Huge F4U Corsair RC Plane over the Swiss Alps

A cool clip with a really nice warbird.

How To Make Remote Control Model Planes Using Foam Boards

Making RC model airplanes using light-weight foam boards can be a rewarding hobby. The foam-centered boards can be easily cut into complex shapes that can then be glued into the desired model. Paper-faced foam core boards can be substituted for the uncoated Depron type of board. The paper coating can easily be stripped from the foam but it is often better to leave the coating as it makes a great surface to paint onto.

The steps to making a foam model plane are as follows.

Firstly, obtain a design from a reputable designer. You can find a number of different designs available on the Internet or design your own airplane on a sheet of paper so that you can later transfer the design to the flat foam sheets. It helps when starting out to use a design that has been made and tested by other modelers as they will have figured out the balance and the cutting steps.


Secondly, transfer the design to the foam board sheet that you want to cut. The most popular thickness of sheet is quarter inch or 6mm. If you have down-loaded the design you can easily scale the pattern by printing out the design on your computer's printer. If you need to print the design on one large sheet you can always use the services of a print shop or office stationery supplier who provides a copy service.

The printed design can be fixed in place temporarily using spray adhesive applied to the back of the plans or by taping the sections down in the waste areas.

The third step is to carefully cut out the pieces of foam board using a sharp scalpel, craft knife or specialist foam board cutting tool. Each of the tools has different advantages and disadvantages.

The snap-off craft knife has great strength and is good for straight cutting but due to its blade width is not suited to cutting smaller curved shapes.

The scalpel is ideal for cutting smaller pieces and curves but it often requires frequent blade changes to keep it cutting cleanly. It can also be quite tiring to use due to the design of the handle and the pressure required to keep the blade on the line you want to cut.

Specialist tools, like Foamwerks range of cutters, have several advantages that include ergonomic handles which make them comfortable to use, correct blade angles that give clean cuts and they have different blades available for cutting intricate curves. Foamwerks tools also have adjustable depth settings making them useful for scoring operations as well a full cutting. They can also be coupled with a rail that has a guide track for straight cutting.

Once you have cut out all your pieces you can assemble them into your model airplane.

Gluing the sections together in sequence is made easier by using a hot glue gun. The glue is easily applied and quick to set making the assembly process faster than if you use a wet or contact type adhesive.

You can use rubber bands and various tapes to hold the sections in place.

Ailerons and flaps can be jointed using different tapes. Duct tape is strong and flexible for these applications.

Many designs require the addition of a carbon rod or tube to add strength across the wings. These rods can be taped and glued into place.

Most designs have areas within the fuselage to facilitate the installation of the control unit, battery pack and motor. Access to these areas is usually through sections that have been scored and hinged allowing you to fold back the opening to insert the components.

You can get the components as separate items from a modeling supplier or a simple way to obtain all the required items is to buy a complete kit. Sometimes purchasing a complete kit for making an RC plastic model airplane can be more economical than buying components individually. When you get a pre-assembled kit you can see how some of the controls are connected and this can save you time when trying to figure out how to do it yourself. It is a simple process to gut the model plane kit and transfer the necessary pieces to your foam plane.

When you get more serious you can purchase a better controller with more options and you can get higher end motors and battery packs but when you are starting out the pre-assembled kits can help make things easier.

A good tip is to test fly your model plane before applying any decorations to it as often your early efforts can result is crashes and failures which can totally or partially destroy your model. Once you have the design working and flying successfully you can decorate the foam board plane with acrylic paint and decals to suit.

Foam board makes an excellent economical modeling material that you can easily shape into different models.

Flying Radio Controlled Airplanes Basics

Flying RC airplanes is exciting. Lots of people imagine flying RC planes but resist the urge as they feel that it is an expensive hobby. With leaps in RC model plane technology this is no longer the case as they are becoming much lighter faster and more agile and they have come down in costs quite a bit from their predecessors. If you talk with any enthusiast they will talk about the thrill of racing their plane at high speeds around a field on a summer day pulling off all kinds of stunts and tricks that they have practiced.

You will want to pick a plane that is at your skill level as the basic airplanes have controls that are very forgiving these days and will be able to correct themselves by levelling out if you release the controls or if the motor stalls this way you won't easily be able to wreck your aircraft before you get the hang of the controls. The more advanced planes don't have this auto correction feature but will allow for greater control over the airplanes direction in flight and allow for more stunt flying than a beginner plane but is harder to control. Make sure to master the basics before choosing a more advanced plane.


