UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

The thread on Pro Line radios made me think you guys might enjoy some of these pics. The plane is an original Jensen Das Ugly Stik kit built in about 1968. It is covered with parachute nylon fabric and finished with Randolph Dope. Cloth hinges. As a teenager, I watched it being built by a good friend and R/C mentor many years ago. The Pro Line was one of the very early models in 1970. Has one of the first trainer and buddy box setups ever offered. The Enya .60 was purchased a few years ago off Ebay to replace the original engine that was rusted and corroded after the plane sat idle for about 20 years. Used it to teach my son-in-law to fly.

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

That is really cool to get something that has been part of your RC history. Although not as old, I bought one off Eby because it reminded me of my first Ugly Stick. It had the same Enya and a Kraft single stick; I changed it to a gold stickered Kraft two stick and have enjoyed flying it a bunch. My teacher flew Kraft and when I got back in the hobby I bought some useable ones for the memories. What is funny is all the looks at the plane and the radio get. I began in the late 70's as a kid, so I am only 43, but except for about 3 people in the club of 100, they dont know about it or history.

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

Very cool. It looks like the dope has held up well. Did you spray it with rejuvenatory?

The Enya 60III is one of my favorite engines. Believe it or not, it is still being produced. If you ever need parts:

http://www.enya-engine.com/P_list/P_list603B_E.html

http://www.enya-engine.com/ListCL_E.html

Thanks for the photos,
David

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

Reactions at the field are often humorous. No one will believe I actually PAINTED a Stik. Comments on the Pro Line range from "my dad had one of those" to "Is this a home-made system?". I told one guy it was a prototype that I was testing for a new company ;). I usually reassure people that it's on 6 meters, etc. so they aren't afraid of me shooting them down. Lots of memories in this old bird. I actually flew mostly Kraft back in the day, as I couldn't afford the Pro Lines in my teen years.

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

Thats a really great looking plane there.

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

RCDent, give us some more info on the radio.

What frequency is your Pro Line radio on? Has it been narrow banded? I've got a ham license but had never considered using the ham bands for R/C. It seems like it would be a great way to match the old planes and old radios, just as you have done. I've also never looked on ebay for the 53 mhz radios. How often do they show up, and how are they priced. For anyone out there desiring to go this route, I can say the license is easy to get; there hasn't been a morse code requirement for years.

Nice job on the Ugly Stik.

Jim

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

I just lost my Ugly Stick on Tuesday. I was using a reversing circuit on the elevator servo on my Pro-Line single stick radio. I don't know if that went bad or what happened but the airplane was coming out of a dive and suddenly pitched down. The airplane including the Kraft .61 engine was destroyed. The airplane hit on a gravel road and ripped the muffler and carburetor off the engine. The radio is not working so I'm unable to determine the exact cause of the crash. I sure am going to miss the Ugly Stick, it was a great flying airplane. The Kraft engine never let me down either.

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

Oh my I hate to hear that, That terrible my big stick crashed about 10 years ago cause of a elevator problem, think the horn broke but couldn't tell cause from the crash.

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

My Pro Line is on 53 mhz AM. It is not narrow banded, but is not required to be because of the freq band I'm flying on. It was completely checked out and tuned by Tony Stillman at Radio South a few years ago and hasn't missed a beat since. Back in the day, there were only a few 72 mhz frequencies and the 27 mhz band was considered almost useless for R/C aircraft . The 6 meter band was a way to get more flying time with less worry about being shot down. I studied hard and took the test, code and all, but have never regretted it. Almost no one flies on 53 any more, so I can go to the local field and it's like having 2.4 ghz! Biggest problem with flying the Pro Line is that it uses "negative pulse" servos (virtually every other radio made is positive pulse), so I can't use modern servos. Those old PLS-15's are really slow! Also, there aren't many service centers that can or will work on them anymore (Radio South is the only one I actually know of).

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

The frequency congestion problems on the 72 MHz band were exactly what caused me to obtain my amateur radio license (ham). I had no intention of speaking with people on the radio. But, one thing leads to another and two and a half years later I realized that I had taken and passed all five ham license tests and had even learned Morse Code at 20 words per minute. Today there are only three license classes, all electronics theory has been dropped (boo) and the Morse Code requirements have been dropped (double boo). Anyone remember the rock group Devo? They were right.

Oddly enough, I have discovered that six meter R/C gear is still very popular and easy to sell, even with 2.4 GHz spread spectrum gear now being common. Yes, I have all of the bands in my inventory. You never know when... 8>)

Those are great pics. Thanks for posting them. I loved that metallic green dope. Beautiful.


Ed Cregger

RE: UGLY STIK TIME CAPSULE
 

I was always envious of the guys flying on 6 meters back in the 70s. They always seemed to be the better flyers, too.

Thanks for the radio information. Maybe I'll start watching ebay.

Jim