Ugly Stick

by pete stanford | April 12, 2014 | (10) Posted in Just Fun

I've now built, flown, crashed, repaired, flown, crashed and totalled a few of the Flite Test swappables.  Every one of them was great but last weekend was a disaster and I lost three of them in one day.   I'm going to an all electric meet this Sunday but got nothing to fly.  I could have downloaded another plan but I decided I needed a plane that could do everything.  The obvious choice of course was a Stick   I got onto Google Images and typed in 'RC Stick Plans'.   I printed out a set of the original Kraft plans onto A4 size paper.  From this I took measurements and multiplied everything by 3.  This gave me a wingspan of just under 1000mm.   Now here in Australia, a mate of mine and I have found foam board at Office Works.  I wish it was $1 per sheet but it isn't.  These sheets are 750mm x 500mm and come in several colours.  I made a two piece wing with similar construction techniques to the Spitfire but with square ends and constant cord, and I joined the spars with a slight dihedral (don't ask how much, thats the fun of scratch building).  The fuse is not built as a swappable but could easily be.

The motor/ESC combo is a Turnigy 2836 1100Kv with a Plush 40Amp ESC and a 9x6 prop.  Battery is a 2700 4S.  I didn't make a rudder but now I wish I had as she is very aerobatic.

Undercarriage setup is similar to the Old Speedster with a rubber band bungee setup and BBQ skewer tail skid.

She takes off in about three feet and can be flown very fast or fairly slow.  As I said earlier, it is very strong and fully aerobatic and if I had included a large rudder would also be good for 3D.  Anyway, she flies great which is typical of the Stick design which is why I built it in the first place.

COMMENTS

LordVader on May 6, 2014
Very nice, thanks for sharing. You could always add the rudder, use a simple tape hinge or the hot glue hinge.
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sailorJohn on May 6, 2014
Try youtube--- Experimental airlines--- "Noob Tube" Fast build, increase control surfaces and a wild and crazy flyer ,add flitetest landing gear and enjoy.
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Red20RC on May 8, 2014
Awesome! You can't go wrong with an Ugly Stick :-)
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Bob_Curtains on May 9, 2014
Great job man, i loved this plane as a kid. All you need is the German cross on the tail and your done (obviously the Rudder also.... lol). Very nice sir!
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Flying Fox on September 11, 2014
Awesome plane.
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charleyza on November 27, 2014
Very nice, thank you for sharing :) I have never scratch built but I'm going to try starting with one of these sticks.

Found some PDF's online : http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=490620

I see yours has a curved wing but the plans I found has a flat wing - does this make a difference?

Also I am unsure what materials to use as the recommended 6mm Depron would surely bend on a flat wing?

Perhaps Balsa Wood or Foam core would work better?
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Ugly Stick