The planes that are produced these days come in two styles. One is RTF which means ready to Fly and BNF which means Bind to Fly. If you are purchasing a RTF plane then it means that it comes with everything you need to be able to fly the plane in one box including the hand remote control and even batteries. If you are purchasing a BNF plane then it means that you should already have the hand controller and all you need to do is sync the plane or bind the plane to your current controller and you will be ready to fly the BNF plane. If you are just starting out then look for a RTF (Ready to Fly) plane as this will give you all the equipment you will need to fly your plane in one box and when you are looking for more advanced planes you can look for BNF (Bind to Fly) planes and you can save yourself some money as you will already have the batteries and hand control unit already to go.

The other great thing about RC planes today is that you are able to fly them in relatively small areas such as your living room or backyard without having to worry about wrecking the plane or your indoor furniture as most RC planes are made out of light weight foam which means you won't have to worry wrecking your plane if you accidentally crash it into the ground.

Choosing Your First Remote Control Plane

First off, I would like to say congratulations to you, because you have chosen to embrace one of the most rewarding and exciting hobbies around - piloting radio controlled (RC) airplane.

To fly radio controlled airplanes was something we had always wanted probably since the time we first saw an RC plane model back when we were kids. Watching veteran pilots control their airborne models flawlessly really inspires new pilots, but it requires more than inspiration to be good at this hobby. The learning curve is very steep, especially at the beginning. So in order to get started, you need a good and suitable beginner plane that was designed for beginners.


Two most important criteria for a beginner plane are: 1. its durability 2. its flight stability. As you might already know, flying RC plane requires a lot of trial and error when you're just getting started. Crashings and hard landings are absolutely normal during the first flights, especially during take off and landing. You don't want a plane that breaks from just a couple of hard landings, because this will cost you a lot of time and money where you should be spending them on learning the basics of flight instead. Choose a very durable and sturdy plane and you'll save a lot of time, effort and money repairing and searching for spare parts.

Beginner planes need to have very good flight stability because this will facilitate the training itself in so many ways. Learning to control the elevator, rudder and aileron can be tough at the beginning. Even real life pilots have difficulties controlling their RC plane's direction because they are so used to being in the plane instead. So in order to facilitate this learning phase, a very slow and stable flying plane is the way to go. Leave the faster planes for later on when you have mastered the controls. because you will learn the flight basics much faster with the slower ones.

Stall Recovery of a Remote Controlled Airplane

The only way to recover from a stall is to get the Angle of Attack (A o A) lower than the critical angel.

Since the elevator controls the (A o A), you have to push forward on the elevator (forward on the stick). This is especially difficult to do during a landing approach whether you are flying a real aircraft or even a remote controlled airplane.

If you see your plane heading towards the ground your first reaction will be to pull back but that will only ensure that your aircraft will just keep stalling.

The best way to avoid this is to get to know your airplane and its stall characteristics.

Radio Controlled Airplanes: The Guide For The Complete Beginners

Radio controlled airplanes for beginners are your best bet if you want to learn how to fly one. But looking for one can be frustrating and exciting at the same time. You will be faced with tons of designs and colors to choose from. You need to have a lot of patience with when shopping for one because all these choices can really get confusing sometimes.

To help you out in searching for the right radio controlled airplane to start with, we have a few suggestions that you might want to consider. To get the perfect one for you, here are some tips on choosing your beginner radio controlled airplane.


Getting the plane

The best one to get if you are a noob would be radio controlled airplanes that are sold ready to fly. These are good for absolute beginners who have no experience in assembling one from scratch although some might come with minor assembly. Most of these types of planes would only need a fresh new set of batteries for you to start taking it for a spin. When you get better at flying and would want to buy a more advanced radio controlled airplane, you can go for the ones which you build from scratch. These are sold in different sets and will allow for more customization. Ultimately the choice will be yours but for starts go for a ready to fly kit.

Getting the RC

Another thing to consider when buying a radio controlled airplane for the first time would be choosing the remote control. First off, you might want to think about how much control you want over the plane. If you just plan on letting your RC plane take off and fly around a couple of times, you can go for the 2 channel controller. This is great for beginners since it's easy to master and you can really get good at flying a radio controlled airplane in no time. However if you are planning some high-flying, dare-devil stunts; you'll need a controller with at least 3-4 channels. This may not be the easiest controller to master, but it gives you a whole lot of control over your plane compared to a 2 channel controller.

