RE: Great Planes Giant Ugly Stick
I just ordered my third Giant Stick after losing my second one to a mid air the other day. I am going to make some changes with this one to improve it. First of all I am going to use flat HD pinned hinges as it will save time over installing hinge points. All I need to do is change the thickness of the pre made slots a bit with my hinge tool. With the DLE30 this plane still comes out tail heavy and it requires a bunch of lead in the nose. So this time I am going to leave the rudder and elevator servos for last and will either mount one or both of them under the wing and use solid push rods so I will not have to add any lead to balance. That alone will save 12 to 14 ounces. I ended up removing the DLE55 form my last one as it was shaking the plane apart from all the power and I liked the way it flew at the lighter weight with the 30. It is not much slower with the 30 at all. The vertical is not as strong though as it was with the 55. Still unlimited and If I can lower the weight close to a pound it will be even better. I will post the results of my plane when it is completed and see how it compares to my old one. Here is a couple of pics of the demise of Stick #2. It was in a full power dive when my friend chewed off my tail. All I had time to do is cut the power before it impacted. It sounded like it hit a concrete wall when it hit the pond. The impact was hard enough to cave in the front of the muffler and bend the fins on the cylinder.