Had to share! And I have a question too....
Attached are pics of my first kit build. It's a Great Planes Big Stik 40 that I started about 13 years ago. Yes YEARS. I got it about 90% done in a month or so and then it sat for 13 years. My son and I soloed with some trainers (you can see my Telemaster in the second pic) in October so I dug out the Stik and finished her up. This is my first covering job and while the scalloped ailerons and elevator and the tapered wingtips aren't perfect, I think they came out pretty good. You can't see the bottom in these pics but the wing and stab are black underneath.

Anyway, I took her out for her maiden Sunday. After flying my Telemaster to get the jitters to calm down, I did a brave/stupid thing. I doublechecked everything, taxied the Stik out, did a few low/high speed ground runs and then went for the takeoff. She took off just fine but as soon as I was in the air I realized I had about twice as much control throw as I needed (or wanted) and she needed some trim badly. I managed to get some altitude and get away from the pits so I could start sorting things out. In the meantime a couple of more experienced pilots came over to see if I needed help. Just them standing near me and reminding me to throttle back some helped and I had her trimmed out in under a minute. But man, what a scary minute!

I did a few slow passes to see how she handled at low speed and found that she floated amost as much as my trainer. I had to make two landing attempts before I could get the throttle and approach angles right for slowing her down but the landing was sweet! I dialed in 70% rates on everything, fueled her up, and went again. It was much nicer flying trimmed with sane amounts of throw. My son took for a few flights after me and did great too. Our plan is to use this plane to get ready for his next one, a GP Shoestring (I think my son has fast enough reflexes to handle it but I don't know about me).

THis leads to my question. I had the control throws set where the manual spec'd them and they were touchy! Is this typical for the recommended throws? If so, would it be wise to set up dual rates at say 70% of those throws for the inital takeoff and trimout of a new model? The Stik was pretty quick with an OS46AX but I'm a little worried about the 91FS on the Shoestring on that first flight...

Mark

The stick is a great flying plane! I have a stick made by a different company than GP. When I burn it in, I'm getting a GP stik! I bought my brother the 60 size for christmas, he put a Saito 100 on it and man is that thing some fun. They will slow down as slow as your trainer, but are also a great point and fly airplane as well. Plenty of airobatics can be had. As for the control throws, in my opinion, I think they have them too soft, but I'm a guy that learned to fly without expo, so I never use any expo, and like lots of throw. I usually dial in more throw than high rates call for on all my planes and don't use high/low rates at all, everything is HIGH. Bottom line is, the control throw recommendations are just what they are, recommendations. You should set them at where *you* are comfortable flying and then go fly like a banshi!

BTW, great looking plane! Good job!!

One of the guys here timed a Shoestring with a .61FX at 108 mph. I'd be more than worried about trying to handle a .91 with your experience. I think your bitting off more than you'll be able to chew. Plus the landing gear on the GP Shoestring won't take a beating as it is made up of balsa stringers. My advise is to fly the Stick some more until you are able to handle the normal rates. They are only touchy because you've only flown the Telemaster. I'm not trying to rain on your parade but some more experience won't hurt.

John

twistr - thanks for the compliment!

JNorton - No umbrella required (not raining on my parade at all). I appreciate the advice!
The Stik is our intermediate plane. The Shoestring won't even get a taxi test until we've logged at least a few months of flights on the Stik.

The .91 we have is a four-stroke so the 61FX is probably pretty close powerwise. I've done a lot reading through the Shoestring threads as well and we're incorporating some of the suggested mods (beefing landing gear mounts, etc.) into the build. From what I've read, the Shoestring can actually fly pretty slow too. You don't have to do 108mph all the time right?

My son is 19 and his reflexes and flying skills are actually quite good. Even the experienced pilots at our field have been impressed with his progress. I think I'm doing pretty well too but my son is definitely better. I could handle the Stik at normal rates with no problem once I got it trimmed out. What scared me was the first takeoff at full rates and being out of trim. That's why I asked about starting with low rates first.

The way I look at it, you have to be prepared for what can go wrong and only stick time will do that but talking to people at the field and on RCU helps a bunch too!

Hi,

I would second what JNorton said........... the GP ShoeString Racer will slow down but its completely different to land....... i think your son needs alot more expereince yet to fly that...... i would say its more a 5th - 6th plane............. it can snap and u have to know how to get out of it quick.........

My ShoeString Racer has a 91 Saito Upfront and even one of the most experienced flyers at my field doesnt like to give it a go as it scares the hell out of him MY kinda plane

Soo maybe by all means build it but let someone else fly it first and maybe put ur son on a buddy box until he gets used to it..... thier no shame is being attached by a cord still after youve soloed...... rather that than destroy a great plane

Good Luck

Eaglelope,

I like Sticks too. This one is 68" with an Enya 1.20 four stroke.

John

You might want to consider a Tiger 2 or some other low wing plane.

That's a beautiful Stick John. I love the radial style cowl!

I'm with you guys as far as having a more experienced pilot do the maiden on the Shoestring or at least buddy boxing. We've got a lot of great pilots at our field, so I'll make sure we get help when we get to that point.

DragonHeart, when you say completely different to land what difference should we expect? I'd guess that it would have to come in hotter/steeper than the Stick to avoid snaps and will probably do better with wheel landings than three-pointing. Is that even close?


Mark

Yes mark......... u got it it wont float and u will need to come in alot faster than any trainer althou u wont have much option as it wont slow down alot anyway lol........ (GREAT FUN THOU)........ and yes just make sure u touch down on the main 2 weels then cut throttle and let it drop the tail...... in the UK or flying fields arnt that long soo its a heartbeating moment everytime u land as u have to get it just right or u wil overshoot into a big ditch [X(].......... as long as u have a long runway and u come in fairly fast or it will drop a wing u should be ok

Good Luck its a great flying and looking plane if i ever loose mine i will buy another instantly i mean just look at the picture its just saying FLY ME FAST and u cant resist it..........

When most new flyers first get on the sticks of a 40 size trainer, they tend to over control the plane and think that its too sensitive! After they get used to it they realize that they just neede to get used to the stick movements. Then they pass their solo and move on to a low wing sport plane. Now you are back to over controlling the plane again and think that the plane is too sensitive again! Also the speed is much higher which means that things can get out of control rather quickly! If you are lucky and don't crash the plane right away it only takes a few flights to get used to the quick stick reponse. Once you do though, over sensitive becomes a relative term. You go back to a trainer and it seems that something is wrong because you can't turn around on a dime! Bottom line, if the quick response of the plane you are flying makes it hard for you to handle then do not attempt to fly the Shoestring!!! Get more stick time on what you have until you can fly it as easily as your Telemaster. I would also consider an in between plane that will tends to land faster than the Stick but is also forgiving. . land Once the Shoestring is in the air, you do have to land eventually and then its too late to find out that you can't land planes that come ing in fast! Get used to a 2nd plane and then try the Shoestring. Then you may stand a chance!! [8D]