anglin_az

Due to the overwhelming pressure from my 9 year old son, we've embarked on building our first RC plane. We did about two weeks of research online, visiting hobby shops and talking to enthusiasts: The Slowstick was the plane of choice for our maiden voyage. After deciding which plane we wanted, we took another week or so researching how, where and what radio's, power packs and servo's to purchase. Along with the Slowstick package we purchased:

4ch FM HITEC LASER 4 TRANSMITTER

Micro 05S Five Channel Receiver

TWO ( 2 ) HS-55 MICRO SERVOS

and Battery Charger

We have started the build this morning and have finished up to the main wing assembly. I have question regarding the vertical stabilizer and how it attaches to the fuselage.
We used the the enclosed manual and (http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=75) for reference.

Here goes the questions:

When attaching the the rear fuselage to the horizontal stabilizer the we epoxied the grummets to the wing itself (both top and bottom) and fixed the fuselage to the horizontal wing with nuts/screws. Are the grummets supposed to be on both sides of the horizontal stabilizer? or just the top/bottom? It may be a to late to ask this because like I mentioned we have already epoxied them to the wing, but this lead to my next question.

The manual shows that the vertical stabilizer should be attached to the fuselage with the double sided tape. However, the aforementioned link shows it should be attached with the grummet and screws/nuts. Well, I've already used both grummets first of all which I can't tell if that was the right thing to do. Also, attaching the vertical wing with double sided tape does not seem right to me, it doesn't seem strong enough. What am I missing. If I am to use the grummet for the vertical stabilizer, how is it to be attached to the fuselage? Do I have to drill new holes? I've attached pictures to show my use of the grummets minus the vertical stabilizer.

A couple of things of note:
*The short fiberglass rods for the rear dihedral fit perfectly, the front (long) rods were to wide for the dihedral we had to sand them down to fit. Is this common, or was it my affliction alone? I read somewhere that one should replace the dihedrals with those of another type of metal.

*The manual shows the motor/prop should be glued or epoxied to the fuselage however the motor/prop came with a hole to fix to the fuselage which happen to have a hole in the exact same location provided that the motor is attached on the bottom of the fuselage. If it sits on top, holes do not line up. I don't see a problem with the motor sitting on the bottom. I do not want to epoxy or cement the motor because we may want to upgrade in the future. Is using the screw going to negatively affect the operation?


I am sure I will have more questions but this is the matter at hand for now. RCUniverse is a great resource for information.

Thanks in advance for you input and help.

Regards,
Mark

Sir Raleigh

As for the horizontal stabilizer:
If by "grummets" you mean the white strips of plastic, you mounted yours the same way I did. I stuck the grummets onto the stabilizer using double-back tape (carpet tape) then used the supplied screws and nuts to attach it to the fuselage. I'd say all's good there.

As for the vertical stabilizer or fin:
I made 2 more grummets using old credit cards and fixed them to the fin the same way I/you did with the vertical stabilizer and using carpet tape to stick them on. Then I fixed the fin to the fuselage with screws the same way as with the horizontal stabilizer.

As for the dihedral brace:
Both the long front and short rear fiberglass rods fit just fine on my SS. Did you make sure they were pushed into the aluminum brace tubes all the way in?
The other metal people use to replace the aluminum brace is brass. However, the tubing the aluminum brace was made out of that came with my SS was very thick. I didn't substitute the brass for the stock aluminum and everything's just fine.
A note here: My wing also came with a clear center plastic wing brace that fit at the center of the wing and ran from leading edge to trailing edge. This made my wing very strong at the center.

As for the motor mount:
Affix the motor mount to the fuselage and then turn the square fuselage so the motor is on top. All the screw holes for the tail feathers and coupling will still line up properly.

Any thing else?

Xpress

You can just mount your rudder using the included double stick tape. The double sided tape seems weak, but it is very strong, and holds very well.

Your slow stick should provide you with many hours of fun and learning. I do recommend seeking an experienced pilots help before you begin flying. An experienced pilot can show you EVERYTHING you need to know for flight. Also, your Micro 05S receiver, did you purchase the proper crystal (the little tiny thing that allows the receiver to receive the channel that you're transmitting on), or did you get the radio with the servos and receiver? It looks like this? Also, when you arm up your power system, you won't have controll for the first second or two, as your receiver "shifts" for your frequency. (Hitec=negative shift).

ArrowNaughtic

I mounted my vertical stabalizer with just the double sided tape and it gave way. I had to use a long strip of electrical tape at the field to hold it in place. I went and bought some long bolts and nuts at the LHS and will use a length of plastic cut from a old CD case to make the "grummets". Flight with the tape was uneventful and has held up for a lot of flights but with the new brushless setup installed and trying inverted flight I will be adding the plastic strips to ensure a decent tail setup.
A little vid with a bunch of different planes and helis.......... Mine is the Slow Stick with no decals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdPtBUutu9c


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Of all the things I ever lost....................................... I miss my mind the most!

anglin_az

Thanks for the input. We will be putting the rest together with "gussets" sorry for getting everyone to use the wrong word). We are going to fabricate gussets with an old credit card.

As far as the reciever we got the radio with the servos and reciever all attached. Is this incorrect? The picture you showed shows the the reciever separate. Our Micro 05S has a the receiver but it is wrapped with in the package. Is this incorrect? Do I need to go a purchase a separate receiver? See picture.

anglin_az

By the way, thank for the video, we can't wait to get this puppy in the air.

calvino

definately I know that feeling, it is AMAZING when it FINEALY takes off[X(]