FT Slow Stick S250
- Thread starter makoman1860
- Start date
RickyG
Member
I think the reason dimensions aren't published anywhere is that everyone's will be different depending on your arrow shaft length or materials you used to print with example: PLA or LW-PLA or PETG. What it seems that most people are doing is putting all the parts and electronics in place and move the wing until it balances, then space the other parts equally between them.
For example I used a 32" carbon fiber shaft. The front wing part on mine is about 8.5 inches from the front of the carbon fiber shaft. I then adjusted the rear wing part so that my wing fit, My tail mount is flush with the rear of the arrow shaft and my motor mount is flush with the front. All of the other parts are just spaced equally between either the front/rear wing mounts, or the front wing mount and motor mount.
Ricky
For example I used a 32" carbon fiber shaft. The front wing part on mine is about 8.5 inches from the front of the carbon fiber shaft. I then adjusted the rear wing part so that my wing fit, My tail mount is flush with the rear of the arrow shaft and my motor mount is flush with the front. All of the other parts are just spaced equally between either the front/rear wing mounts, or the front wing mount and motor mount.
Ricky
Aslansmonkey
Well-known member
Basically, put the tail assembly together and glue it on the plane. Put the wire guide(s) (I used two) in front of that on the shaft but do NOT glue them yet. Then put the rear wing mount on, unglued. Put the servo tray on next, then the front wing mount. Then put the ESC mount and the motor mount. The ONLY thing glued to the shaft at this point should be the tail mount.
With all this stuff on you should be able to get some idea how to space your servo rod mounts, so you should be able to generally position them. With the motor and esc mount in place you should be able to temporarily tape components to these as well as the battery. You can use rubber bands to hold your wing in place and, since you've not glued any of this yet, you can slide your wing forward or backward to balance your plane. Shoot for a little nose heavy. Once your happy with all that you can THEN glue the other stuff in place.
I think they deliberately didn't give specifics because on a plane like this it's hard to account for all the possible variables. I'm using a 32" 8mm in diameter carbon fiber arrow shaft, for instance and the parts are designed for a 7mm shaft. So I had to modify them for my use. I also think FT used a shorter arrow in their build.
I've not flown mine yet as the weather hasn't been good enough, and also the field I fly at was temporarily flooded by the Mississippi.
2X
I did mine with 2205 (F-type) motor with 2S and 3S. Had trouble flying. Either builder error, pilot error or wind. (I say wind, LOL) My son and I did a toss test after all my crashes and it was rolling hard right. We adjusted till it was gliding straight. Then I flew it with the 2205 and 2S and it flew pretty good but didn't want to turn left. I'm starting again, 2205 with 3S. Traditional V-type landing gear, build the wing with jigs to keep the shape more consistent, Make sure wing and horizontal stabilizer match even. Use Fiber reenforced tape for connecting winghalves together. We will also toss test before trying to fly.
Foamforce
Well-known member
Well, I just couldn’t succeed with this plane. The first time I tried flying it, it was very floaty and would hardly turn. Then it suddenly nosed in hard and broke the engine mount. I glued that, tested the servos, and tried again. Nosed in again. This time I noticed that the bottom of the elevator servo had popped off. Ah hah, I thought. So I ordered a new one and tried again. I also increased the wing dihedral to 4” to improve turns. Same thing happened today. After flying for a bit, it suddenly nosed in hard. I found that the elevator servo push rod connector came loose. I glued it back together and the same thing happened again. This time there was no obvious reason. My best guess is that the angle of the pushrod going through the wing is to great and puts excessive stress on the servo, causing it to bind (or break, or pull loose). Oddly, I didn’t feel any binding when I pushed and pulled with my hand. I was using pushrod connectors on my servos, so that put the tops of the servos another quarter inch higher, increasing the bend, so that probably contributed. Also maybe cheap servos. Unfortunately, the plane is too far gone now so I tossed it. If I tried building it again, I would move the servo guides up to make the pushrods straight.
Fwiw, for the short period when it was flying, it was pretty slow.
Fwiw, for the short period when it was flying, it was pretty slow.
