This item is discontinued.

GREAT PLANES LIL' POKE PARK FLYER
PRODUCT REVIEW
by Fred Sanford

Specifications:
Wingspan-36"
Wing Area-346 square inches
Weight Ready to Fly-12.5-14.5 ounces (As tested: 14.4 ounces)
Wing Loading-5.2-6.0 ounces/square foot
Equipment Used In The Review Model:
Servos- Hobbico CS-5 Nano Servo
Receiver-Hitec 555
ESC-ElectriFly C-5 Nano
Motor-T-280 7.2-9.6V
Pinion- 9T
Gearbox-5:1 ElectriFly
Prop Adapter- 3 mm
Prop-APC 10 X 4.7 Slo Flyer
Battery-8 cell 350 mAh NiCD-ElectriFly
Charger-ElectriFly Peak Charger
Covering-CoverLite Iron-On Tissue

Introduction:
As the park flyer category of model airplanes continues to dominate the development of elctric flight, it's no surprise Great Planes offers another tempting model! Following on the very popular SloPoke series, Great Planes has provided us with a "Poke" suitable for park flying. Designed by Ernest LeClair, the 36" Li'l Poke features a lightweight balsa airframe with a four channel option. A tail dragger, the landing gear is secured with rubber bands allowing for less than perfect landings. The distinctive lines cannot be mistaken for anything other than a SloPoke. Let's take a look at this unique park flyer and see what is involved in adding it to your fleet.

The Kit:
When you open the box you won't be disappointed! The usual Great Planes quality is there beginnng with the 23 page instruction manual. The manual is extremely complete and includes excellent photographs.

The balsa quality is good and all appropriate parts are laser cut. This is a builder's kit and requires a significant amount of time to construct. While it is not a difficult kit to construct, it just takes some time. Balsa wood sides are small and thin requiring careful handling. The structure is designed to be very light and strong. The bare airframe less covering is 4 ounces! The clarity of plans, instructions and assembly photos are the best I've seen in over 40 years of modeling. I used Great Planes CoverLite for covering. This covering material requires care when applying. Covering iron temperature is very important. The material must be applied without wrinkles, as it shrinks very little and appears to shrink in only one direction. Wingtips and the Li'l Poke's turtle deck are covered with separate pieces between the formers. When covering the nose, the material must be slit in 1/8" segments. I used Coverlite Balsarite for adhesive which I thinned about 25%. If you decide to use this covering instead of a lightweight film it would be a good idea to practice using it on some scrap framework first in order to gain some proficiency. I used a blue and yellow color scheme similar to the old Army Air Corp training aircraft adding decorative self stick star decals on the wing tips and used light weight red and white sign vinyl for the rudder. Ready to fly weight came out at 14.4 ounces.

For equipment we used Hobbico components with the exception of the receiver,they matched the airframe as recommended and were pre-wired with connectors making installation extremely easy. We really like the C-5 ESC and CS-5 Nano servos and have used them in several other projects without any problems whatsoever. The 280 motor even comes prewired with capacitors and connector!

Flying:
Although this kit requires some skill in building, you will be happy to know the reward is in the flying of the Li'l Poke! From its first take-off, the plane has been a pure joy to fly. Take-offs are easy due to the effective rudder. Although it has a tail skid you can taxi easily. (I added a wire cap on the balsa skid as it began to wear quickly.) The plane flies easily at 1/2 to 2/3 throttle. This cutie is very controllable using only rudder and elevator but I'm happy I installed the third servo for aileron control. Coordinated turns with aileron and rudder are a real blast! With coordinated aileron and rudder the Li'l Poke turns on a dime. Incidentally, the Li'l Poke flies just fine on rudder and elevator if you decide not to install the aileron option. Although the Li'l Poke isn't designed for aerobatics, you can coax a loop or roll with a little build up of speed. When it comes time to land, you'll love the slow approach you can maintain with a little power on. Wheel landings and touch and goes are a snap. I've flown the Li'l Poke indoors at a golf dome in St. Paul, MN. As most readers know 280 sized models are at the limit of most indoor sites with the exception of field houses. The Li'l Poke flew well inside even though I was in a constant turn.

Summary:
The Great Planes Li'l Poke is a unique park flyer that features excellent flying qualities. The plane is well mannered in all respects. The option of aileron control adds a new dimension for most airplanes in this category. Because some skill is required in the building, this is one park flyer you don't have to worry about everyone having at the park or field! The availability of ElectriFly components can make the equipment installation "plug and play". This is a perfect choice of model for the park flyer enthusiast that has flown a model or two and wants to take a "step up".