I received one of "Iter's" conversion kits, to make a GWS Slow Stick in to a twin rotor autogyro. I won't be able to pick up a SS until next week. Although eventually I will "brushless" it, I'm going to start out with the stock plane. Iter, which motor setup do you recommend? I presume at least the 300, and probably the 400?

I've seen people put all sorts of torque monsters into Slow-Gs, but all of my prototypes and production test models have flown quite well with the stock Speed 300 motors in "C" or "D" gearboxes. Because Slow-G works at low airspeeds, a "D" with a 1180 prop may work better than a "C" with a smaller prop.
Keep it light, and you won't need a large motor :=)

Hope you enjoy the kit!

Ari.

Hi Ari;

I'm assembling your kit now. Everything is fitting together neatly. Hurrah for lasers! I do have a question; I think I goofed regarding the parts you sent me. I thought they were replacement caps for the 1/32" ply pieces, so I glued the 3/8" balsa hub to the rotor base. How about if I glue the 3/32" ply cap on top of the 3/8" balsa? That should work, right? The shaft is long enough to accommodate this.

You're right about those e-clips on the GWS rotor shafts! One went flying through the air. I've done that enough with small parts that I know to go silent & motionless to hear where it lands, and I found it.

Oh, by the way, what battery did you use with the 300 C or D?

I use ThunderPower 730.

As for 3/16 doublers, the reason I introduced them was that the 3/8 balsa squares were too soft. After you've been flying your Slow-G for a while, you find that they sag.

If you haven't glued the wedges and blades on yet, I'd say cut the balsa squares off, sand the base plate and put plywood parts there. If you have already glued the blades on, don't worry about it, just make sure you check that your top nuts are tight before every flight. If you're feeling adventurous, you can trim the balsa squares flush with the blades, that way there won't be as much balsa to sag (make sure the top is parallel to the base plate). Use 3/32 doublers to reinforce cut-down balsa. If you keep full-height balsa spacers, it doesn't matter much which plywood you use to reinforce the top.

HTH, Ari.

Thanks. Since the wedges are already in place, I'll shave the squares flush with them.

I covered the blades with Monokote trim sheets. They are adhesive-backed and don't require shrinking,which might warp the blades. Three white and one black blade on each side.

Ari; are the advancing blades inboard or outboard? Just checking.

With the rotor marked "R" on the right and "L" on the left, you should get advancing blades on the inside. If you don't, check that you assembled the rotorheads corectly :=) See some discussion about this here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408555

Ari.

I have it correct - just checking. I imagine advancing inside reduces the chances of blade strikes. Well, I got a Slow Stick, so before too long we'll have a launch...

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Ari.

First flight today: pretty "staggery" thru the sky. Had a cross wind most of the morning, finally backed enough so I could ROG it. Did a few circuits, finally made a downwind turn that I couldn't recover from. Crashed, shed the blades.

Fortunately, the weak point of the setup is the wedges. They break before a blade does, and one can simply glue them back. My problem appears to be that one rotor hub spins easier than the other. It's not the relative bearing of the wind, because it happens when the wind is on either side, or from dead ahead. Dunno if it is a bearing problem, or a blade problem. I'll be switching the hubs to see which it might be.

It's a lot of fun in the air, though. It'll fly again next week.

Switched gearboxes left to right. It's definitely the gearbox, since now it's the left side that doesn't spin as fast. Guess I'll shop for a replacement. Iter, what was the GWS stock number?

GWS part numbers are listed in the manual:

gearbox housings GWS part #LPS5A
gearbox shafts GWS part #LPS6A
ball bearings GWS part #LPS2A

But let me see if I understand this right. The rotor on the right ("R") was spinning slower, then you swapped rotors around and now the rotor on the left ("R") is spinning slower? If this reading is correct, the bearings are working fine.
Ari.

Originally Posted by Robert Stinson

Switched gearboxes left to right. It's definitely the gearbox, since now it's the left side that doesn't spin as fast. Guess I'll shop for a replacement. Iter, what was the GWS stock number?

No,, I swapped gearboxes. If I'd swapped rotors, they'd be rotating the wrong way (backward inboard).

I see. I have gearbox parts in stock, let me know if you can't find them locally and I'll be happy to mail you what you need.

Ari.