYS)): $12.95

Total: $43.35
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From Lazertoyz.com:
Item Name: 24gram brushless-2712-12-Mount&ESC
Item Options: Pick Mount Type: Firewall-8mm
PIck ESC Type: 10Amp with connectors(12A)
Total: $27.50 USD

Item Name: 4 channel VAM-Power Pro Receiver
Item Number: 4 Ch VP

Total: $17.95 USD



Item Name: 9 gram Servos
Item Number: 1 pair of 9Gram servos

Total: $12.00 USD

Item Name: MultiProp Adapter
Item Number: MultiProp&O-Ring

Total: $2.50 USD

Cart Total: $59.95 USD
In addition You will need a sheet of 1/64" and 1/32" plywood, a piece of 1/8" balsa, and if you wish to paint a can of H2O Spray Paint or some other foam safe paint of your choice. Thick and thin foam safe CA and accelerator. You will need other items for the mods I used but you can also use some stock parts and I will indicate their use in the build where appropriate.
To start off here is my opinion on some of the items furnished in the kit:
******************************
*Stock Landing Gear and wheels.
If the plane is kept light will work OK but a little too weak for hard landings
*Stock Battery mounting slides
I consider these junk and never use. For light battery packs I use the tray shown in the build for larger packs I add CF rods for additional rubber band retention. See pics attached.
*Stock Servo Mounts
Work well but I prefer CAing servos to Fuse. Lighter and solid.
*Stock tail wheel
Junk! Never use too flimsy!
*Fuse connector
Old one was Junk. New one great.
*Dihedral Tubes
New ones now furnished great. Old thinner ones Junk, that's why we made new ones from brass tubing.
*New and old method of mounting tail feathers
The new method of through bolting is dumb IMHO. We are not building a tank. I much prefer the methods shown in this thread. Lighter and proven to work better than stock.
*Wing mounts
Good but shim the rear mount 1/8" for better wing incidence.
*Mounting Motor directly to fuse without provision for thrust correction
I consider thrust correction a basic requirement that GWS was too cheap to provide in their design!
*CG position
Fortunately the Slow Stick is very forgiving of CG Position but I consider 4-1/8" or 105mm the ideal location for a SS with thrust correction.
*GWS Glue
Used as contact cement works OK. I never use.
*GWS furnished wing tape
Throw away and instead use 3M 2" wide clear Packing Tape or 3M Extreme Packing Tape for way overpowered heavy planes. For hinges best is 3/4" Blenderm on both sides. OK is 3/4" 3M Gloss Finish Multitask Tape
*Slides Movement
When In final position use a drop of thick CA on the slide bottom and hit immediately with accelerator to lock slide in place. If Slide ever needs to be moved the CA applied in this way can be chipped off easily and the slide moved.
*GWS Control Horns.
If they are installed with the keeper bevel side down against the foam they are "bullet proof", however if the keeper is installed with bevel side out they will fail over time whether glued or not! After installation and using a pair of pliers with the jaws on each side of the keeper to apply slight pressure to be sure they are tight and locked I put a small drop of thin CA each side to prevent any movement in the foam slot. Be sure the holes are even with the hinge line before installing the keeper. If not extend the slot until the holes are lined up with the hinge line otherwise the movement won't be equal in both directions when control is applied.
Anything I haven't covered just ask.
boomer

boomerace

I have assembled the X-Gear from millenniumrc.com (17.95 shipped) and the motor mount which was made using a GWS aluminum motor mount (EMM 28A) and a 3/16" Aircraft Plywood Disk cut with a 1-3/8" hole saw. (If you do not have the equipment for making the wood motor mount they are available from Lazertoyz.) The aluminum mount was roughed up with sand paper and thick CAed to the wood and a couple of screws added for insurance. Mount was then bent to give 4 degrees down and right thrust correction for the brushless Blue Wonder motor. 4 pieces of 5/32"OD aluminum tubing were cut 7/16" long to be thick CAed to the rubber band nubs on the wing mounts. I also made my usual battery tray from hard 1/8" balsa with a layer of 1/64" ply CAed to the balsa and after a little thin CA applied to the plywood Hook Velcro was applied to hold the battery. This will be CAed to the fuse when the time comes. All wood surfaces will be painted black to match the fuse before they are used. Here's a few pics....... More later
boomer
Note: The new motor mounts from Lazertoyz are 4 hole instead of 3 and bolt directly to the GWS Aluminum Mount so the plywood disk is optional.

