FrenchPilot

Well after two evenings fiddling with the construction of my Slow Stick (never built anything of my life excepting computers and IKEA furniture), last night I was on the runway (street) for some test flights and my maiden flight.

Turned on the radio and did some taxi maneuvers ! Worked great! I became adventurous, and lined up the Slow Stick on the runway for a short take off. And she took off just a few feets and then landed. WOW ! My wife and kids were amazed, my neighbors were looking at me with envy, women were at my feet... Well, you know, I was Ze King of the world.

Then a neighbor said: "Make it fly higher". Relined it up the runway, full throttle, took off about 6 feet, and dropped nose first on the ground. [&:] The result just a broken propeller (expected) and the vertical tail moved a little from the aluminium tube. Not bad considering the hard crash that it took. I am already loving this puppy!

I am not sure why it dropped like that, I might have forgot to use my elevator control, or the CG was not properly balanced. But now I am trying to repair the vertical tail. I glued it to the aluminium fuse, and used the screws, but I am surprised it came out. Any tips on how to repair it, and make it stick? Some people were recommending to put a piece of balsa inside the tube, and screw these tiny screws into it. In my opinion these screws are too small and I am tempted to use bigger ones. Any ideas?

In any case, it was a GREAT experience.

Albert.

A10-warthog

I dont really know about the repair, but about the crash : maybe the climb was too steep and it got in a stall?

sierra gold

As to why you crashed... difficult to say without having been there. I suspect it stalled. You either pulled in too much up elevator, or full throttle is climbing too steeply.

I have the tail feathers on both my SS glued on with 5 min. epoxy. Have not experienced a problem yet. The "glue" that came with the kit is not recommended.

Make sure you are balanced on the recommended CG.

Sierra Gold

FrenchPilot

Thanks guys. I probably put too much throttle. Well, I went to my LHS and got four propellers. The guy at the shop didn't have any 10x8 GWS propellers so he sold me a two 10x4.5 and two 11x7 props. I also bought some real epoxy (not the junk that I bought at Walmart) and epoxied the tail.

Took off the plane for some more testing, this time it didn't even took off on its own!!! When the tail starts to lift and that the bird gains speed, my nose just dive straight into the ground ! I re-checked the CG, the plane is balanced to GWS specs. I tried to move things around, nope, didn't do anything. I am now wondering if the new propeller that I am using 11x7 is not at fault? Or maybe my understanding of the CG concept is poor?

Any tips? It took off just fine the first time I tested it. Nothing changed but the propeller and the tail which has been epoxied.

[&:]

Albert.

FrenchPilot

Oh, BTW, I have a 7.2V 600Mah GWS battery by Sanyo (I think it's a six cell). The new epoxy glued the tail perfect! Hard as a rock now. My ESC is an 100. I am not sure of the engine, I cannot really tell.

I am thinking about getting a bigger battery. What would you recommend? Should I time my engine? I know it will bring me a better performance but since I am a newbie, I don't want to mess around before my airplane takes off.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

A wise choice to not mess with the plane until you get it flying.

There are a number of things that could be making trouble for you on takeoff.

1. Do the wheels turn freely? If the wheels bind, they might stick and cause the plane to flip over.
2. Is the landing gear bent backwards? If the wheels are too far back, the plane will tend to nose-over like that. The axles should be at least aligned with the leading edge of the wing, if not farther forward.
3. Are you taking off in grass? Try a hand launch. The thin light wheels can get caught in the grass. Takeoffs from the ground work best on smooooth pavement or golf-green quality grass runways. The field can be rougher if you control the elevator on takeoff.
4. Is the motor mounted properly? If the motor mount is bent so the motor points down, it will suck the nose of the plane into the ground.
5. Are your tail surfaces aligned? The elevator should be flat even with the horizontal stabilizer. If the elevator is bent down, that will lift the tail and cause the nose to point down.
6. Is the fuselage boom bent? A bent fuselage will cause a similar problem as in #5.

