Yard Stick
03-28-2005, 03:44 PM
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Yard Stick
Does anyone here have a Yard Stick and can they tell me how it flys and where to get one? Somebody told me it is a good park flyer, but I don't know anything about it, and can't seem to find it on the web
03-31-2005, 01:52 PM
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RE: Yard Stick
I purchased one from my local hobby shop (Hobby Bench) for $64 ($70 after tax), only to find out after partial completion that the plane is sold online for $49.99. And what is sick is that the hobby shop said their price was a "sale" price. I think Tower Hobbies is their main distributor online. Here is where you can find it. http://towerhobbies.com/products/gre.../gpma1100.html
I had a terrible time putting the plane together, and ended up with a few of the plastic parts being cracked. It's almost impossible to slide the plastic parts on the carbon fiber fuselage/boom without first enlarging the holes. I found the plastic parts and the carbon fiber rods (on the wings) to be very brittle. One hard landing and the CF wing mounting rods will snap.
I took the plane back to the hobby shop and was told I had to mail it to Great Planes, and deal with them directly. The plane was already halfway built so the hobby shop guy told me to break it into pieces so that it would fit in the original box.
Great Planes was very helpful, they offered to send me a new Yard Stik or give me credit towards another product. The only problem was that they could only give me credit equal to what they sell it for online ($49.99). I did not want another Yard Stik (the LHS would not take it back for a refund), so I took the credit. This meant I was out $20 plus what I spent mailing the plane. I learned that you really need to do your research before trusting you LHS.
I really liked the look of the wood wings on the Yard Stik, but the material used make it too fragile. I think there needs to be some design improvements made. Since then I have purchased a GWS Slow Stick, and I have had a blast! The plane was a breeze to build. There are tons of simple modifications that you can do to improve the flight characteristics and plane strength. This plane can take abuse! I have had fun flying it almost every day, with only a few bad landings resulting in minor damage (nothing that couldn't be easily fixed). These crashes though would have shattered the Yard Stik. And to think I could have bought two Slow Sticks for what I paid for one Yard Stik.
I had a terrible time putting the plane together, and ended up with a few of the plastic parts being cracked. It's almost impossible to slide the plastic parts on the carbon fiber fuselage/boom without first enlarging the holes. I found the plastic parts and the carbon fiber rods (on the wings) to be very brittle. One hard landing and the CF wing mounting rods will snap.
I took the plane back to the hobby shop and was told I had to mail it to Great Planes, and deal with them directly. The plane was already halfway built so the hobby shop guy told me to break it into pieces so that it would fit in the original box.
Great Planes was very helpful, they offered to send me a new Yard Stik or give me credit towards another product. The only problem was that they could only give me credit equal to what they sell it for online ($49.99). I did not want another Yard Stik (the LHS would not take it back for a refund), so I took the credit. This meant I was out $20 plus what I spent mailing the plane. I learned that you really need to do your research before trusting you LHS.
I really liked the look of the wood wings on the Yard Stik, but the material used make it too fragile. I think there needs to be some design improvements made. Since then I have purchased a GWS Slow Stick, and I have had a blast! The plane was a breeze to build. There are tons of simple modifications that you can do to improve the flight characteristics and plane strength. This plane can take abuse! I have had fun flying it almost every day, with only a few bad landings resulting in minor damage (nothing that couldn't be easily fixed). These crashes though would have shattered the Yard Stik. And to think I could have bought two Slow Sticks for what I paid for one Yard Stik.
03-31-2005, 04:00 PM
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RE: Yard Stick
The Yard Stick is a great airplane. I don't have any idea how that guy broke his, but maybe it was a vertical dive crash!!It's not great in a stiff breeze, but is a beautiful graceful slow flyer. It gets my thumbs up!!
Norvelnut
Norvelnut
03-31-2005, 05:02 PM
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RE: Yard Stick
Well, my post was pretty clear about the problems I encountered. The plane never had the chance to fly because of all the broken plastic parts. When I took the plane back to my LHS to see if they would exchange it for another, or at least replace the parts, they said I had to send the entire plane to Great Planes. I have no doubt that it flies nicely, but I wanted something a bit sturdier. I've read dozens of posts from people who have had the same problems with the plastic parts, especially the motor mounts. Some have said that they've even broken during a normal landing. Great Planes acknowledged the problem and offered me a different plane. They've had a big demand for the replacement plastic parts set. I may down the road buy another Yard Stik, but I will probably make some mods to stiffen up the mounting parts.
Is there any video out there of the Yard Stik flying? I would like to compare it's flight characteristics to the Slow Stick.
I think my gripe was more with the LHS...their pricing and service. The sales person acted as if it was my fault for buying the Yard Stik in the first place.
Is there any video out there of the Yard Stik flying? I would like to compare it's flight characteristics to the Slow Stick.
I think my gripe was more with the LHS...their pricing and service. The sales person acted as if it was my fault for buying the Yard Stik in the first place.
03-31-2005, 05:48 PM
#5
RE: Yard Stick
Yeah, get a Slow Stick made by GWS. I think you'll hear this from most people. I ordered the Slow Stick from my LHS but then opted for the Tiger Moth (another excellent plane) so although I can't speak from direct experience, I can say that there is A LOT more support for the SS vs. Yard Stick.
Nick
Nick
