FirebatFlyer

Hello everybody. Just got done flying my new slow stick for the first time. The first flight i took it off in about 5 feet of the runway but in the air it just kept its nose up and I kept having to make it go up and down. On the 3rd flight the wing picked up and about 2 feet above the ground it went completely vertical stalled and came down and broke the prop. I picked up some super glue from walmart on the way home and glued it back together when i was going checking the airplane I realized that it was way tail heavy so i moved the servos up and the battery and now it seems balanced a lot better. I'm going to fly it tomorrow and hopefully have better results....

FirebatFlyer

Any good tips for the next flight?

Dr Kiwi

I think you have already hit upon the answer - being tail heavy makes any aircraft difficult to control! Get the balance as directed on the plan, even a little nose down, and you'll find it flies much better. The other "fix" for stalling is to use about 3 degrees down and right thrust.

Cheers, Phil

FirebatFlyer

Hi just another quicky. Is it alright to super glue the prop back together? It seems plenty strong and still gives lots of thrust. I was just worried about the gear system maybe coming out of wack because it may not be even weight on the prop. But super glue doesn't weigh that much I don't think. Anybody have any experience gluing props together?

sierra gold

I have read that some pilots have done this. []

I value my eyes, and face too much to rely on a prop that has been glued together. I say it's a dangerous thing to do.

Use a prop saver until your skills allow you to land w/o hitting the prop.

Sierra Gold

FirebatFlyer

Normally I can land without hitting the prop but there was a lot of wind that day and a gust came and blew it completely vertical and then it stalled and came down. But what is a prop saver?

sierra gold

Duplicate message due to cable connection glitch. Same as below.

Sierra Gold

sierra gold

GWS sells one or you can make one out of an old servo arm. Basically it bolts on to the prop shaft and the prop slides on the shaft up to the "saver". The prop is held on with small rubber bands wrapped around the "saver." This allows the prop to "bend" on the shaft if it strikes the ground.

Try doing a search on "prop saver"... there must be a number of threads.

Sierra Gold

FirebatFlyer

I decided to put one on and see how it does and I will test it tomorrow will tell the results of this "prop saver".

FirebatFlyer

I read about clipping the wings and they say it helps the planes turning ability. I like to glid around, would cutting the tips off make it so it doesnt glide as well?

sierra gold

I have clipped the wings on both my SS. I think they fly more crisply and can withstand a little higher wind speed. Obviously, you remove a few sq. inches of wing in clipping and this probably does lessen the wings lifting capabilities.

For the way I fly(both my SS have brushless motors), I think clipped wings is an improvement.

Sierra Gold

FirebatFlyer

I went out and flew this morning and I was pretty high up and I decided to do a loop when I pulled back the wings snapped in half and it came spiriling back down straight into the ground it bent up the fus. and the gear box a bit. But with a vice and some yanking on it I got it back straight went out about 30 minutes after that and it flew great with the tapped wing.

sierra gold

"Snapped in half" ... literally snapped at the point the wings join and the alum. tube joiner is?

Did you epoxy glue the wing joint together? Did you epoxy glue the FG rods/joiner tubes to the wing LE and TE before taping them? Both of these steps make a stronger wing.

I also add an "X" shaped tape pattern using 2" stranded packing tape across the wing bottom running from LE to TE. This makes a stronger wing also.

Sierra Gold

FirebatFlyer

Nope didnt have the wing epoxied I wish I would have though. I will try that so that when I try another loop it doesnt hurt the plane any.

NeoLogic

This plane will Loop?!!?!??! Wow.. what about a roll? See, I just bought one of these guys as my first plane, so I did a search for Slow Stick, and I'm reading up on everything I can about them.

Anyway, this was the most amusing thread I've read in a long time. Thanks guys

"Snapped in half" heh. "glue your prop back together.. heh heh. That just sounds funny being a helicopter mechanic in the Army for 6 years. [:-] "Yea sir, she should fly great now... I glued the main rotor blades with 5 min epoxy, and threw some ProSeal in there for good luck" Oh goodness!!

Well this plane does sound durable.. hitting trees and stuff. Like the Energizer bunny.

NMPhi767

Buy a pack of gws props. They are like 3 bucks and you get six of them. I tried to glue a prop back together once and it broke off while I was nearby and hit me in the shoulder. Hurt quite bit.

Blaster_Boy

This plane will definitely loop. I flew my new slow stick for the first time yesterday in mild wind and it's a great performer. Get the GC correct and this plane flies beautifully. from about 75 feet up I did 5 loops literally in a row and could have kept looping if it wasn't for the wind pushing the SS out of the flying area. My SS is stock with a 600ma Ni Cad. The wings stayed together and I didn't even use any epoxy.

To give this plane the credit it deserves. I did a classic newbie move and stuck the plane way up in a tree. We got it down with string and a weight. The trip out of the tree ripped the tail and rudder off and put 2 small holes in the wing (and broke the prop). It was great, the wing fell off on the way down and the SS nosed dived from about 30 feet up. Packing tape repaired the wing and glued the rudder and elevator back on.

20 minutes later I repeated the 5 loop performance.
I couldn't get the plane to roll (no ailerons) however, this plane will loop, stall turn (sometimes), I did a turning diving loop (a corkscrewing nosedive: tip have lots of altitude before you start).

All-in-all this plan is a kick in the pants!

FirebatFlyer

I just found a Firebird Xl 7.2 volt battery laying in a box out back so i clipped the wires off and cut out a plugin for it it seem to have plenty of power yet a tad bit more heavy im going to try it out after school today!!!

firefighter

everybody I see at the field flying these ghastly beasts are doing so too tail heavy. add weight, move your battery, whatever, I rebalanced one for a gent at the field and it was abviously nose heavy when I finished. It turned better, had better penetration, flew like a dream, dont go cutting wings off and wht not, buy another plane if you are ready to start truing stunts. make it nose heacy, trust me

flying_frog

I have a Slow Stick and a Tiger Moth that I fly indoors. I have seen the Slow Stick modified with aelerons. There are cut outs on the wing to make them. Add a couple of servos and the plane WILL roll. Only thing I changed on mine was the landing gear...got rid of thos skinny wheels and added a tail dragger wheel for better steering.