royf

Thank you Harvey,
I constructed it like it was a boat, with a top keel and a bottom keel, Hinged the top "cargo bay" so I could get to the fuel tank. It has a lot of thin plywood parts that gave it strength without adding too much weight. Remember, this was before there were any "Shuttle Kits" and you had to design your own. It was a good challenge and made me proud in front of a NASA engineer that said it wouldn't fly. What he did not know was I had been building flying wings when I was in the Air Force as a Jet mechanic with a background in aeronautics from high school. It's amazing what you can do when someone says "It won't work" and you prove him wrong.

H5487

Roy,

PM Sent.

Harvey

sidgates

My Feedback: (2)

I think the e-mail copy below is good news for kit builders. John Valentine from Top Notch Model Products does some outstanding work.


Hi Sid:
Many thanks for the update, I really enjoy these videos.

I have a little update of my own, I have started redesigning and kiting for Hobby Lobby International. They want to update their kit line and have started with (what else) their Telemaster line. Delivered my first batch of kits about a week ago.

Here is a promo video they did on the first design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMG58...feature=relmfu


jv

foodstick

Wow, that would go together pretty quick...

sidgates

My Feedback: (2)

Quick and accurately. The tab and lock system John uses is really neat.

royf

Hi! Sid,
I got the impression you wanted to tell me something but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Roy Fredrichsen
[email protected]

royf

Hi! Foodstick,
Thanks for the compliment on the shuttle. It takes a lot of imagination to take an idea from a piece of paper and make it a 3 dimensional reality.
Roy Fredrichsen

ratshooter

I don't know how many may be interested but this seller on Ebay has Sweet Stik plans for sale. I ordered a set the last time he had them for sale. They won't be here till the end of the month so I can't comment on them. They do come with a sheet of templates.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-SWEE...71616463750726

H5487

What's the difference between the Sweet Stick and the Ugly Stick? As near as I can tell, they look the same.

Harvey

foodstick

After looking at the title of this thread, i realized this winter has been a RE-BUILDING year, or at least trying to finish some things.. either way I am sneezing balsa dust when in the shop !

ratshooter

Harvey the main difference between the Sweet Stik and the Ugly Stik is the size. The sweet Stik has a 54" wingspan the Ugly Stik has a 60" span and the Great Planes 40 size Stik is a 58" span. I like the Sweet Stick because they will fly just fine with a plain bearing 40 like an FP 40, a TT GP 40 or one of the excellent Tower 40s with the bushed shaft. Plus any bearing 40 is just that much better. The GP Stik is probably better with a 46 sized motor.

Thats one of the plusses to a Stik model, a big engine isn't needed. When I built my Sweet Stik back in about 1979-80 first flew it with an OS .30. Not great but it wasn't bad. I later came up with the scratch for an OS bearing 40 and that was all the engine I needed.

http://www.rcmplans.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=1753

It looks like the seller of my plans borrowed the photo from RCM for his ad.

H5487

I put an OS .30 on my first RC, a Falcon 56. That was in 1970 and very few people at the local flying field had even heard of OS back then, much less seen one. But mine sure got a lot of comments when I fired mine up because it idled smoother than anything else on the market at the time. It also turned out to be a good size for my Falcon; not too big and not too small. I don't know when OS quit making the .30 but you're the first person I've heard of that also had one. I've still got mine (still got the Falcon too, although by the time I quit flying it very few original parts remained. ) Good memories!

Harvey

ratshooter

H5487 I have no idea what happened to that OS 30. I have sold outand reintered RC for the third time now. There are a few things I wish I still had and my engines are on of them. Some of the engines I really miss are the Tower 40s I had. I don't know who made those plain bearing motors for them but they sure would run and were easy to adjust.

I bid on an OS FP40 listed on Ebay about a week ago. I stopped at $55 but that engine sold NIB for $75 + shipping. Thats crazy. I sorta wish I would have bid $76 though. That would have been a good motor for the new Sweet Stik. I don't like way over powered models. Just a good balance of power to weight.

H5487

I agree wholeheartedly with you. However, from what I've read in other parts of RCU, we're in the minority in that line of thinking. I believe that if it were physically possible, someone would put a Chevy small block on a foamie so they'd "have the power available to get themselves out of trouble". (The mantra of the unskilled pilot!)

And since this is a "Builder's" thread, I built that Falcon 56 from a kit. Crashed it and built a new wing by going to the LHS with a shopping list of all the balsa sticks and sheets necessary to build another. And later I drew up plans (Thank goodness for drafting class and study hall!) for a new fuselage (shortened length and converted to a taildragger) and built it from sticks and sheets too.

