Saturday, Sept. 29: Hangar 9 Ultra-Stick 30cc Maiden: Low 60’s, cloudy, dead wind.
I would like to introduce my newest addition to the fleet, a Hangar 9 Ultra Stick 30cc. It has an 81 inch wing span, is 73 inches long and is all of 14 pounds heavy. It is powered by a DLE 30cc gasoline motor and features an EME electric starter from MileHighRC. Receiver and servos are Futaba. Flight stabilization is accomplished using a Bavarian Demon Cortex (Yes, I know, I’m cheating !). The starter makes for a very heavy front end and about 6 oz of lead was required at the tail end to get a good CG balance.
Overall a pleasant ARF to put together. However I did find the covering to be wrinkled almost everywhere. Some time will have to be spent to work the wrinkles out for a clean build. I also found the connecting hardware (e.g. clevises, control horn components, etc.) to be sub-standard. I ended up buying my own control surface hardware for piece of mind.
I must give my friend Jaime Solis special mention as he assisted me greatly to finalize the electronics and ‘plumbing’ installation. Jaime has been an aero-modeler for over 40 years and contributes greatly to the hobby passing on knowledge and ‘how to’ advice. Jaime gave the Ultra Stick a good maiden flight and shake-down. The only issue was getting the DLE 30 to idle consistently without quitting. This will take some investigation. The Ultra Stick seems to fly somewhere between a trainer and intermediate 3D airplane. Depending on one’s flying prowess, it probably could do just about anything, from basic Sport flying to heavy 3D.
I’m very pleased with this aircraft so far and would highly recommend it.
Happy Landings,
Mike C.
