GWS Slow Stick
February 2004
| A great floater! |
General Specifications
Kit Manufacturer - Grand Wing Servo Co - GWS
Aircraft - Slow Stick
Build Date - February 2004
| Airframe Type - | Top Wing | Flying Type - | Lightweight Slow Foamie | |
| Wingspan = | 46 inches (Dandy) | Length = | 38 inches | |
| Wing Area = | 506 sq. inches | All-Up Weight = | 19.9 ounces | |
| Motor - | Mega RCn400/15/7 | Wing Load = | 4.8 oz/sq. ft. | |
| Propellor - | 9 x 4.7 GWS Orange | Power = | 100 watts (Static) | |
| Thrust = | 17.6 ounces | Thrust/Weight = | .88 | |
| Battery Type - | Lipoly 3S1p | Capacity = | 1200mah - 1600mah | |
| Speed Control - | Mystery 10 amp | BEC - | Integral to ESC |
Commentary
I found the slow stick while surfing around the Mega Motors website and I was intrigued by how easy it was to fly very sowly on their video. At the time we lived in a nice neighborhood with lots of trees but no power poles and I was hoping I could find a slow flyer which was controllable enough to fly around our house.
Well, the GWS Slow Stick was it!. This plane is bare bones simple, the kit was $39.95 and included a motor and I was flying it in an afternoon. As with the E-Starter I used all GWS gear and the recomended battery pack.
What I discovered after buying and flying this plane was it was one of the most popular camera planes out there. It has a huge wing which, in addition to helping it fly smooth and slow, also allows it to carry a lot of weight. So then I started playing around with different cameras and mounts. This also got me into trying different motors and battery systems to get the power and longer flight times for good photo's.
It all works reaally well and I still use it today (20011) for pictures around our house on the lake. Of course this also means it now sits on floats and of course this again meant ...more power.
As far as how it flys, well anyone could fly this plane! It is so slow and stable, it really flys itself, you just need to "Steer". I've crashed it into trees, my house, the lake, etc. and it never really gets damaged other than a broken prop or two or perhaps a bent landing gear. It's a perfect first RC plane.
Updates/Mods
Too many to list!
Original Power System
- GWS 300C IPS 4:1
- 7 cell AAA 600mah
- 7 amp ESC
Added floats
- Modified GWS Floats using carbon fiber rods to accomodate up to 30 ounces plane weight with different cameras.
- Floats added about 3 ounces
Cameras
- Wireless FPV Video system (very low res, ~6oz)
- Vivitar 3100 (ancient digital, ~9oz)
- CVS Video (Hacked for multiple use, ~12oz)
- Polaroid 5.1mp P&S (current, ~5oz)
Lights
- Added LED strip lights plus 360mah 3S Lipoly (~3oz)
- Buy recommendation - Absolutely!
- Build skill - Begginer (ARF Kit)
- Lesson learned - Never stop tinkering, you always find surprises!
