lflf

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I'd really like to get a stick but don't want to spend the time to build one. I've narrowed it down to the Hangar 9 Super Stick 40 or the Great Planes Big Stik 40. Just wondered if anyone has experience with both these planes, their pros and cons, and which one they think is the better plane. Thanks.

WCB

Get the H9 Ultrastick. It's covered in ultracote. The Super Stick is covered in crappy sticky back junk. The Big Stick is ok but it's tricycle gear. It can be modified to a tail dragger. Get the Ultrastick. Better plane all around.

Broken Wings

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Check the price of replacment parts, wing,fuse,etc. before you decide.

w8ye

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I like the Super Stick 40.

It is cheap

It is covered with something other than Ultracote but whatever it is strong and will not give you any trouble for the life of the model

The plane holds up well

WCB

This is true unless you have an accident with it and you probably will at some point. Good luck trying to repair the covering.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I had two significant crashes with it and always repaired it with the Monokote Trim Kote. Never any problem. The third time after the plane was pretty much worn out after 5 yrs, I was shot down by a guy turning his transmitter on. I didn't repair that time.

I've had three ARF's with the thin unusual covering and the covering never gave any trouble. I wanted to find fault with it but honestly the cheap covering presents no problem.

skyraider71

I have a BigStick .40 and I'm pleased with it. It's a very good quality kit, covered
in mono-cote with U.S. hardware.
It's flight performance is sportier than you might think. It has a fairly wide speed envelope.
I enjoy low-n-slow touch-n-go type flying with it, fun stuff.
A tail-dragger conversion should be no problem, and it's an ideal plane for mounting floats.

w8ye

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The early Big Sticks back in the 90's had a non Monokote type covering. The color was not exactly fuel proof on that covering either. Yey it seemed to last as long as the plane

I have a newer style Big Stick 60 and have had and have many Ultra Sticks of all sizes and for many years had a Super Stick

tIANci

My Big Stick 40's covering is immaculate. No issues there ... I love the classic look too.

lflf

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Thanks for the advice guys. I am going to go with the big stik and convert it to tail dragger. The ultra stik is nice plane from what I've heard on here, but I want the classic look of a stick. I originally thought of the super stick because of its better price, but I have had planes with that type of covering mentioned in the past and the covering was saggy and I couldn't repair it.

w8ye

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You will enjoy I'm sure

dignlivn

You will enjoy your Stik,


Bob

lflf

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Well, I backed out on buying the big stik and bought the hangar 9 super stick. Just a matter of cost and size. I had a .40 engine and had heard it would underpower the big stik. Also I was able to pick up the super stick for $100 shipped off of the internet. My assessment of the plane: The woodwork on the super stick is very good, a strong unit built like a tank. The accessories were good quality. I liked the big landing gear etc. The tank was huge for a .40 sized plane, really too big, flew forever to the point of boredom. Is that bad-I don't know. The biggest downside of this plane was the covering. A poster warned me of that and it turned out to be true. The plane came with saggy covering, and it got a lot worse when I tried to tighten it up, and remained saggy. Lesson: do not use a covering iron on the super stik covering, it will not shrink it but will loosen or melt it. The cheap plastic wing tips got broken very soon and I ultimately cut them off and had a square winged stik. The wing bolts started working through the wing, and I ended up putting dowels in the fuse and putting the wings on with rubber bands. So it became a rubber banded wing stick.
Flight characteristics: Flies like a stik. A bit floaty but with a good speed range. Good snappy aerobatics because of the 50 inch wing. The only thing I didn't like about its flying characteristics was the elevator is too small. On take off it was very slow to respond, took off like a very timid trainer. I discovered the trick was to put in full up trim in the elevator on take off, nd after getting up there easing back to neutral. The plane would take off by itself with up trim. Presently I don't have the plane. I crashed it doing some foolish maneuvers last fall. Why? It semi trainer like flying qualities made me keep taking more and more chances with it, and finally dumb thumbs did it in. Would I recommend this plane? Despite my complaints I would say it is a heck of a deal for $100 shipped. I wouldn't pay more for it though. I might even buy another this year. What I like about the plane is it is not so big as the other glow powered 40 sized stiks. That shorter wingspan is handier getting in the car, and snappier doing aerobatics. Like a clipped wing cub.

bigedmustafa

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Thanks for coming back to your thread, lflf, and reporting what you chose and how things turned out! It's always nice to find out how the story ends.

My first stick just had it's 6th birthday. I've got a Thunder Tiger Tiger Stick 40 ARF that is pretty similar to the Super Stick 40 ARF. Both have the shelf paper type of covering and the plastic wing tip caps. My covering on the Tiger Stick was nice and tight for the first couple of seasons, but those plastic wing tip caps were so fragile that they cracked before I ever got to maiden the plane.

I've beaten that poor old plane half to death over the years. Last year I loaned it to a buddy to fly in a combat event. He had a mid-air collision with another pilot, and not only did the Tiger Stick survive, my buddy took first place with it.

If you really want to stick with short wingspan, the Super Stick 40 is probably the way to go. You might check out the VMar Extreme Stik 40 ARFs available from Richmond RC if you're interested in trying something a little different. The ARFs are only $89.99 plus s&h, and they make both a shoulder wing and a low wing version:



Whatever stik variation you decide to get to replace your old Super Stick 40 ARF, I'm sure you'll enjoy flying it.

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

I suppose the Super Stick 40 plus investing $12 in recovering the wing would still be a better alternative than a Big Stick tri-gear?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The covering and plastic rips on my Super Stick 60 kept their integrety throughout the life of the plane and three different engines

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

Did you encounter any issues with baggy covering and how did you go about keeping it tight?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The Monokote gun tightened up any slight baginess I had.

The covering does not tolorate much heat.