(Das) Little Stick Parkflyer Plans

jaredstrees

Well-known member
Just printed out my second set of plans. My first stick has almost 300 flights and she is getting a little soft. This is a great flying plane!
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
If you have access to a 3D printer I have a design for a motor mount to suit the funfighter motor. It just glues in!

have fun!
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
OK! Here it is!

First a screenshot!

Firewall.jpg

See attachment for the STL.

I just epoxy it in position after I mount the motor to it. The motor can be mounted afterwards but it is fiddly. I use the countersunk screws so that nothing protrudes into the battery space. If using the soda can cowl you might wish to round off the outer corners slightly.

You are free to post in on thingiverse if you wish! I do not not post there!

Have fun!
 

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jaredstrees

Well-known member
It is time to retire my second lil stick. She has almost 350 flights on her and she’s getting tired. Good news is this one is ready!
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I increased the aileron lengths and went with a rudder this time. I’m looking to throw her around a bit more than #2, so I doubt she’ll see 350 flights! Hope to maiden her tomorrow, but looks like rain, however with these guys, I’m confident she’ll fly when I get the chance.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
It is time to retire my second lil stick. She has almost 350 flights on her and she’s getting tired. Good news is this one is ready!
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I increased the aileron lengths and went with a rudder this time. I’m looking to throw her around a bit more than #2, so I doubt she’ll see 350 flights! Hope to maiden her tomorrow, but looks like rain, however with these guys, I’m confident she’ll fly when I get the chance.

Wow! 350 flights is amazing! (y)

I was looking at my flight logs earlier today and noticed the planes I fly the most have around 30 flights on them currently. o_O
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
She’s a bit of an abnormally. I just never crashed her. Tried pretty hard as well! She was the keep in the car and fly whenever I get the chance. Probably 8 flights a week since FF south.
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
And DLS-3 flies! Sorry no video. I was by myself and jumped at a small window in the weather. I put two packs threw her and she flies like expected. It was pretty windy so I didn’t wring her out but I’m pleased so far.

To everyone who hasn’t built this plane, do it! You will not be disappointed!
 

Brett_N

Well-known member
Bumping to the top. As Jared said above, if you haven't built one of these and have some spare parts around, just build one today! Mines ugly and not a single bit of the tape over DTFB is straight, but she flies great.

40 packs so far, and only a little tape to put the nose back on :ROFLMAO: Now I have to print more plans for the guys I fly with. I hand launch and belly land now that I ripped off the landing gear.

I used the motor out of an old Volantex cub kit and a 7x6 prop. With 2S this thing rips around the sky - it's faster than it should be!
 

Michael9865

Elite member
Being a fan of Monty Python this is the point in the program where someone says, "Now for something completely different".

Well not completely different but just a Parkflier stick built slightly different.

The photo below is of a canard version of the (Das) Little Stick Parkflyer awaiting his maiden flight attempt.

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May provide details if anyone wants to try it assuming of course that it actually flys.:confused:

Have fun!

Well, the news is that it finally flys!

Need to look at relocating a few things and refining the design but it flys anyway! New thread will be started when the design is finalized!

Have fun!

Hai-Lee,
Any progress towards sharing your "canard version of the (Das) Little Stick Parkflyer?"
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Hai-Lee,
Any progress towards sharing your "canard version of the (Das) Little Stick Parkflyer?"
I will put it back on the list for finalisation and plans!

Sadly it slipped due to an apparent lack of interest And other designs and orders became somewhat urgent!

Will get back to it soon!

Have fun!
 

Jbing

Member
das_small.jpg




Introduction

The classic "Ugly Stick" and "Das Ugly Stick" are iconic designs that stand the test of time thanks to their simplicity and performance.

Just like the originals, my adaptation uses a minimal amount of material and requires very little time to get airborne. In order to simplify things as much as possible (and use electronics I had on hand) the design employs a short 29" wingspan that can be cut from a single sheet of foam board.