boomerace

Since I am new to Wattflyer a short Bio is in order:
I am a retired Civil and Construction Management Engineer. Project Manager and Construction Manager on Major Airports for Bechtel. Airport in SA was 3.5 Billion in 1980 also Project manager for Las Vegas and Palm Beach Airport in the States. Development Director for Kansas City Airport and TWA Overhaul Base.
I am 81 years young and built my first model airplane in 1939 and it flew! Been hooked every since. Started flying RC in the 60's. Presently have 32 flyable planes plus a bunch of Micros and one Heli. My website is at www.boomerseflight.com. Take a look.......
boomer

Bub Steve

BOOMER!!! hey my bub! long time no hear, good to see ya over here, Nice Sticks ,, your bub, steve( scoooper)

boomerace

Here is a little more info as to what I use for control rods and some info on Z bends and V bends. The V bend in the middle of the control rod has been a cheap way out for manufactures to adjust the length of a control rod for final adjustment. It is grossly inaccurate and almost impossible to get the control surface neutral with out using the trims! It also creates a spot in the rod that bends easier than the rest of the rod thus making for sloppy control. A better way and still cheap is make a Z bend in each end of the SS furnished control rods and cut between the rear most rod guide and the servo. Then overlap the rods and slide on a piece of heat shrink and shrink. Final adjustment can easily be made by sliding the rods in the heat shrink. After you are happy with the adjustment a drop of thin CA on each end of the heat shrink will freeze the rod at the correct length and the overlap will stiffen the overall rod. The DuBro Micro Push rod system is the only system I know of that guarantees positive control rod movement without slop or bending on long control rod installations.
See pick of examples. I have also included a pic of the X Gear showing the side view. You experienced builders bear with me as this is also for newbies.
boomer

Mike Freas

My hats off to you! I only hope to be in good enough health when I'm young like you to be able to fly RC. I tell myself that every morning while I'm running around the track.

boomerace

Tail wheel was bent from 1/16" Music Wire and is ready to be tacked to fuse with thick CA and wrapped in place with 30# test braided Spider Wire fishing line. Rudder/Fin will be mounted on top of fuse in center as otherwise I have to cut some off the bottom of the rudder to get the elevator throws I demand and I prefer center mounting anyway.
Mount for the rudder is made from 1/8" balsa and 1/32" aircraft ply. See pic which shows one side of the mounting sandwich. Once mounted the assembly will be masked off and spray painted black with H2O along with the bottom of the wing and bottom of stab/elevator. Reason..... at specked out altitude white wing bottoms disappear. Reason I am using black is top of wing is yellow and since black goes fine with yellow and since all dark colors look black anyway at altitude might as well use black! Rear wing support has been raised with 1/8" balsa as I like a little less wing incidence.
boomer

boomerace

Esc comes with bullet connectors installed but the male connectors on the motor will not insert all the way leaving a area that could possibly short out so the simple fix is add a small amount of heat shrink. See pics. Motor was prepared for mounting on Motor mount by adding the prop saver using blue thread lock on the screws for insurance. Motor base adapter was screwed on plywood face of motor mount and motor installed and set screw tightened again using a bit of blue thread lock for insurance. Servos will be mounted by gluing to fuse with thick CA. You can either glue directly or first wrap with tape. See the pics of my tape wrapping procedure. When wrapped with tape they can be salvaged as new by cutting the tape and pealing off. This saves the weight of the plastic servo mounts. I will show you how I balance with the servos not readily movable when the time comes. Questions or comments welcome.
BTW that is the right motor wire color hook up for the motor running the correct direction.
boomer

Pudknocker71

I’ve always wanted to ask this. Hope you don’t mind.

With the angle of your motor mount, if you hold the SS in a vertical position and power up half or so throttle, does it pull to the right in your hand? I experienced this with my SS and removed the right. (Used the same mount at about 3 degrees.) Now I understand we're counter acting torque. If I don't feel any twisting while powering up then why the right angle? I’ve never noticed any sudden jog to the left when throttling up (without angle correction).I do see and nose down attitude when I let off the throttle though. Seems like that would be the wing instance causing that. As the motor pulls forward the wing pulls up. So I can see adding the down angle in the motor mount. Would leveling the wing cancel the necessity of down angle?

