ture_72

Hi. I have just bought my son a GWS Slowstick as his first plane and is now in process of building it, or rather put it together. I wonder if there are any mods or reinforcements that need to be done before the first flight. I will not “activate” the ailerons jet, if think his to young for that (7 year), and the rest of the plane is “stock”. Can I use a folding propeller, as used on sailplane, my guess is that it will brake on the first landing, read crash.
Any other spare parts needed to take with us to the field for the first flight?
Any suggestions and ideas are highly appreciated.
His been “flying the simulator fore a couple of weeks now and it goes quite OK, so I think we will do his first real flight soon.

wildjaych

props.....lots of spare props...i broke 4 or 5 the first day i flew on every landing one would break. he will love it though just make sure CG is right.

Time Pilot

I put about 10" of balsa down the nose to strenthen that area and used packing tape rather than the clear tape provided in the kit.

You may want to get an extra prop shaft or two also.

If you do change out a prop shaft, take the e-clip off with your hands and the gear box in a big plastic bag!

perttime

Are you an experienced flyer yourself?
If not, can you get experienced help or join a club?

Like any plane, the Slow Stick must be built straight and balanced right.

It is, and should be, a light plane. Any wind will affect its flight. For first flights you need a day with absolutely no wind. And you need a lot of open space. A frozen lake might be ideal, if you can get there on a calm day.

ture_72

I have flown nitro plane for a couple of years but this is my first plane thats eletric, made of foam and this light. The field we planning to use is about 150 x 300m. Just see how it goes,

perttime

OK, so you basically know what you are doing.

150 x 300m should be fine, in your hands. It is slow but an absolute beginner might still run out of space (?)

Folding props are probably too heavy. You want to keep it light and slow. Those GWS props are not expensive.

GWS kits seem to come with a CD that contains, among other things, data about different power systems, like what props go with what motor/gearing/voltage. If not, find the GWS website for the data.

In my limited experience, GWS planes are sound constructions. They work but they might not always be the prettiest thing in the world.

Again: remember, no wind until you know what to expect.