Hope this helps give you a few things to look at.

FrenchPilot

Thanks Matt, as always you have been very helpful. Well, you guessed it right the reason was the #5, the elevator was bent down. Corrected it and it took off in less than 10 feet. But now, the airplane still go into a stall, but I think it is due to the pilot.

I was able to fly it straight and land a couple of times, but the plane felt heavy on the right side when I tried to turn. Unfortunately, today my ICS 100 fried. I am not sure why really, I just had a hard landing and a connector came out. I am still able to control the servos, but not the motor. I tried to re-solder the cable that came out, but nope, it didn't work. Just the day where there is absolutely no wind, with a beautiful blue sky and when I started to control the airplane a little better.

I am through my 10th propeller, is it normal, or am I retarded?

Albert.

TacMike

I think I am on prop #6 for my e-starter, so don't feel bad. My mishaps have been a combo of pilot error, and a bad servo gear... Of course with the stick your not having to epoxy major portions of the aircraft back together every time you bump into something.

slagburn

The slow stick's aluminum fuse tube is bent from the factory. Make sure the bend is facing up or down, if it's to the side it will not track straight.

I'm a total newbie at this and have learned a few things with mine- the factory CG recommendation is right on, but if you don't think about it enough it's easy to move the wing the wrong way and screw with the balance, and then it will definitely not fly right.

If you get into trouble chop the throttle! It will save props more often- mine has stalled 12 feet up and nosedived into the ground a couple of times with no more than shifted wing mounts.

If your CG is correct and trim is good, you can drop the plane with no throw motion, it will fly away just fine. At 5000 feet altitude (Denver area)

Also my rudder is on using the screws and plastic backing plate, no tape. I snapped it off right at the fuse tube and successfully fixed it with 15 min epoxy.

FrenchPilot

Well, thanks guys for the input. I am eagerly awaiting my new speed controller in order to fly again. During that time I have been polishing that puppy, made sure that the CG is properly set, and check everything. It should fly just fine at least that's what I hope.

I did the same thing for the tail. I epoxied directly to the tube with 5min epoxy. Hard as a rock now. I am glad I am not the only one breaking propellers like crazy. I just ordered 10 11x8 propellers through Allerc.com for $1.95. A really good price, almost a dollar less per prop than HobbyTown!

Keep sending the Slow Stick tips, especially about piloting it. Tell me more about your flights with it.

Albert.

sierra gold

I "assume" you are a new RC pilot and are teaching yourself to fly. Your problems sound a great deal like CG related problems. How are you checking the CG? Brief description of your procedure... especially if this is your first plane.

Sierra Gold

FrenchPilot

Sierra,

I put a mark where the CG is supposed to be according to the GWS specs. With the tips of my fingers, one on each side under the wing next to the CG mark I balance the plane, once it is balance right on the mark I believe that it is balanced.

Anything wrong with this procedure?

Thanks for your input!
Albert.

FrenchPilot

And yes, I am a total newbie and I am trying to teach myself how to fly. I am patient, I know it will take me a while to figure things out and I have 2 new speed controllers and 10 propellers coming my way.

Albert.

sierra gold

Nope, sounds like the correct basic procedure. The CG is a spot on the wing(around 4 " on the SS)... not the fuse. It should "balance" with the nose slightly down for a easy flying aircraft. This is important with the SS because the wing can move on the fuse. Once you have it balanced correctly, I would suggest you tape the two wing supports and your servo bracket on the fuse to prevent them from sliding on impact... hard landing. The battery pack should be solidily mounted, becuse it is a major player in balance.

Be very careful on take off (and anytime) to not over control the elevator. Too much "up stick" will induce a stall every time. Airspeed will create lift. do not try to "horse" it up with the elevator.

