tIANci

I have always wanted an Ugly Stick since I was young but never ended up purchasing one. I finally bought the GP one as it was going cheap at the LHS. This plane is lovely to fly. She is crisp and totally fun for an everyday plane. I must admit its nicer to fly than the WMSuper Sport or the Skyraider Mach II.

Set up

Motor - Plettenberg Orbit 25/18
ESC - Turnigy 60A
Batt - Rhino 20C 5S 4,900
Prop - APC 12x10E
Servo - JR 539

Construction

A well manufactured plane with good hardware, I don't see any need to upgrade any hardware.

Conversion

For the conversion there were just a few mods that were necessary.

- Firstly, I made a backplate for the Orbit that aligns with the GPfirewall mounting screws.
- Then I had to remove the blind nuts and replaced them with 3mm ones.
- I did try to use the DuBro nose gear bracket but it was just too large. So the solution was simple, maintain the GP engine mount but Ijust hacked off the rails. A perfect fit.
- The standoffs were aluminium tubes that I got fabricated and the larger ODfor the base gives it more stability.
- I used a 1/16" ply tray as my battery platform and was glad the battery need not be housed in the tank compartment to get the CGright.
-finished her off with a safety shunt on the side.

Power output

With a 12x10 the watt meter shows just over 35A and about 700W, I would love to get 1KW but then, this is suppose to be a relaxing plane. I may try a 13x8 too.

Flying

She flies so beautifully. Lift off was easy and she is smooth in the air, I love how she looks. Rolls are fairly axial for this sort of a plane. There is a lot of authority despite the smallish control surfaces. I noticed she will yaw a bit in turns, have to double check the rudder trim. The Orbit gave me very good uplines but not unlimited verticals. I can pull big lazy loops and that is nice. Landings are a no brainer, she is tame and any person who is able to command a high wing trainer will can easily handle this baby.

After a couple of easy 8 min flights I only needed to recharge 1,400 mAh back! Looks like I can easily do a 15 min flight from each pack.

speedy72vega

Nice job. I also want to get a .40 and do the electric conversion, where did u get your kit? How much was it?

tIANci

Speedy ... its an ARF, bought it from the local hobby shop here. Cost me just a shade over $100. You will really enjoy her, was flyingher again today and she is really smooth and crisp.

speedy72vega

Nice, thanks. A guy showed up today at my local flying field with a .25 Ultra Stick, was pretty nice. I still think i'm going to go with the .40, I won't outgrow that one. I just purchased a 605 watt outrunner today, hopefully that will be enough to power it.

tIANci

Speedy ... which motor did you get? I love the Plettenberg ... the Orbit 25/18 is so so smooth, better than the AXI even.

speedy72vega

I bought a TG35-42-1000kv. I will be running it with 2 2s LiPo's in series, for 14.8 volts. I'm sure it will be enough power, as long as it works. This will be the 2nd TG motor I have tried, and the 1st one, a 50-65-340 threw magnets off during testing. I'm still waiting for my warranty replacement. The motor only cost me $23.00, so if it's crap, i'll just end up going with a Rimfire motor. I've had good experiences with them so far.

tIANci

Speedy ... if its something like a Cub or Lazy Bee etc, I say those cheap China made motors are okay. I got a Turnigy 5055 and when I powered her up, she threw a magnet. for me a reliable China made motor is the DualSky, anything up to the 4260 series is good and can be pushed. Its really value for money.

I would love to push my Orbit to 1KW but I think its best to just enjoy the Big Stick as it is ... a relaxing fun plane.

speedy72vega

Yeah, Imade the mistake of buying a 50-65 motor, it didn't even work right out of the box. But, from what i've read, the 35 motors seem to be better. The only things i've read that's bad is the bearings aren't lubed very good. Once I get it, i'm going to take it apart and lube them good.
This is the last chance i'm giving Turnigy. If this one is crap too, i'll never buy another one.
I normally run Rimfire motors. I have had very good luck with them, and they're fairly reasonable on price too.
The only reason I bought this Turnigy is because Igot it for $23.00. I figured for that much, if it works, I got a great buy. If it doesn't work, it's not too expensive a lesson..............

tIANci

I am sure the Rimfires are good but I find that Great Plane is from the school of thought that wants HIGHRPMs and not about HIGHPITCHPROPS. Their motors tend to be on the high KVside. Try the DualSky, they are cheap and really good stuff. I used the 4260-680 KV one on 5S with a 12x10 prop and its nuts, My WMSuper Sport 40 and the Skyraider Mach II had unlimited verticals. Was pulling about a shade over 1KW.

The DualSky 4260-577 KVwas nice for my Hyperion Super Chipmunk 70E on 5S and a 14x7. I did try the 6360 motor but was not impressed at all. Would be good for a nice big Sig Rascal ... thats about it.

speedy72vega

Cool, thanks for th einfo. I'll look into them.

AJsToyz

I have the same plane with a K&B Screamin' .48 and its a riot ! If I run easy its relaxing but you can push it. You do need to watch the tail if you like high speed dives, they will break just in front of the stab. I was actually debating switching to electric but not sure of a good combination. I also have a Lanier 40 size Stinger that I wouldn't mind turning to electric. The oil is getting a little tiring.

Andy

tIANci

Andy ... so I found out! I got it all sorted out with more epoxy and some glass into the gap. Now I fly her easy. Go for EP, you will not regret it!

Holden Caulfield

Hi,

I built one of them 2 years ago for liquid fuel, but never got around to flying it because I quit my club. I have been meaning to look into electrifying it for quite some time now.

Thank you for posting your experience.

H.C.

tIANci

HC ... be a convert! Come to the Dark Side ...

Whiznr

I haven't converted mine to electric. This is the first glow I've owned since 1992, the other 7 planes I have are electric though.

I'm running a Magnum XLS 46 on this one, flys like a CHAMP!!!

MacBride

tianci
Loved the conversion to electric.
Where did you purchase the motor mount with the stearable nose attached to it?
[email protected]

tIANci

MacBride ... you hack the mounting rails off with a saw ... make sure you do it evenly so the stand offs can sit properly.