Much of the design is based on the Bud Anders and Larry Leonard balsa buildup from Midwest:
http://www.outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=5860
This, combined with the Flite Test build techniques and modern electric power results in a great little park flyer. As with any scratch build, let my design and experience be a starting point for your build. There is plenty to improve upon!

Materials/Specs.


Build

Download the plans:
Download the plans from the links below. Get started by printing the templates, transfer them to foam, and cut out the parts. Red lines represent 100% cuts, blue lines represent score cuts, and yellow lines represent creases. Feel free to omit the scallops on the trailing edges for simplicity.

Assemble the Wing:
The wing is a single piece design that is very easy to shape and results in a simple, zero-diehedral airfoil. Cut a double 45o bevel on the leading edge and gently crease the foam board with a BBQ skewer on the yellow lines. I like to use a straightedge to "break" the wing gently at the creases before folding. With the bottom wing surface on a table, gently fold the top of the airfoil over until the trailing edge rests on the table. Once the foam has accepted this position, unfold the wing and repeat the process and dry-fit the spar so that it lines up just forward of the second crease.

spar_small.jpg


Make a reference mark on the bottom surface at the spar location. Unfold the wing and glue the spar to the bottom surface using the reference mark. Once dry, fold the wing permanently using a bead of glue on the leading edge, top of the spar, and trailing edge. Reinforce the center of the wing with clear packing tape. If you like, glue a short piece of BBQ skewer to the center section of the trailing edge to protect against the rubber bands that will be installed later.

Assemble the Fuselage:
The fuselage is another single-piece foldup. Just as with most FT builds, remove the foam in the fold joints leaving a single layer of paper. Fold the fuselage so that the "side-cheeks" are positioned next to the top and bottom faces of the fuse.

Install Tail Feathers
Cut a single 45o bevel on the stabilizer portion of the elevator and rudder to form a hinge. Due to size restrictions, I did not include locating tabs on these parts, they must be positioned by hand. The horizontal stabilizer sits in the notch on the underside of the fuselage. The elevator is glued directly to the top of the fuselage. Both hinge lines should line up with the aft tip of the fuselage.

tail_small.jpg



Install the Firewall:
I deliberately left a firewall template off the plans because I find it easier to "scribe" the firewall to the fuselage. Cut a piece of plywood large enough to cover the open nose of the fuse and use the profile of the fuselage to trace the final shape. After trimming the firewall to size, drill a hole or cut a notch to pass the motor leads through into the fuselage. Install the firewall using hot glue on all four faces of the fuselage and reinforce with clear packing tape.

Install the Servos:
The Aileron servos are installed similarly to the FT Spitfire and Duster builds but you will need to notch out the bottom wing surface to accept a 9g servo. This may not be necessary if you decide to go with smaller servos. Install just forward of the spar.

servo_small.jpg



The rudder and elevator servos are slotted into the fuselage near the tail. Again, I omitted cut lines on the plans to accommodate multiple servo sizes. To further simplify the design, omit the rudder servo and the score cut/bevel on the vertical stabilizer.

Instead of typical pushrod wires I used a BBQ skewer pushrods on the tail surfaces for rigidity and because I was low on wire. To make a BBQ skewer pushrod, cut a piece of skewer about an inch shorter than the distance between the control horn and linkage stopper. Cut two 1-1/2" long pieces of wire, make a z-bend in the end of one and leave the other straight. Use heat shrink to attach the wire to each end of the skewer, adjusting length as necessary. Once happy with the fit, drop a little CA into the heat shrink near the wire on both ends of the skewer. Once dry, this makes a nice rigid linkage.

Wire it Up:
At this point the build will begin to differ depending on the electronics used so proceed as you see fit. Install your rx and esc making all the necessary connections. If you are using the same electronics as I am, bear in mind that the battery and a 1/2oz weight will have to be positioned as far forward in the fuselage as possible to result in an acceptable CG.

