I am building an LT-40 kit. It is my first kit, my first R/C plane....never even flown an R/C plane before. Been out to the club field a few times (not a member yet, because LT-40 isn't done), to see them flying. But, this kit is going very slow.....because I don't have a lot of time to work on it. But progress is steady and its targeted for completion by the end of aug to early sept....we'll see what happens on that.

I bought a Futaba 7CA radio with the FM reciever and its just been sitting in the box. I have no idea how to use it. I figured I'd learn it when the LT-40 is ready to go.

Heres my thought: I was thinking of getting a GWS slow stick electric to goof around with. There are several large fields around me, so safety won't be a problem. I can assemble it in roughly 3 or 4 hours and can fly it around. I can learn the basic functions of my radio, log a few flights, and satisfy my desires to get up in the air soon. I would do this on my own though, without instructor.

I WILL GET AN INSTRUCTOR FOR THE LT-40 though! Don't worry about that. With the blood, sweat, and tears I've put into that thing, I'd like to at least avoid the idiot mistakes...such as flying without an instructor. But the slow stick is small, light, simple, slow, etc. Even if I turn it into a lawn dart, I'm not out that much money. I have flown the simulator, FMS, a decent amount and can fly and land almost everytime.

Would this be a good move?

In a word-YES. And if you can have someone give you some flight tips for the Slow Stick all the better. I fly mine at the club field all the time, so don't be afraid of looking out of place.

Don't fly it in the wind though, until you are confident of your ability. Also, use a simulator. You can download FMS for free and use it with a cheap joystick.

Good luck. PM me for Slow Stick tips if you have questions.

It sure wouldn't hurt. One thing I would suggest is to hook the rudder up to channel 1. That way it would be controled by the aileron stick, which is the one you'll use for turning on the LT40

I Personally would say NO............ it will be nothing like flying the LT40 you have, if you are in a rush, why dont you buy a ARFT Glow Plane !!!!!!!, as with the Slow Stick by the time youve brought the batterys, servo's, chargers etc it all adds up and just seems a bit pointless unless your going to stick with electric...... but if you are then buy all means try it and good luck......

Ive tried electic flight and hated it (no offence to the electric users) it just wasnt my cup of tea, the smell, power etc of glow makes a huge difference in my book..... warbirds just arnt the same with electric motors.....

Just my 2 cents

Well, I can get a slow stick with the flight pack for about $100 bucks. Need a crystal too, $7. Then I am done. Would defeat the purpose of the LT-40 to buy another glow. I will likely not by an ARF or an RTF for a long while. I have enjoyed building this LT-40 too much. When it is done, I will probably get a 4* or some other low wing type of kit and start it. That way, if the LT-40 gets killed, then I've got another either done, or at least in progress.

The slow stick would be just for s**ts and giggles. I'd goof around, fly a little bit, no big deal. The LT-40, when completed, will be my R/C flagship for a while until it is usurped.

Byris,

I say go for it. I started with an aerobird. It tought me the basics. I had a friend help me on on my first couple flights of my LT 40 and he was very surprised that I could fly it with no problem.

The LT 40 in my opinion was easier to fly than the aerobird for the simple fact that it did what I told it.

I really like glow too. After having a few glow planes I doubt I will ever go back to electric. Just a personol preference I guess. But I think a cheap electric plane makes perfect sense to learn on. Its cheaper, easier to fix, and less dangerous.

Good luck!


Wings

Hi Minn. Normally I agree with all that I read from you. This time however...I think it is NOT a good idea to switch the rudder function to the "right" stick. bryris, you will want to USE the rudder, and you will be better off to learn from the start with it on the left where it normally is when flying a full house, which is a plane with ailerons/throttle/elevator/rudder.

As for the flight pack...just get the batteries (Rx, and Tx battery) charged up, and then plug it all up per the instructions, and turn the system on so you can see just exactly how everything works. Also a good time to learn the functions on the radio (Tx), and how to program it. This will also give you the opportunity to check it all out and make sure everything is working properly. Better to find this out now rather than after you have installed it in the plane.

Good luck with the LT! You will enjoy it a lot. Let us know how it goes.

I'm going to go against the grain, here, and point out that you have a simulator that's probably as good as that Slow Stick, for the purpose of getting prepared for the LT-40. Furthermore, the sim will be useful later, when you've mastered landing with the LT-40, and want to try loops, rolls, etc. You can practice on the sim, and you'll find many things similar.

The Slow Stick would be a good experience, I believe, but completely separate from that you get from the simulator and the LT-40.

It's your money, and I wouldn't say anything bad about the Slow Stick, but my opinion is that your time would be better spent on the sim.

Hey, welcome aboard!
Dave Olson

I have a simulator. I personally find the real thing much more satisfying, even though the sim is great.

Well, I decided to order the slow stick from hangar9. $35 bucks, no big deal. Need to buy a few more things to make it fly, but it'll be an additional toy for me to play with. The way I see it, the LT-40 will require LOTS of space to fly. (ie, club field). But the park flyer, I can fly around in smaller spaces....so I get the best of both worlds.

I agree that if you are wanting to learn to fly the LT then a sim would be great for that. But if getting "something" in the air sooner, without breaking the bank is what's needed then the slow stick or "something" similar would work great.

