Kwik-Stik I and III (oz6158)

About this Plan

Kwik-Stik I and III. Radio control sport model.

Note this plan shows parts for two models at two different sizes: Kwik-Stik I is 60in span for .60 power, and Kwik-Stik III is 46 in span for .15 power.

Note this plan shows only the fuselage and tail, a wing needs to be sourced from elsewhere.

Quote: "In the case of the Kwik-Stik, we were so intrigued by the simplicity of the design that we actually built three of them - one .15 powered version with a Junior Box Fly wing and two .60 powered versions using Ugly-Stik (oz5175) wings. The total length of time that it took to cut out the fuselage and assemble each aircraft was one hour!

Thus for an hours worth of work, about two or three dollars worth of material from the local building supply or lumber yard, you can build up several fuselages to fit those spare wings you have left over from deceased aircraft. And, you're going to be extremely surprised by how well the Kwik-Stick flies! The .15 powered version spins like a top, either upright or inverted, snap rolls instantly simply by pulling the stick down in the corner, and you will recover from any attutude you put it in by simply taking your hands off the transmitter. While the smaller version is not a pure basic trainer, it is an excellent sport ship that is relatively easy to fly. Take-offs and landings are virtually hands off.

The larger Kwik-Stik with an Ugly-Stik wing is a pure joy to fly. With everything out in the open where you can get at it, there is no wasted time taking your aircraft apart in order to get at the fuel tank or engine. Clean up and repair is a breeze. And the flying characteristics are truly outstanding, retaining all of the flight characteristics of the original Ugly-Stik. Using a Lanier, Johnny Casburn 'Big Tex,' or other foam wing, the wing loading is slightly increased and the landing speed goes up ever so slightly. You'll enjoy the Kwik-Stick - one of the fastest aircraft you can build and one that will give you many months of flying pleasure.

I would like to say that the Kwik-Stick is the final result of thousands of hours of testing in the lab and wind tunnel and then numerous actual research test flights, culminating in many first place contest wins throughout the nation. I would like to - but I can't - it just didn't happen that way.

The Kwik-Stick came into being due to the constant nagging and complaining by my modeling pal, Jim Barnes. Every time he had a bad crash with an airplane that represented more than two weeks building time, I noticed some suicidal tendencies, preceded by threats to sell all his modeling gear and take up golf. He kept saying, while picking servos out of smashed balsa and good old Mother Earth: 'There has got to be a quicker way, George'. So thinking back to U-Control days, remembering Dennymites and Orwicks on ignition, gasoline and SAE 70 oil, I vaguely remembered the stick type of trainer we used to build when we wanted to get in the air in a hurry, and thought that this concept might be applied to RC models.

The Kwik-Stick can be built in what I think is the least amount of time, compared to anything else available at the present time. It uses inexpensive materials available at most building supply stores or lumber yards, eg white pine, 1/8 shop grade plywood, a few sheet metal screws, plus a small amount of sheet balsa for the tail surface, an Ugly-Stick wing, or any other suitable wing of approximately 600 square inches in area, (We have found the Lanier wing to be very good, and they are readily available.) The fuel tank, being out in the open, eliminates the need for hooking up vents and fillers in impossible-to-reach areas. In addition, there is no motor mount to buy or mount, as the main longerons serve as the motor mount. The complete tail assembly is removable as a unit for repair. or replacement, by simply removing two screws. The wing is held on with rubber bands for simplicity.

I used an Ugly-Stik landing gear with 3 in Du-Bro wheels, simply bolting the unit on to the bottom of the longerons with four 6/32 bolts. NyRods were used for the elevator and rudder pushrods mainly because they are quick and simple. The throttle rod is just 1/16 music wire in a straight run to the carburetor arm, with no support or guide needed, The fuel tank is held on with two No, 64 rubber bands with the throttle wire between them and the tank. Painting the fuselage was super simple - just hang it up in a handy location, shoot a couple of coats of clear dope on it, then a couple of coats of your favorite color or colors and let it dry. (Cover the tail with Mono-Kote or Solarfilm, or whatever), install your radio, screw on the tail, bolt down the engine, rubber band the wing on and go fly it. (PS Charge the batteries first!)

I hope this airplane will fill a gap that befalls all of us, mainly right after a crash, since you can build one of these in the time it normally takes to decide what to build next.

Flying the Kwik-Stick is great, several proficient pilots have flown it, among them Dick Sonheim, Don Dewey, Dick Kidd, Jim Barnes, and Baron Von Thumbs, and all are in agreement that it just has no bad habits. In fact, it tracks straight down the runway on take-off, will not drop a wing in a stall, recovers from bad attitudes hands off, and it lands at about five mph with absolutely no snap-roll on final no matter how much you slow it down. It is an excellent small field airplane, as it will clear tall obstacles in a single bound. However, fortunately, it is not as fast as a speeding bullet..."

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