Slow Poke 40?
 

Hi all

Our lhs has a second hand Slow Poke 40 for sale. I've done a search and see that they can have balance problems (too tail heavy). I'm interested though in whether this will be a nice, gentle, relaxing flyer? I was considering a cub or tigermoth, so that gives you an idea of the type of flying I want to do.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks

Peter

Slow Poke 40?
 

I observed one of my clubs experienced pilots fly his secondhand poke for the first time. It was not a pretty sight.

Slow Poke 40?
 

not pretty in what way? Are they not a good flyer? I'm expecting slow and steady like a Cub.

Thanks for any more info on this plane.

Peter

Slow Poke 40?
 

He crashed it. The airplane was used and had flown before. No mechanical failure, it just seemed to be a handful for him.

Slow Poke 40?
 

I have a Slow Poke 40 built from the kit. I have an OS 46 FX installed which provides plenty of power. Only problem is that I had to add 5 ounces of lead to the nose and a heavy hub spinner to make it balance. It flies great and with a flaperon setup you can make it fly really slow. Does almost a flat turn. It does land a little different from most 40 size planes in that you need to keep a couple of clicks of power on it while landing. You'll get used to it though. I would recommend a 4 stroke engine to help it fly slower.

I have a 60 size Ultra Stick with a YS 91 that flies even slower and lands super slow..

LOL

Slow Poke 40?
 

OH BOY... Im right in the middle of building one of these. Right now Im working on the right Wing assembly. Any hints you can give me that I can correct while Im building?

Slow Poke 40?
 

If you build it by the plans you should be okay. If you can extend the nose a few inches it may eliminate the need to add additional weight. I had to extend the nose by 5 inches on a glider I built a few years ago but it is worth the effort. I always recommend using plastic hinges and expoxing in place then drilling a hole through each side and expoxing a toothpick through the hole. This means you have attach the control surfaces before covering the plane. But you can cover the hinge points before installing the hinges. I've seen too many planes lost that used CA hinges.

The Slow Poke flies great and will do etremely tight loops. Because it has such a big wing surface you can do slow sharp turns and not worry about it going into a spin. One word of caution, that large wing surface is not made for windy days. So watch out...

Slow Poke 40?
 

Thanks for this advice. I'm looking for something that is slow and graceful to fly - that you can enjoy close up flying with (like a bipe or cub) - do you think this would fit the bill? I've never seen one fly, and am trying to get a sense of what to expect after my World Star 40 trainer.

Peter

Slow Poke 40?
 

If this is your second plane then go with a Stick 60 type plane or a cub. Stay away from the Bipe for now. The larger the wing the more graceful and slow the plane will be but put a 4 stroke engine on it to keep it slow. Try to find something with at least a 70 inch wing span or longer. The cubs are more realistic looking and a pleasure to slow fly if you know what I mean. But on the other hand, the sticks help you to learn what you need to know to move up to the next level of plane.

Slow Poke 40?
 

Peter, the slowpoke is great for low and slow flying. Have one that I rigged up for night flying with glowire because it is so predictable. Have a 46FX on it and use an 11 x 5 prop. No need to prop for speed as it has too much drag. Good loops and stall turns. Roll rate is kinda slow and not axial. With a low pitch prop takeoffs and landing can be in a few feet. I agree with splitess that it likes weight forward.
Ed M.

Slow Poke 40?
 

Correction on the prop size. Looked again last night. 11 x 4 APC

Ed M.

Slow Poke 40?
 

Peter Y: I have Slowpoke 40 ARF w/.50 Saito 4-stroke. I'm relatively new to RC. Started with Hanger 9 Extra Easy, which I'm still flying. Have only flown, and landed, the Slowpoke 3 times. Love it. Just seems to float gently into a slow landing. Had to add 3 oz. Higley nose spinner PLUS 5 oz. at the servo compartment bulkhead to meet the recommended CG. Poke is stored for the winter up north, but I look forward to flying it regularly when I return. Now in Florida for winter and have just completed assembly of Hanger 9 Ultra Stick, powered with .72 Saito, which I've not yet flown. Also have Piper J-3 Cub ARF almost completed up north. The period appearance of the Poke, and its ability to just ' laze ' around the sky is a delight. I think you'll like it but you might want to go over it thoroughly, beefing up with a little epoxy and basswood where needed. If you can obtain building manual, I think you will find it helpful. If I can assist in any way, please don't hesitate to contact me via e-mail : [email protected]

Slow Poke 40?
 

People seem to either love or hate the Slowpoke. It is an airplane that is hyper sensitive to CG placement. With the CG too far to the rear, it is nearly impossible to control and tends to snap roll into the ground as soon as it is out of ground effect.

Keep the tail as light as possible. Cram all of the gear as far forward as you possibly can and add lead to the nose if you have to, but be darn sure it is not tail heavy and it will reward you with cartoonishly slow flight and landings at a walking pace.

Resist the temptation to over power it, because if you get low, slow, and nose high and then bang the throttle open, the torque from too much engine will slam it right into the ground.

They call it a slow poke for a reason, and as long as you are content to chug-chug around the field, it is a nifty airplane. Try to hotrod it and you are begging it to destroy itself.

Slow Poke
 

I have a Slow Poke Sport 40, built from a kit, powered by a Saito 56. The plane needed weight added to the nose. The plane has huge control surfaces, and I recomend setting the throws acording to the manual. The plane at full power, will roll loop, and do all kinds of great things. Throttle back to 1/2 or lower, and she will float around nice and easy. Landings are better than a trainer, large flat wing, just floats like a butterfly! I enjoy it fully. It was my first taildragger, so that was a experiance, short fuse, but recomended. :D

Slow Poke 40?
 

I built the Slowpoke 40 last year. I have been building and flying all kinds of planes from gliders to the jet style planes like the Patriot for over 30 years. My test flight was not pretty as just after lift off it made a slow roll to the left and hit the ground. What a mess - not enough left to rebuild.

My friend had it on video and it showed I had full right aileron trying to pull it out of the roll. Checked the radio in another plane and flew great. The only thing we could conclude that maybe I had some warp in that wide wing.

I saw another Slowpoke 40 flyer at a fly in and he had his hands full. I would not build another one.

Slowpoke
 

Slow FUN!!!
 

I've built 4 slow pokes, and love all of them. I had the same problem with the first two. I just added weight to the nose, put the batteries under the fuel tank, and used an O.S. .46 LA for power. the cub is easy to land, i have the GP .60, .40, and the .20, all fly the same, need rudder to turn, and land slow, but can be unpredictable in the wind. With my slow poke, with about a steady 10mph wind i was almost able to land verticle, very stable plane, fun to fly with much extra control added. good for all levels of flight expierence! choose wisely!

Slow Poke
 

Peter Y
I built my slow poke's wing with no dihederal and put an old OS 40 FP and ran into the tail heavy prob. After adding weights it flew fine. I then decided to put a MDS 46 to get a little more power and was able to remove some of the lead weight in the nose because of the added engine weight. It still flys great. As stated above it does land better with air speed. I dead sticked mine once and lost speed at about 10 ft and it settled to the ground like a feather. I got lucky. Anyhow enjoy the slow poke
Steve