Thanks

Pudknocker71

[
BTW that is the right motor wire color hook up for the motor running the correct direction.
boomer[/quote]

Funny, I can answer one of your questions. Hook them up in any order. If it the rotation is reversed, switch any two wires.

boomerace

Funny, I can answer one of your questions. Hook them up in any order. If it the rotation is reversed, switch any two wires. [/quote]
It wasn't a question That is the correct hookup for that combo motor and esc!
boomer

boomerace

Of course it does it also pulls down because it is restrained. However in flight the thrust correction if correct cancels that tendency at all throttle settings so no input or trim adjustment is required from cruise throttle setting through Full throttle. If the wing was at the same elevation as the thrust line and a symmetrical wing little of any down is required but normally some right is required. If the wing instead is under cambered it is likely down thrust correction is needed as the plane will want to go into a climb without control input with advancing throttle. I suspect if you look down your fuse you have a bend that gives you all the right thrust correction you require. The latest fiberglas fuse I receved was dead straight! Big improvement!
boomer

Pudknocker71

Oops Misread one word...

boomerace

Wing bottom was painted with Black H2O without masking as tape could remove finish from top of wing. My way of painting the wing bottom does not require masking off the top. The spray paint can is held at a angle so the spray stream is directed at the away 1/2 of the wing and almost horizontal. Thus any over spray is directed away from the wing. Can is rotated when directed at wing tip so spray is still away from tip. The wing is then reversed and the 2nd half of the wing is sprayed in a like manner. Never had a need for masking using this techeque. Hinge lines are taped each side with Blenderm. 4 inch piece of basswood is inserted into front of fuse and glued in place. Motor mount is thick CAed to fuse after fuse is roughed up with sandpaper and a screw added each side which goes into the basswood insert. I assemble the rear fuse section complete with tail wheel before joining with front fuse section. Much easier.
boomer

boomerace

Good info for newbees anyway.
boomer

boomerace

I forgot to add that after the 2 sides were CAed in place I found the rudder was a tad loose in the slot so I cut a 1/64" ply shim for one side and that really snugged it up. I then thin CAed it in place and painted. See pic.
I said I would also show how I would install the stock LG if used. See the following pics. LG would be installed in same position as X Gear shown. This position eliminates nose overs! LG is tacked in position with thick CA & accelerator and then wrapped with braided fishing line and soaked with CA.
boomer

boomerace

The final Product............. There is a lot to explain so lets get started. Stab/Elevator was thick CAed in place and new holes drilled for the screws. Bolted method shown in manual was not used as it would interfere with the center fin placement. Not needed any way as we're not building a tank! Bottom of Stab/Elevator was painted black by hand as piece was too small to prevent over spray for doing it like the wing. To get color match I sprayed Black H2O into a container until there was enough liquid to paint the bottom and then brush applied. Doesn't look as pretty as the bottom of the wing and the Fin as Spray paints aren't meant to be brushed but a couple feet away it looks fine. Battery was mounted in front of the wing to prevent close coupling due to having to move the wing so far back because of the light motor instead at the CG as I normally do. However the 3S 1200 PQ 20C Lipo is all I will ever use so that's fine.. This allowed me to mount the servos in their final rearward location to get perfect balance. I didn't need to use the DuBro Micro Control Rod system due to the short control rods used. I tape the servos in place using masking tape to check balance position before final CAing in place. That way it's easy to move them as necessary to get final balance. Wing reinforcing rods were CAed into dihedral tubes and taped in position tight against the wing in a few places. Once I am satisfied with the position I run a bead of thick CA between the rod and the wing top and hit with accelerator. Repeat for rear rod assembly. I then take 3M Clear 2" wide packing tape and stick 1 inch of the width to the top of the wing for the length of the rods and rub in place. Then work the tape around the rods and stick what's left to the underside of the wing being sure the tape is tightly wrapped around the rod. Rub every thing down tight. My kit came with the clear center reinforcing filler. After looking at the thing it was clear there was way too much unneeded plastic to install per the directions so I cut away all but the V itself and thick CAed into the crack. Solid as a rock and much lighter and sure looks better than that large chunk of plastic.
AUW came out to 18.1oz and that's with a X Gear that weighs 2oz by it's self. I will try the first flight with the APC 9 X 4.7 SF Prop which will give me just over 101W/lb so we will have slow vertical I expect. If anything isn't clear or whatever just ask questions. Using the stock gear would save over an oz. Don't forget when Installing the GWS Control Horns be sure the Keeper is installed with the bevel side DOWN against the foam. Look carefully and you can see the side that's beveled. Otherwise the control horn WILL loosen and come off!
BTW the white was trimmed off the wing Iron Crosses since they were installed on a yellow wing. They will also mount much smoother since they are not so large. Otherwise they tend to wrinkle on the curved surfaces. Total Cost of the plane using the Stock LG and wheels is 108.08 shipped with listed parts plus cost of CA, extra music wire, balsa, velcro and Aircraft Plywood. It also doesn't include Lipo.
My upgrades included 17.95 for X-Gear, 7.50 for wheels main and tail, 5.00 for 2 APC Props for a total of about $140 plus the "not included" listed above.
Well guys what do you think? Was this helpfull or not. At least it was "My way"! Oh and yes I'll be using more rubber bands to hold on the wing. Note it is balanced at 4-1/8" back of front of wing! Comments or Questions welcome.
boomer

