The Split Stik
The Split Stik is my latest design and it is featured in the current issue (Winter 2010) of Park Pilot Magazine. For those of you looking for an electronic copy of the plan, here it is for you to download.
I had a lot of fun with this design. It started as a quick sketch and me and my oldest son, Paul, tinkering in the workshop. We had it built and flying in no time. Now, that does not mean we did not have some designs flaws.
One of those early flaws came out at the field flying while we were doing some loops. All of a sudden we noticed something that made both of us do a double take – the wings were inverted with a downward dihedral. At first I thought he was flying inverted and was amazed how did he do it. Then I noticed that something was truly not right. It looked sort of like when the wind blows an umbrella the wrong way. It turned out the tape we used on the carbon fiber spar had come off and there was nothing holding the carbon spar to the wing. It was the weirdest sight, but the plane still flew and we landed it right away. We fixed it and some other minor glitches along the way, but all in all it is true to that original sketch.
For all of you who are building the Split Stik, I would love to see some pictures of your build. If you need any help, or have any questions, please let me know. I will do what I can to help out.
Hobby Guy : The electronics you reccomend for the Split Stick are priced at over $ 100 ! Could you reccomend something more reasonable like from Ebay or Hobby King?
The wing fixation on the Splitstick seems to be pretty rigid & unforgiving in a crash. How about the wing with carbon rod attached with rubber bands to body pegs? Thanks! WR
HI,
Sure. The Hobby King 10g Brushless motor was the first motor I used for the design. You can find it here: http://bit.ly/9zp6ZT
Also, you can substitute similar sized micro servos from HK, and ESC, and Battery.
I like the idea for the wing, try it out and if it works I will post it here as an option.
Thanks,
Paul
Hi Paul,
I really like your split stik. I first saw it in Park Pilot winter 2010 issue. I have cut the foam parts. I have looked in all the hobby shops in the DFW area and have been unable to find the 3mm Carbon Fiber Rod (3.2mm CF is the closest I could find)or the 3/8 by 3/16 spruce. Also am interested in finding less expensive but equivalent power system. If not, then I will purchase the Eflite Park 180. Already have the Eflite 10A ESC. I have some Turnigy TG9 servos, I’m not sure if they will work for this. I guess the battery can be a 2 or 3 cell 350-500 lipo. I guess I can order the spruce and CF online. Just wondering if you know other places besides hobby shops I can look or if there is something I can substitute. Thanks for any info on this. I thought I had seen your number somewhere and was going to call you but I could not find it again.
Ernie,
Thank you. 3.2mm would be fine – its not so critical, just as long as it is CF so it can flex yet remain strong. The spruce you probably can find in the Midwest Balsa section of a Michaels Craft store, AC Moore, or other craft store. if you can not find it, then try 3/16 x 1/2 x 36 (midwestproducts.com). Or get as close as you can. The spruce is strong yet still light.
Also, for motor, the Hobby King 10g Brushless motor was the first motor I used for the design. You can find it here: http://bit.ly/9zp6ZT Also, you can substitute similar sized micro servos from HK, and ESC, and Battery.
I would love to see some pics when it is done.
If you have more questions, please let me know.
-Paul
Hello Paul. I red about your split stick in Park Pilot. Would like to build it but I am having problems with the PDF. When I print the pages they do not line up. I was wondering if you could publish the whole plan on one page. I have access to large format printer so I can print the whole plan on one page.
Thanks
Sure. No Problem. I will post the full file as well.