Making sure its durable

It's understandable for a beginner to crash a plane once or twice, so to help you with added expense on repairs or what not, go for planes that are really sturdy and durable. It is not advisable to go for light wood made planes like balsa wood If you are an in-experienced flyer. Go for radio controlled airplanes that are made of foam like EPP or expanded polypropylene plastic. There are other types of foam that are light and durable and will surely help you cut down on repair costs.

Bottom line

So the bottom line is to have fun. Choose the right plane and enjoy fling it. Don't be discourage if you crash your plane every now and then and just learn from whatever mistake you made to crash your plane. It's also a good idea to join clubs where you get to enjoy flying and learning to fly with a group.

While this article may have helped you a lot in getting started with your hobby, this should not be the only focus of your research. There are a lot more sources of information that you can gather online. Read more articles about RC airplanes or reviews for to know everything there is to know about it before actually buying one.

Radio Control Airplanes - (ARF) Versus (RC Kit)

Flying model airplanes is something I have enjoyed for most of my life. Like a lot of folks my age, I got started in the hobby as a kid flying control-line airplanes. My first aircraft was a Cox PT-19 .049 flight trainer. It was heavy and didn't fly very well, but I loved it. After the Cox was damaged beyond repair, my dad took me to a real hobby shop where we picked out my first kit. My father was a model airplane enthusiast from way back. In those days, they built all of their models from kits. Prefabricated ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) models were not even available at that time. So, from the beginning, I had to learn to build airplanes before I got a chance to fly them.

Years later, I began flying radio control. I started with a 2 meter glider, then moved on to powered flight. The first ARF type of plane I purchased was a Duraplane Aerobat 40. It was supposed to be nearly indestructible. I did eventually manage to destroy it, however. It was heavy and had to be flown at a high rate of speed. What I learned early on is that these prefabricated ARF planes were convenient, but they were a bit heavy and didn't fly as well as my kit built planes.


The same is true today. The best flying aircraft is one that is built strong, light and true. The old saying goes "build light-flies right" and "build straight-flies great". When you purchase an ARF or a RTF (Ready To Fly) R/C airplane today, you are most likely purchasing a product that was slapped together in some factory in China as quickly as possible, using the cheapest parts and supplies to get the job done. Admittedly, some ARFs are better than others, but even the good ones do not compare with the quality of a materials you will find in a reputable RC kit.

Unfortunately, the finished cost of a kit built plane versus a pre-built aircraft is about the same. Because you can purchase a good .40 size RC trainer kit for around $75, it may lead you to believe that it is more economical than purchasing a similar type of ARF plane for somewhere in the market of $110. What you should consider is that you may still have to purchase a fuel tank, wheels, wheel collars, fuel tubing, adhesives, covering material and other items that are not included in your RC kit. Most of the good RC kits will list the required items to finish the job. This alone is enough to steer some folks who are eager to get in the air toward purchasing an AFR or RTF type of plane. Why would you want to purchase something that will take days or weeks to build if it cost about the same as a pre-built aircraft?

The answer for me is simply the enjoyment of the building process. If you like tinkering or using your hands to make things, then you will probably love building an aircraft from an RC kit. But if you are hesitant to attempt to build anything after the disaster with the particle board entertainment center your wife brought home from Wal-mart for you to assemble, give yourself a break. The plans that come in the good kits are usually full-size and very well written. Most folks are at the average skill-level and will do fine building from a kit.

I also realize some people just don't have any desire to build a plane from a box of parts and pieces. That's ok. Building an aircraft from a set of plans and a box of assorted balsa and plywood can seem a bit daunting. And, if this is your first time building an RC kit, you may also have to purchase some building materials and tools which will again bring the cost of the plane up. These are all good things to consider. The nice thing about tools however, is that you get to keep them for the next project! .

Also, if you enjoy learning all of the intricacies of your chosen hobby, you should consider building from a kit. I have learned a great deal about aircraft design, building techniques and aerodynamics by assembling my own aircraft. If you are just getting into flying RC airplanes, then the knowledge, skills and ability you gain from building your own aircraft will be invaluable. I would also like to suggest that folks who bought an ARF for their first and/or second aircraft, consider building an RC kit for their next project. It really does take you to a higher level of the hobby. Once you have built a few kits, you will find yourself making slight modifications to personalize or improve your aircraft. You will borrow design ideas from one set of plans and apply them to another. Or you may try something completely different altogether..

