DeaninMilwaukee

I have had several GWS Slowsticks over the years, and always thought it might be fun to do an aileron version. This one is powered by a retimed gws 400i ( 6.3:1 ratio) with gws 12x8hd prop on HobbyKing 3s2200′s. Lots of power and good flight times as current is only about 8.0 amps.

Having a supply of bluecore fanfold foam from Lowes, and using a stock slowstick wing as a template, I made up what amounts to a stock slowstick wing flattened out. I put a wood dowel for a spar in the leading edge, and a second one further back near the aileron hinge line in a groove cut into the foam. Hot glue holds it all together. A $3.00 hobby city 9 gram servo drives a simple pushrod linkage to each aileron, and the yellow tape that I covered the wing with also acts as aileron hinges.Slowstick pics.

In the air, the plane seemed to fly just as light as before, with no apparent increase in landing speeds. Aerobatic flight was now fun, with inverted flight easy, the plane not really caring which side was up. There was a problem though. The wooden dowls, while cheap, were too flexable, allowing the wing to twist when the ailerons were used hard, negating most of the ailerons power. This made the roll rate slow. The solution is to use stiff carbon spars instead.

The last thing is the vertical winglet poking up through the wing. They are simple removable press fit that are the same size above and below the wing. I scalloped them at the trailing edge to match the rest of the plane. The reason for them is that with all the stock wings dihedral gone, the rudder barely functioned in the air. The winglets fix this making the rudder fairly strong and allowing manuvers such as wingovers.

The slowstick is quite an old model now, but is probally one of the most commonly modified kits ever. They are still fun, especially when playing with modifications.

Dean