Customer Reviews

Slow Stick ARF with 400C/BB

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, this is not a toy. It's a real RC airplane even if some "snooty" RC guys make fun of it's foam construction! It's a real RC trainer and an inexpensive way to get into RC flying. It's a fun build and I'm sure you will enjoy it very much.

This kit is an excellent kit, well designed and everything fits together like it's supposed to. It arrived well packaged and in excellent condition. As well, you cannot beat the price for a real RC trainer either. It's an excellent first time RC trainer plane.

It is educational in the sense that it is an excellent platform for learning to build and fly RC airplanes. Durable? That's not really a factor to rate this airplane on. It is a trainer, it will crash and it will break just like any RC aircraft trainer will so it's not fair to judge it on it's durability or lack of durability. However, I went ahead and rated it at 3 stars for durability because it is is a slow flyer and that means more chance of recovery from "mistakes". However, with that said, expect to break it to some degree at some point. I rated this airplane at 4 stars overall only because the build instructions included are somewhat confusing apparently because of translation disconnects from Chinese to English. But you really don't need them except for general build sequence and anybody with just a little experience in building anything should be able to build it. Use the photos for a general guidance.

And, please don't expect to knock it out in 15 minutes. Set aside an afternoon for a good build and do it right. Build time should not be a negative factor to consider. Build it right and have patient and you'll have a lot of fun. Use 20 minute epoxy if you are not comfortable with 5 minute epoxy on the wings. With 5 minute epoxy you might get in a time crunch especially with the application of the clear tape over the epoxied leading and trailing edge spars. Make sure you look at the decal sheets to figure out which clear tape goes where before you mix your epoxy. Getting the dihedral right has been made even easier with the newly included plastic reinforcement piece for the wing roots. It's almost foolproof with that newly added feature (see the addenum to the wing construction instructions and make sure to cut it out correctly).

There are numerous videos on the internet on how to build the Slow Stick, how to modify them and even attach small video cameras for aerial photography. Soon someone might even figure out how to adapt FPV to one but that might be a real challenge due to the weight limitations! We'll see!

In summary, this airplane is an inexpensive way to get into RC flying and it's a fun build. But, wait till it's calm to fly it and you will enjoy it very much and it will be around much longer!

I recommend it very much.

The GWS Slow Stick is NOT a "toy" - it is a real, flying, remote control airplane, targeting beginners (beginner modellers and beginner fliers).
1. It does not include the expensive electrics (servos, receiver, transmitter, flight battery, speed controller) (and in the NPS version excludes also the motor). You need to read-up / enquire from other modellers what you need here, or ask at your local hobby shop, check auction sites and small ads, etc.
2. The instructions are either "poor" (if you expect them to lead you to perfect flight) or "sufficient" (if you expect to have to learn). Here is a small hint: check out the comprehensive threads on this model at internet forums like rcgroups' "Beginners" section.
3. The plane flies really well.... *especially* if you know how to fly! And this is a very forgiving plane if you don't know how to fly. There will be a learning curve, and it's likely you will sometimes crash. Typically in learning you should find someone to guide you, or expect to have to make repairs. Follow the AMA guidelines if at all possible in "how to learn to fly". If you DIY, you should expect break a few things as you learn.
4. When you crash, this plane is pretty resistant to damage (unlike the balsa planes of old), but not immune. Typical breakages are: prop strikes and breaks (lesson: turn off the motor on your transmitter before the plane hits!). Motor gearbox breaks: you can find spares and reassemble. Wing gashes / cuts: sticky tape can repair.

For the Playstation generation this plane might not be what they want - you need to assemble it from imperfect instructions, and fly it via a new skill. But persistence pays and many many fliers have cut their teeth on this plane to later fly remote control WW2 fighters, acrobatic planes, etc etc. Highly recommended if you want to learn this hobby.

This package is for the air vehicle, the motor with gear reduction box and prop, no electronics included. The plane went together rather easily. However, after adding all my electronics and battery, it was rather difficult to balance the full-up aircraft. It comes with an "I" beam fuselage and plastic sections which slide along the "I" beam. The plastic sections are for mounting the wing (front and rear attachments), the battery pack (front and rear attachments), the servos, and the tail wheel. The recommended construction is to mount the battery pack aft of the wing mounts. In this configuration, a lot of ballast weight had to be added to the front "I" beam. I moved the battery pack attachments forward of the wing (the wing has a fixed position along the "I" beam) and only had to add a small amount of ballast to the tail to bring the aircraft into balance. You can't put the battery pack where it really wants to go under the wing because the wing mounts are in the way. However, my third learning flight ended with a nose in landing, the battery pack slid forward (attached with rubber bands) and the propeller hit the battery pack, breaking the propeller. The gear box may have been damaged also. In my humble opinion, I think this airplane can only be flown on a perfectly calm day. Any wind, however so slight, will make this aircraft very difficult to control, especially for a beginner. My Wingo flew better than this aircraft. And well you might ask why am I not still flying the Wingo. Well, I flew that one into the side of the local school building. It also comes with the worst instructions I ever encountered. I could not recommended this aircraft.