RickyG
Member
FWIW my first couple of maiden tries on this plane were unsuccessful as well. I wanted to maiden it first without gluing anything down so I could make adjustments. The first maiden was on a calm day (but it is never a calm day in North Texas) it took off and flew backward. The 2nd attempt was about 6am on my street and it was dead calm. I took off and it started gently turning to the right although I had in full left rudder.
I think my wing may have been a bit warped, twisted, or not lined up correctly with the elevator. After this flight I used CA and glued everything down. I still think there might be a twist in my wing as I have to have a TON of left rudder to get it to fly straight. I too noticed the sharp bend that the push rod has to take, so I moved the pushrod guides up I also used 1mm carbon fiber pushrods that are really bendy so no real stress on the servos.
Ricky
I think my wing may have been a bit warped, twisted, or not lined up correctly with the elevator. After this flight I used CA and glued everything down. I still think there might be a twist in my wing as I have to have a TON of left rudder to get it to fly straight. I too noticed the sharp bend that the push rod has to take, so I moved the pushrod guides up I also used 1mm carbon fiber pushrods that are really bendy so no real stress on the servos.
Ricky
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I finished mine today and hopefully will do the maiden tomorrow if it's not too windy. I made a few changes that hopefully show in the photos. My arrow shaft was 7.5mm diameter so I had to modify the stl's in Tinkercad to fit over the shaft. I used a hole diameter of 7.7mm which printed well with a snug fit but still able to slide the parts on the arrow shaft for testing the cg before glueing them in place. I also lengthened the wingspan to 35.5 inches by adding an extra "bay" to each wing half. I didn't like the stubby look of the original wing but I don't know how it will affect flying. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow! I mounted the two tail servos right in front of the stabilizer for a more direct linkage. Even with that weight pushed further back, I still have the cg located as per the plans. The 3s 850mah battery mounted full forward helped get the cg in the correct spot. Final weight is 252 grams without battery, 324 grams with battery. Finally, the front wing support is 6.5 inches back from the front of the arrow shaft.
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i've tried to hold off on adding "one more build" to my plate, but I woke up with a nasty migraine and decided to jump in with both feet on printing all the parts. LOL.... Hope to get all my FT kits and planes in working order before FF23. Going to ask for time off at work today when I get in.
Cheers!
LitterBug
Cheers!
LitterBug
The maiden flight went well! It's is a smooth and stable flyer. It could use more down thrust in the motor mount but I just mixed in some down elevator with throttle which works fine. I'm also printing a set of 60mm diameter wheels as the 40mm wheels in the above pictures just look too small. I think the cg as per the plans is perfect so I'll glue my battery, esc, and receiver trays in permanently. Overall this was a great little project, and I think I'll try an aileron version next.
Taildragger
Legendary member
Very close to having all the parts printed using an old spool of black PETG. Plan to use black foamboard for a sinister looking all dark build. Still need to source some arrows. Want to build a brighter night flying edition too.
Cheers!
LB
Tough to find 7mm dia arrows around here... Wally World has some that are 7.29, and Meijer across the street has some that are 6.79, and the local Dick's doesn't have archery. The slightly loose ones should work and are Black to go along with my stealth build. Had just enough filament left on the PETG spool to print all the parts. Great way to finish it off!
Cheers!
LB
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Oldrover TJ
Active member
How do we feel about a 2207 motor on the end of this thing? I've got a few from a wreck quad.
Foamforce
Well-known member
The extra weight on the nose would probably be helpful. In order to get this to balance, you have to put the battery as far forward as possible and then you still need to move the wing pretty far back. With a bit more nose weight from that larger motor, you could probably move the wing further forward and have more elevator and rudder authority. On the other hand, it won’t fly quite as slowly. I’d go for it.
Oldrover TJ
Active member
I guess this is gonna be a swift stick, especially since I'll be using 9g servos...
I think it would work. I'm running a 2206 1900kv quad motor with a 3s battery and it works great. The hole spacing on the 3d printed motor mount is 16mm, 2 holes.
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