Slow Stik

by GWS

My GWS Slow Stik is my first electric powered airplane and it has been a lot of fun! I really wasn't all that interested in getting one at first, but I knew that it would be an easy way to get into electrics and it was a good choice for hauling around a small digital camera. With those two thoughts it mind, I decided to get one. I am really glad that I did! It has been a great plane. I have had it since January 2005.

There have only been a few times when I have flown the model by itself. I usually fly it with a digital camera attached for aerial photography. I also purchased a Curtek lighting system that has been a permanent addition. Sometimes when I am not flying with a camera, I have flown with a Garmin eTrex GPS device. I used the GPS to determine my altitude and track my flight. I can be very interesting to find out just how far you actually fly from where you take off and land.

I recently purchased a RAM2 altimeter from Soaring Circuits. I plan to fly with the altimeter and the camera while taking pictures. Between the clock in the camera and the data recorded with the altimeter, I should be able to get a very good idea of the altitude that each photo was taken at. This should be a lot of fun too!

Knowing that I had plans to haul around a camera when I purchased the plane, I decided to replace the stock motor with a more powerful brushless motor and lithium-polymer battery pack. The following table shows what components are used for guidance and propulsion.

Here are a few more facts about my configuration

• Flying weight with camera, mount and lights : 776g (27.4 ounces).
• Camera weight : 164g (5.8 ounces).
• Camera model : Nikon Coolpix 3700.
• Center of gravity with camera : 3-23/32" from leading edge of wing.
• Center of gravity without camera : 3-29/32" from leading edge of wing.
• Leading edge of wing is located 8-7/16" from front of fuselage tube.