dws129

Just wanted to brag...I finally got my Slow Stick flying. Posted on here over a month ago because it was doing crazy things when I hooked the battery up. Turned out the receiver was bad. After I changed it the controls actually listened to me instead of doing their own thing.

Did have some other problems. Ended up having to add 2 oz of weight to the front to get the CG right. Seemed like a lot of weight but it balanced out and worked.

Also I have went through SEVERAL props (dang those things break easy) and a few shafts (seem to bend as easy as the props break)

So thanks to those who gave advise earlier and if anyone has any advice about saving props and shafts I'd appreciate it.....other than don't nose it into the ground, I have figured that much out myself

Time Pilot

2 Oz to the nose? That's a lot of weight. Did you try moving the battery forward and the wing back to the maximum suggested position already?

What kind of battery are you using? Would be a light one if it's mounted to the front of the the stick and you're still heavy on the tail.

Prop savers apparently help with the prop problem. I've never used one, but some swear by them.

Just finished rebuilding the tail on my SS this weekend--rain, rain rain! Looks like I'll have to wait at least a week to see how it flys.

dws129

Yea, I thought it was a lot of weight too. Have the battery moved up as far as I can and the wings back as far as I can. The front wing bracket is in front of the front battery braket and so the only way to move the battery forward more or the wing back further is to take the thing apart and switch the brackets.

Using a 7 cell 1100 KAN battery.

Picked up a prop saver, haven't tried it yet.

Time Pilot

If you didn't glue the motor on, I'd highly recommend moving the battery brackets in front of the wing. 2 ounces is more than 10% of the weight of the entire plane.

I rebuilt the tail so I could turn my SS into a night flyer lit up by LED's. The tail is a balsa frame covered in paper painted with a reflective coating. I knew the coating would be heavy, so I moved the battery in front of the wing. I also moved the servos behind the wing as I knew the tail wasn't going to be all that heavy.

In the end, I was able to move the wing to it's most forward recommended position and still have some fiddle room with my battery pack (a 7C 1050 mah pack) while adding only 12 extra grams to the frame.

If you have to add extra weight, you may as well make is useful. You may want to consider putting a 10" balsa stick down the front of the nose. This will help protect the front fuse from bending when it noses in and give you a bit more useful weight up front.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Congrats! Can be a bit of a PITA sorting out a new one sometimes, huh?
As far as broken props...
Maybe put the motor, gearbox, and prop up on top of a pylon? Then no broken props unless you land inverted.... (probably not for just starting out, but in the future...)
Try the prop savers, it's what they exist for.(never used them myself, just broke LOTS of props )

2 oz does seem like quite a bit on a SS... I would move the battery forward instead of adding weight.

blueline

My Feedback: (6)

Congrat's, I too have finally gotten mine in the air! RC airplanes have always been a hobby that I'd wanted to try since I was a little boy, now that I've got some extra cash I can join in the fun as a family with my two girls as well. Enough of me, I too have have many problems with my GWS slow stick, A: As soon as it left the ground it would go straight up. B: I have broken at least 10 props, thank god they are cheap, C: and last two bad servos. As for the aiming for the stars the first thing I did was move the front wing as far back as the spec's recommended, next, I moved the battery as far foward as possible under the wing-paying very close attention to the center of gravity. With respect to the props I did purchase a prop saver, however, I haven't saved one prop. It's not rocket science as far as appllication of the prop saver so I guess it's that I'm hitting the ground at the wrong angle, I suppose. It may work for you however.

My goal is to have one more successful flight than the last each time I go out to fly, man this its sure alot of fun. Good luck with your Slow Stick.

Ribcracker

I removed the landing gear from my slowstick (less weight) and ran a strip of velcro along the bottom of the aluminum tube from the motor back to the LEADING edge of the wing. I then put a strip of velcro on my batteries (several different sizes and weights) so that I can adjust them forward or backward as neccessary. Note that my batteries are ALWAYS forward of the wing. I also cinch the pack to the fuse with a small velcro strap. I use a marker to mark the correct position for each battery.
I usually cut the power before landing and if the prop is positioned vertically, I restart the motor and cut it until the prop is nearly horizontal. I can then belly land with no damage to the prop. God, I love that plane!

MUSIC PUBLISHER

a friend of mine recently bought the slow stick as his 1st r/c plane {even though i tryed to talk him out of it becasue of the many posts ive read about breaking props, motor shafts and c.g. issues} and he was so unsuccesful with that plane,I doubt if he will continue with the hobby..it is undoubtdely the most popular r/c plane around but I still argue its not a good beginners plane..even though it is a slowflyer once you get all the cobwebs worked out of it...for me personally..when i first started r/c planes..i wanted an rtf...that would be very forgiving to the many crashes all newbies will certainly encounter..and then i could upgrade from there...jus my opinion though...