If the plane seems to climb to a stall w/o your giving any up control, then it may be a climb caused by full throttle. Many people have added a small (1/8 inch) shim under the TE of the wing to combat this(this lowers the angle of attack of the wing, which reduces its sensitivity to motor thrust.) I fly mine with the motor mounted on the stock fuse and add a little down trim on full throttle. Others have added a wood motor stick with the traditional 3 degrees down thrust and 3 degrees right thrust.

Sierra Gold

FrenchPilot

"The battery pack should be solidily mounted, becuse it is a major player in balance."

Well, that's probably where the problem might be. Although the battery is secured with bands and not moving, I believe it is not properly centered. I am thinking about fixing this problem with velcro.

Thanks for your valuable input!

Albert.

joeythes

FP, you could have fried your ESC if the motor was still running when it nosed in. This is because the battery is still sending juice to the motor which is not using it. Amps build up and pop goes the ESC. Try mounting a fuse into the circuit between motor and ESC or get a higher rated ESC.
Remember to chop power before you eat the dirt.

Joe

joeythes

PS - clarification - the 'motor is not using it' is because the prop is force stopped by the sustained contact with the ground and cannot turn even though juice is coming into the motor.

FrenchPilot

Thanks guys for the clarifications. I have added an GWS ICS-300, so hopefully it won't fry again. Just in case I also have a spare GS-100 handy and ordered 10 new 11x8 propellers from Allerc.

I took that puppy out the other day but it was way too windy. It took off fine though and I believe I am starting to get the hang of it. Seems to be a windless day today, so hopefully I will really fly tonite after work!

I have also busted the piece of plastic that holds the landing gear during the last crash. The landing gear comes out if I try to taxi too long. I am thinking about epoxying it but don't want to have it fixed to the tube just in case I want to move the wing back or forward? Any tips?

Albert.

sierra gold

Try wrapping the LG to the plastic piece with string and then hit it with CA glue. Or, go to Horizon Hobby.com and order a "B plastic parts" bag for the SS for $3 and get a new one.

Sierra Gold

FrenchPilot

Fixed it with CA Glue.

Now another thing happened. I flew my Slow Stick, and during a rough landing on the right side of the wing, it broke the tip of it! It was a clean break, so I epoxied it, left it overnight and it is as new. Can't believe it ! That Slow Stick is a tough *******.

So far, it nose dived from 20 feet into the ground, ran full speed into an indoor soccer building, 3 encounters with parked cars, 2 bushes dives and it is still working and flying !

I am glad I didn't take a Beaver, it would have been in pieces by now.

Albert.

Flying Fish

Albert,
This thread has all the info you need for your SS and more.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...hreadid=122951

ParkAviator

Hey, I live in Bremerton also and I am about to order the same plane. Where do you fly?

barelias

im new to this great hobby,and i just go the pt trainer,but then i was told the slow stick is much better for a beginner
so,i need help of which web site have got offers on the slow stick
i got 6 channel radio but i think the servos r too big for the slow stick any recommendation?
thanks

ParkAviator

www.horizonhobby.com is where I got mine. They also have the flight packs so you can get all you need with the flightpack, crystal and the kit. It sounds like the plane has pretty good carrying capacity so you might be able to use your servos if you want. I am unfortuantely still waiting on my backordered Hitec radio.

raggedman

i got my ss about 2 months ago...learned to fly very quickly with it...had to fiddle with the cg but finally got it right....one day i was visiting friends who wanted to see me fly but it was a windy blustery snowy day....i said what the heck and tossed the ss into what must've been a 20 mph crosswind...it dipped a bit and i turned with the wind and watched the plane zip to the far side of the football field...then i turned into the wind and hovered the plane abbove the 50 yard line for about 3 minutes....at full throttle the plane was only able to make about 10 yards of progress in the duration of the 600mah battery pack...i actually landed the plane with negative ground speed!!!! read that again....i landed the plane in reverse!!!!!!...i attribute this sucess to a perfect cg...flew sucessfully several times after until i fried my batt pack cuz my timer charger got stuck on... now i have a new battery...same model battery but it must be lighter cuz i cant get the cg right....building an e starer next