This page will feature pictures of aircraft belonging to club members. Each month one will be selected as 'PLANE OF THE MONTH' and will be featured in more depth.
Plane of the month
JULY's plane of the month belongs to club treasurer Daryl Shutt.
The Great Planes BIG STICK 40 ARF (almost ready to fly)
Great Planes BIG STICK 40 ARF assembled by Daryl Shutt
aircraft specs: wingspan- 57-1/2 inches powered by- O.S. .46fx wing area- 719 sq inches prop-APC 11x7 weight-5.5 lbs balsa and light ply construction wing loading- . radio used-futaba T6XA with 5 servos overall length- 51 inches other features- height- finish-Some ARF covering/ some monokote
Here is what Daryl had to say about the BIG STICK 40 ARF:
This plane started life as a modern finish big stick which only requires a few days to assemble. The stick design has been around since the early 1960s and can be built as a taildragger or with tricycle landing gear. I chose the taildragger option. The plans call for a single servo to power both ailerons, however I used two servos. (one for each aileron) This is my second Great Planes BIG STICK 40 and was a very good flying aeroplane (when you get old you are permitted to say air-o-plane) Anyway it flew very good until a very fast growing tree attacked it. Nothing to do but buy another BIG STICK 40. (ARFs are easier to assemble than a major rebuild)
This stick flew ok but not great, that is until I attached a homade bomb drop device and my brain took a leave of absence ( I watched the bomb drop and heard the plane crash- SMART !! ) This time I decided that my wallet preferred rebuilding. With the wallet in control, I used covering material (monokote), balsa, hardwood, and plywood that I had (I always knew there was a reason to save leftover stuff from building other planes) The landing gear was on an old retired plane. It now has the stick gear.
Would you believe it? She now flies like a BIG STICK should- very good! The BIG STICK 40 ARF is not a trainer air-o-plane, but it is relatively fast and highly maneuverable and is a very good sport airplane.