Has the covering improved on the GP Big Stick 40 since they are now using monokote? You can't count on the reviews or the ratings sections any longer, some of those are years old. I wish they would show the dates they were posted. It would help lots. They show the dates in the tips section and some of those are also years old making me think the others are also very dated. So if GP had improved the covering please let me know. I flew Ugly Stik many, many years ago and now that i have returned to the expensive and enjoyable pastime i would like another. Then possibly a H9 Cub then a H9 F6 then who knows.

I have the GP Giant Big Stik with Monokote, it looked great out of the box and 9 months later it still looks good. Part of one of the black stripes blew off on the first flight, but otherwise I havent had to put any heat to it.

I am curious how these birds fly. Are they basically like flying a trainer? I am guessing they wont go to fast and arent very aerobatic? Just want to know what type of flyer they are before I buy. Thanks

How they fly?

They basically opened a new avenue for the hobby when they came along. They first showed up as the Ugly Stick. Made history.

Not really like a trainer since they don't have self-righting tendencies like trainers. And they will go fast. And are quite agile.

They used to be a model that everyone wound up building. Everyone.

I've had so many sticks that I've lost count. They are easy to build (and even easier with today's ARF technology), easy to maintain and great to fly. Right now I've got two Mini Ultra Sticks and an Ultra Stock 25E, and they are teriffic. I'll always have at least one stick ready to fly at all time. It's the one plane that's totally reliable all the time.

A friend just built a Big Stick 40 and let me fly it. Very nice plane.

Sticks are, in my opinion, are the greatest design ever and I've flown about every type of acro plane there is. Sticks have a reasonably thick, symmetrical airfoil, they are fairly light, they are simple and they'll do about any maueuver you want. They'll fly in any wind short of a hurricane and some guys will try that.

The Hangar 9 Ultra Stick is the best of the lot, but the Big Stick is good. Build it with a flat wing or a little anhedral and use flaperons. They are great planes.

I have the current GP Big Stick 40, it's a blast to fly. I have it on floats right now, at first I put a Super Tiger 40 on it and flies great with that engine and has pleanty of power/speed. When I built the floats I put a Super Tiger 51 with a Macks muffler on it that made it rocket, since test flying the floats I put the 40 back on and it stills flies great. I am saving the 51 for another plane. The Monokote is great and none of mine has came off, I have touched it up once with an iron in the last 8 months. I doubt you would be disapointed in this plane they are very aerobatic not like a trainer, but slow down and are easy to land.

I have seen the Hanger Nine Stick with ultracote, looks nice when new, but after several flights the covering is in really sad shape, peeling off, full of wrinkles. I know several people like ultracote because it goes on easy. I always say easy on means easy off when it comes to ultracote, personally I try to stay away from it.

It's amazing how different people view things. I've got a Skybolt covered in Monokote and the blasted covering wrinkles back up every time the thing gets hot in the sun. Same deal with the monokoted Decathlon. Every airplane I got that's covered in Ultracote has had the same treatment those got and hasn't seen an iron or wrinkles since the 2nd week. Some of them showed wrinkles after the first outing but chased them with the iron that night and nothing has shown up since.

I have a feeling the area of the contry you live in and where the ARF came from might be the difference.

See any wrinkles in this picture. It was taken about a month after the maiden flights.