Install the Wing:
The wing sits in the notch on the top of the fuselage, use a BBQ skewer to pass through the fuse just forward and aft of the wing. Use rubber bands to hold the wing on.

wing_small.jpg



Tune

CG:
Install your battery so that the model balances on the spar. Again, the tiny 2s battery that I used was so small that I had to use an additional 1/2oz of lead along with the battery as far forward as possible to get the plane to balance. If you are using a larger battery, you're in luck!

Control Throws:
The setup I used for my maiden flight was very aggressive.
  • Aileron: 3/4" up/down
  • Elevator: 5/8" up/down
  • Rudder: 1" left/right
I like the high roll rate but the pitch control is a little touchy, the elevator throw could stand to be reduced to 1/2" up/down. I ended up dialing in 40% expo on the aileron and elevator - combined with the throws above, I was relatively happy with the model.

Fly

Here comes the fun part. I hand launched the model at about 3/4 throttle into a 5mph wind and circled our local soccer field a couple times as I setup trims. Speed is not impressive on this 2s setup but there is enough power for aggressive climbs, loops, rolls and mild aerobatics. Stalls are gentile but control inputs (especially aileron) become weak at very low speeds yet there is solid control at a 3/4 throttle cruise. Flying in winds over 10mph would be a handful as the model tends to get blown around a little bit. However, I'm not at all disappointed in the overall performance of this budget parkflyer.

Is this a good BEGINNER plane? No, probably not, but it would make a good mild aerobatic "trainer".

Is this a good FIRST TIME build? No, probably not, but it would be great for those that have built one or two FT swappables or a modeler with traditional build experience that would like to try his hand at foam board.

The original Ugly Stick was designed by Phil Kraft in 1964 as a test bed for his radio equipment. He wanted a simple, easy to build airframe, as they might have a limited life span. It turned out to be a good flying little plane. I have a PDF of his original drawings. The landing gear was held on with rubberbands using the same method the wings were held on. Midwest and Great Planes incarnation of the design came years later.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Biplanes work better if there is one chord width distance between the wings (there are some exact formulas somewhere, but this is "close enough for gov'ment work!)

Also, a degree or two of positive incidence in the top wing (raise the front of the top wing just a touch) can increase low speed performance and help keep control as the bottom wing stalls out (so the top wing will stall after the bottom wing rather than all at once). This adds drag though, so if you're going for a speed machine or highly acrobatic, it's less helpful.

Lots of fun aerodynamics to be explored in biplanes! :D
 

Michael9865

Elite member
Just built a (Das) Little Stick Parkflyer from wacoflyer‘s plans. Hopefully the electronics will be here early this week.
On a side note, I am running out of room in my small two bedroom place. 😳 🙃 Time to hang some more planes on the walls. 😃 #PlanedemicBuilding

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the-mailman

New member
Saw this version of the stick and thought I'd give it a try. Finished the build, but haven't decided if I need landing gear yet. I also have to figure out where to cut a hatch for the battery. I don't really want to take the wing off each time I change the battery.

The only change to the plans I made was to extent the edges of the top and bottom so they attach easier.

Balances pretty good with a 1300 3S and AUW is 350g.

3D printed the firewall, motor mount, and tail skid. I could have done it with plywood, but I got one for Christmas and I'm having fun making stuff.

If the quarantine ever gets lifted I'll get the maiden done. I hope it flys as good as it looks, lol.

Thanks for the great design Wacoflyer.

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Michael9865

Elite member
Just built a (Das) Little Stick Parkflyer from wacoflyer‘s plans. Hopefully the electronics will be here early this week.
On a side note, I am running out of room in my small two bedroom place. 😳 🙃 Time to hang some more planes on the walls. 😃 #PlanedemicBuilding

View attachment 162750 View attachment 162751

Well with a couple clicks of up elevator the maiden and second flight were very fun. I had several spectators witness it but no video proof. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get some video even if I have to let someone else fly it.