The sim IS a good investment. I practically learned how tro fly on G2. I did however make a few "real world" mistakes that the sim can't prepare you for. A sim doesn't replace instruction. All in all I think it would be money well spent, and if I were making the choice between the slow stick, and one of the better sims available...I'd go with the sim. You can get on it anytime of day or nite, and crash with impunity.

Im in a similar situation. halfway though construction of a GP PT-40, my first rc kit, and i also though of the idea of getting a somewhat cheap parkflyer to get the basics down. Know its gonna cost alot due to the flight pack, battery and charger are costy stuff (already got a 4ch radio). Might get some spare cash next month, so it all depends on that.

I wouldnt have gone for the slow stick. It seems pretty weak to fly (seen a video) and looks allergic to wind. Also, it cant do acrobatics that good. And as this is the stuff oyu want to learn on and kick around abit, you really want it for "experimental" stuff like some basic 3d. Aka, all the stuff you wouldnt dream of trying out on your priceless trainer.

So i was thinking of getting a foam model with higher speed and agility, like the GreatPlanes Slinger. Its a flying wing basically, and it looks like it can take a punch, and do alot of cool stuff. And it isnt too expensive either, it seems. You need a mixer in adition to the flight pack (or not you, wiht your computer radio). And perhaps a better battery, but that seems about it.

But oyou have ordered it, so nevermind my opition. Good luck to you! Tell us how it flies!

bryris,
I think you might as well. The Slow Stick will get you some "real life" flight experience, and will still be fun to fly when you only have a few minutes in the evening, or early morning, and don't have time to go to the field and set everything up.

I have a couple of GWS planes (Pico Cub and a Tiger Moth) that I bring with me on weekend vacations. I'll sometimes bring them to the field for the grins they get too.
Dennis-

Thanks for the additional input. Realflight G2 is great I am sure. The problem is, I have a sloooow computer that will barely run FMS. So the investment in G2 would be a very expensive ordeal. But, I am not getting the slow stick as simply an alternative to the SIM. I think they are cool. When I first got interested in R/C, I gave the slow stick a lot of thought. I researched it and learned a pretty good deal about it. I was getting ready to buy one, when I decided to switch to glow and I finally settled on the LT-40. Its in progress and doing very well, but I'd like something to fly on now in the meantime, and for that matter, afterwards too. Like DBCherry said, just a quick flight without all the logistics. So, I got the LT-40, then decided to go with the slow stick too. I know I'll be happy with this duo, I am sure. As my first stepping stone into the RC world, based on my research, its tough to go wrong with the LT-40 or the slow stick.

As for money. I figure about another 90 bucks to get this puppy airborne. I need the flight pack and the crystal and battery charger. $70 + $7 + $20....make that 100. Not too bad.

I say go with the stick, anything that gives you real stick time is better than a sim, yes its slow and wont prepare you for a glow trainer but it will get your thumbs in basic mode and help once you begin to train..I bought 3 battery paks and charged them for like 12 hours at a time with my Rx charger and flew only on saturday mornings at the school up the street so I didnt need to buy a charger,,although I did later and hardly ever use it.....Rog

I also look forward to Minns advice and find it very valuable, but have to differ with him here. Get the Slow Stick, set the rudder up on the left stick and learn to fly the rudder. I set my 10 year old up with a slow stick while he was learning on a glow trainer. He had a lot of fun being able to put it up on his own before he was ready to fly the bigger one by himself. He got a lot of experience with landings and found the Stick to take off quite nicely from grass. He feels that the experience with the rudder has helped him a lot as he has started to beg stick time on my more aerobatic planes. We have had very good luck flying the Slow Stick with the EPS300C drive package on 7 cell (8.4 volt) 1100 and 1200 mAh NiMH battery packs.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Slow Stick is a lot of fun to fly at the end of the night while you are putting off cleaning up the glow plane. Put a full range receiver on it and float the electric around for 15 minutes to half an hour depending on whether you can catch any thermals. If you want to risk losing the plane, take it up to about 1000 feet and see how long you can keep it in the air as the sun sets. (Make sure to put some ID on the bottom of the wing.) Do this upwind so you can float it back to the flying field.

Not to worry guys, I have no problem with you disagreeing with me on this one. There are definitely two schools of thought here and neither is right or wrong.

One gets you used to using your right hand to turn while the other gets you used to flying the rudder. Take your pick.

if you do get a Slinger, watch out for the props, the little cone they give you strips out very easily, so buy one of the metal peices that goes on to the motor and the prop screws onto


I would go with putting the rudder in the Ail. servo slot, its what i do on all of my 3 channel planes

I was nervous about my first flight (last night) on my LT-40, but I had four great flights. I even did takeoffs and landings on the fourth, and I think I controlled the plane from take-off to landing (and it ran out of gas on approach!), except for one botched approach that the instructor had to take over. I worked with 3 different instructors last night and they were all great (FSA, in Md.). One of them is a resident here, and he said, "Oh, you know me!"

Now I have played MS Combat FS a lot, and I had previous experience with r/c cars, so I knew most of the basics. My main problem is control reversal, but I still had little trouble landing. I also had a takeoff that probably was saved by the power of the engine (.46 AX).

-Jeff

I was in a similiar situation as you and bought a slow stick. I flew it a lot, but it didn't prepare me too well for the gas plane. It help with orientation and some coordination. The best investment I made in R/C was buying a flight sim for my computer. I user AeroFly Pro and G2. I soloed the first day after using AeroFly Pro for a month.