I've bought a few ARFs over the years but I've never quite lost the urge to build something myself. There's a vey satisfying feeling about creating something on my own workbench. Also, MY workmanship is waaaaaaayyyy better than anything that comes off an ARF assembly line!

Happy New Year guys!

Harvey

RCplanman

My Feedback: (16)

ratshooter, RCreport is now online-same name. Lone Stas had a fire about 2 yrs ago dut as of last summer was back.
Need some good wood try Balasa U S A . GOOD SUPPLIER. I also like to build. I just moved & the club I left [after 30 yrs.]
had 50 members & I was the only guy who builtsad.
I'm looking for a sourse for a set of plans of the " D A DAVIS" 81" span parasail wing. If you or anyone knows of one please let me know.
[email protected] Thanks

RCplanman

My Feedback: (16)

thomas B, Grat project, hope yours turns out well. Elec. should be great. Good luck, Bill

ratshooter

H5487 I just enjoy sitting on the tailgate of my truck and watching my plane putt around the sky. I used to have a 1/4 scale cub from Balsa USA powered by a Kraft 61. The minimum power listed. It flew fine but you had to stay up with it. There was no reserve power. It would fly on less than half thottle. I would trim it to fly big circles around the field and set the transmitter on my tailgate and walk around and talk to other pilots while my plane cruised around the sky. I nearly lost it once by doing this.

RCplanman I knew about the fire at Lone Star Balsa. They are up and running and I just recieved a box of balsa from them a few days ago. I want to start a building project but can't make up my mind if I want o build the Sweet Stik, a Krafty 60 or the Bridi Loadstar. What a problem huh? And I want a LT-25 in the worst way and the local HS has one in stock. See, my life is filled with troubles.

I had seen that RC Report is on line. I didn't know if I wanted to spend the money or not and I don't think Gordon Banks runs it anymore. I sure did like it many years ago though. I tried Model Airplane News. One issue had 78 full page ads in it. Thats doesn't count all the half page and smaller ads. Plus nothing but ARF reveiws. And they all went together fast and flew perfectly off theboard with just two clicks of trim needed.No thanks. If I want a catalog I will get one from Cabelas.

mtcarey

My Feedback: (2)

Building

wed-subawu

My Feedback: (1)

Here's my latest, a Golden Oldie biplane from RCM plans, designed by Fred Reese. It's powered by an OS 40 Surpass, and covered with WorldTex, with the fuse painted with acrylic craft paint, top-coated with Nelson flat clear. First time I tried that,and pleased with the results. Just have to finish the radio install and add a few non-functioning rigging wires and she'll be ready to maiden this spring, which around here will be April or May. Meanwhile, I'm working on a Killer Chaos kit. Keep those pics coming guys, I love to see what others are working on!

cheers
John

cutaway

I used to build a lot of kits, but grew tired of the hit-or-miss nature of the wood. Now its pretty much my own original designs or from plans where I can choose exactly the weight/grain I want.

Oberst

We Kit builders are still around. I build ARF, Kits and do a little scratch building as well.


I like them all and they all have a place in this fantastic hobby.


Pete

ratshooter

Hey Web I like your Golden Oldie. I remember when the article for that plane came out. I was looking at the plan for it a couple of months ago. How is the top wing attached? Here is a picture of one of the BalsaUSA Phaeton bipes I built many years ago. The new ones have bolt on wings. I nearly lost mine on the maiden flight. I carried it to the fiels assembled and didn't notice the top wing only had 4 rubber bands on it. When the wing started rocking I new what the problem was. Thankfully it stayed together and I landed OK. It had lots of rubber bands for the next flight.

wed-subawu

My Feedback: (1)

Wow, good thing the wing stayed on like that - sometimes you get lucky. On the Golden Oldie plans, the wing struts are hardwood with aluminum brackets embedded in them, and top wing is held on by #6 wood screws going through the brackets into 1/4" plywood blocks in the wing. I was afraid the threads in the wood might weaken & strip eventually, so I used #4-40 blind nuts embedded in the wing, with machine screws & lockwashers holding the wing on. Assembly is a bit of a pain with 9 screws, but the plane fits fully assembled in my hatchback...

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

To add to the mix, I just started a Bruce Tharpe Delta Vortex. Nothing to show yet for photos, just making up the sub-assemblies. It's been a few years since I've actually done a build-up. I've had this kit for a couple of years now so I was eager to get started. The kit is temporarily out of stock, but Bruce put me onto his notification list for when they become available again. This way, I'll have another one in the wings in case the one I'm building gets a bad case of Dumb Thumbs.

Bob

ratshooter

Just in case anyone is interested there is a Midwest Little Stik on ebay right now. A great blast from the past. I am tempted to get it myself. Thats why i am posting it here so hopefully someone will buy it before I cave and buy it myself.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Midwest-Das-...item43ac666782