climo

Hi,
I'm relatively new to airplanes after giving helis a try. Heli's are great but nerve wrecking. I'm looking at the Slow Stick and have heard great comments for a starter airplane. I would like to get a 'all in one' type of craft that I will not out grow. I understand the slow stick doesn't have aerilons (sp?) will that limit me later on? No barrell rolls? Can they be added? Or is there a good starter plane that has all 3 controls?

If I was to purchase the slow stick what all is required? I've seen some of the recomendations but I would like the best parts available. No glitching, full range, etc. Can I still use my Futaba 8 channel transmitter from my heli? Or do I need to buy everything again.

Where is a good place to purchase some of these items from? I looked around but cannot seem to locate one shop that has everything I need.
sorry for all the n00b questions.

BillK

You can use your transmitter you just need a Futaba compatible receiver. You can get everything cheap from www.allerc.com. Slow Stick is $35. This flight pack would be good:

GWS ICS400 2F GWS ICS400 SPEED CONTROL

TWO GWS NARO+ STD SERVOS

GWS PICO R4P HP 4 CHANNEL RECEIVER FUTABA/HITEC (NEGATIVE SHIFT)

GWS XTAL CHANNEL ??

BATTERY PACK OF YOUR CHOICE FROM PACKS IN STOCK 800 MAH AND BELOW (ANY NUMBER OF CELLS AND ANY CONFIGURATION)
$94.95

Get the 800 9.6 NIMH battery and you'll have a good pack to start out with.

climo

Thanks for your input. Ok, so it looks like I might be able to use some of my heli stuff after all. I hear that the SS can use regular size servos and if this is the case then I should be able to reuse the ones I have.

I looked at the specs of the GWS receiver and my Heli receiver (futaba micro) is just a little larger. It measures at 2.1 long, 1.0 wide and .900 tall. Will this be too large to fit inside the SS? Its an PCM version in the 72mhz flavor.

Using my heli components will cut the cost down considerability. Here is a summary:
slow stick <new>
GWS ICS 400 speed controller <new>
Use my Futaba servos <heli>
Use my PCM Futaba 8 channel Transmtr. <heli>
Use my 8 channel Futaba micro receiver <heli>
Use my Futaba crystal. PCM dual conversion <heli>
800mah stick battery pak in 9.6v. Probably stay with ni-cd since I already have a charger. <new>

Did I miss anything? NO fuel here so I don't need that, or glow igniter, or anything glow related. Whew!

BillK

Nope you're right that's all you'll need. The ESC and receiver are just stuck to top of the aluminum fuse with double stick tape. The Slow Stick will fly fine with pretty much any 6-8 cell battery. The more capacity the better. I fly with 7 cell and 8 cell 1000mah NiMHs and get around 15-20 minutes of flying. More if I'm just cruising around slow.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

Yes, you've pretty much got it down. I'm guessing you probably have a quick field charger for your transmitter and receiver NiCds. Use 8-cell NiCd packs in the Slow Stick, and you can use that field charger.

climo

I looked at the weight difference between the receiver and servos and I might opt to buy the lighter units. My Futaba receiver weighs about 1.10oz compared to the GWS unit at 0.16oz. My servos are 1.60oz compared to 0.35oz of the GWS. It comes to about 45 bucks more but I'll save on weight.

Are there some lightweight high-perf receivers out there that give more range? The GWS is limited to 500ft.

BillK

The Slow Stick can handle the extra weight with no problem. It'll carry up pen cameras without a problem.

Mode1

My Feedback: (10)

Climo, the FMA M5, Berg, and Hitec Electron are very small and have excellent range. The FMA M5 and Berg being the light ones by a small margin. I have all three and they have been completly trouble free and have more range than I can use. You could do a search and get lots of information. Ezone has lots of threads on small full range receivers. Also lots of info on places to purchase said products. Good Luck. LeRoy