boomerace

I was just doing some more tests on the 9 X 4.7 APC SF Prop and have decided from my testing and Motocalc that prop is the best choice. According to Motocalc the plane will fly well at less than 40% throttle and cruising flight time should be about an hour with the PQ 3S 1200 with full power ROG and then throttling back. In the summer add a few thermals and get an easy chair! I see no need to add weight of a bigger battery.
Looks like later in week weather will be OK for maiden and shooting a flight video. Wind was 13 gusting to 20 today. I will maiden in anything 10MPH or less. Will post flight video on my website. More later.
boomer

boomerace

Thanks Mike. Afraid my running days are over! Still can hobble out and retrieve my planes though.
Steve,
Good to hear from you. Thanks for postiing.
boomer

boomerace

Well I really expected more interest in this thread since I received so many requests. Guess the Slow Stick Scene has been reviewed to death. Thanks anyway hope it helped someone.
boomer

boomerace

Finally was able to fly the maiden this afternoon. Plane flys even better than I expected. The new solider wings and tail feathers have vastly improved the handling as it now goes where it's pointed and doesn't wonder around with the wings flapping. My control throws are 45 degrees on both elevator and rudder thanks to the raised center mounted rudder. This thing will really loop tight and rudder authority is great! There are 2 versions of the video as usual on my website... www.boomerseflight.com My server has unlimited bandwidth so download speed is limited only by your connection. I recommend you save the video to your computer before viewing. Both files are fairly large but I highly recommend the high res version which is here:
http://www.boomerseflight.com/videos...y%20Boomer.wmv
the lower res version is here:
http://www.boomerseflight.com/videos...oomer%20LR.wmv
Comments and or questions welcome. Enjoy................
boomer

CFIT

Boomer,
Looking at the video, would that maiden flight be filmed at Monaco Coach in J.C.?

Very nice, thank you for sharing.
From perusing your web page, you have quite the electric RC collection, some of which I would love to see in person such as the tiperon SS.

I grew up in west Eugene off 18th and Bertelson, (attended Churchill in the early-mid ‘80’s) currently living in Sandy up by Mt Hood. My parents still live in West Eugene in the Danebo area, we come down every so often, now more often with my fathers addiction to the GWS Slow Stick.

On your web page is an announcement for the Oregon electric fly-in in J.C. The dates you have listed fall on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for 2008, is that correct?

Next time I’m down to fly Slow Sticks with my father, it would be nice to meet up, maybe some flying?

Here is my original build and subsequent SS updates with a little bit of video as well.

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28318


Take care,
Paul

boomerace

Hi Paul,
You are partly right. It is at JC however Monaco moved out of JC some years ago after buying Holiday Rambler and Safari and built a new factory at Coburg. Country Coach bought the buildings and expanded. My flying field is a new employees parking lot. Over the years all my close flying fields have filled up with houses or the schools have fenced off access. What parks still available are filled with loose running dogs who think the plane is a frisbee even though the city has a leash law. The only reason I have the field at JC is my son is CEO of Country Coach! The local club is all fuel and dislike electric! So it goes with progress!
boomer

boomerace

Paul,
Forgot to add that alas the Oregon Flyin is no more. The deal was I would host it first year and then one of the other flyers would host it the next year ,ETC. When the time came no one that promised would step up to the plate. So No more flyins in Oregon. However if you're in town would love to meet you and do some flying.
boomer

Pickle72

Great thread! I really appreciate it when skilled builders share there tips , tricks and general knowledge.
I can't log on to your site though, it says it is not found