I used the (TLAR) design model to make my early aircraft design modifications. Which is a very precise and intricate method that stands for (That Looks About Right)! The first time I tried my hand at modifying a plane was when I found the wing of a crashed glider in the woods near my house. I guess I was about 15 years old at the time. I took a couple of feet of the wing of the crashed glider and attached a solid balsa fuselage to it. Next I added a motor mount, tail feathers and then installed an extra bell crank I had from a previous crashed model. I strapped a .049 motor on it, cranked it up and I was in business! Granted, building a control-line model from scratch is much easier than a RC airplane, but I was still proud of my creation.

The first time I made a modification to a RC airplane was also memorable experience. It was on my .40 size trainer. I had already learned to fly and had moved on to a more aerobatic aircraft. So the trainer had been sitting in the hanger for a while. Then one day, my friend asked me to teach him how to fly. I hadn't really considered myself an instructor, but I was eager to have a buddy to fly with. These were also the days before I had joined a flying club.

So I dusted off the trainer and took my buddy to a large, empty soccer complex to give him his first flight lesson. He learned very quickly and after flying for a while, we received some attention from the neighborhood kids. This was a fairly normal occurrence. I have always enjoyed the way model airplanes attract children. I guess it reminds me of when I was a kid. In fact, if I have a buddy-box hooked up, I usually allow one or two of the kids to fly for a bit at a decent altitude! On this particular day, one of the more creative kids asked, "Hey Mister, can your plane drop bombs?" Of course I answered no, but the kid inside me thought, "Now that would be cool!"

When I got back home, I couldn't stop thinking about that kid's question. My creative juices started flowing, and soon I found myself out in the garage dismantling my airplane. I used the knowledge about aircraft design I had gained from kit building to decide on the best place to carry an additional payload. Of course it only made sense to place it over the center of gravity. That way it wouldn't be nose-heavy or tail-heavy. If I kept it balanced, I felt that the added weight wouldn't affect the flight characteristics as much. However to my dismay, the receiver, servos, landing gear and battery where already crowded over the center of gravity. So, to make a space for my intended bomb-bay, I had to move the receiver and servo locations toward the rear of the craft. I also had to move the battery forward and then add a small amount of nose weight to keep the plane balanced. The landing gear had to stay put. It really wasn't that hard.

The next step was to design a hinged door that would open and close via a servo using the extra channel on my 6 channel radio. Voila! The result was a remote control bomb bay that was large enough to fit a grade-AA extra large chicken egg. It worked beautifully! However, we soon had to abandon the "egg-bomb" idea. It ended up being a bit too destructive. It's amazing what a silly, little egg can do to the hood of a 1972 Dodge Dart from an altitude of a couple hundred feet! Yikes! So, I switched to paratroopers and the kids liked that even better!

I have really enjoyed building and flying model airplanes through the years. The majority of the aircraft I have built and flown have been from RC kits. But I believe the pinnacle of every kit builders career, is when you design and build your first aircraft from scratch, without a set of purchased plans. Scratch-building has turned out to be the most fun and challenging part of the hobby for me. I have learned how to cut my own foam wing cores, boost the power of my engines and make airplane parts from the most unlikely and ordinary items. Talk about being frugal. The last airplane I created cost me all of $20 to build and flew like a bat-out-of-hell!

Although I could probably write a whole book on scratch building, the scope of this article is to discuss the pros and cons of building an airplane from an RC kit as opposed to buying an ARF or a RTF. So, here goes!

The pros are: you will learn a great deal more about the aircraft you are flying, you will learn more about aerodynamics and aviation, you will learn how to modify and improve existing designs, and you may possibly discover a whole new facet of the hobby of RC aircraft to enjoy. The cons are: you may end up spending more money on tools and supplies initially, you will take more time in the workshop before you have an air-worthy ship to fly, and building an aircraft from an RC kit does require a basic level of skill.

The fact is, building airplanes from scratch or from an RC kit is not for everyone. If you are just starting out and are eager to get in the air, then perhaps an ARF trainer would be a better choice for your first plane. If you just don't have the extra time to dedicate to the hobby right now, then an RTF or ARF might suit you better. But please keep in mind, at some point in the hobby you may want to reconsider building a model airplane from an RC kit. For me, there is a wonderful sense of accomplishment and a feeling of pride when I stand back and admire a newly completed aircraft that has been built from scratch or from a kit. In fact, it is fair to say that I enjoy building just as much as flying. And that's the truth.