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Types of Kits and
Construction There are various ways
to construct and assemble an RC plane. Various kits are
available, requiring different amounts of assembly,
different costs and varying levels of skill and
experience. Kits can be mostly foam or plastic, or may
be all balsa and plywood. Construction of wood kits
typically consists of using formers and longerons for
the fuselage and spars and ribs for the wing and tail
surfaces. Many designs use solid sheets of balsa wood
instead of longerons to form the fuselage sides and may
also use expanded polystyrene for the wing core covered
in a wood veneer, often balsa. Such designs tend to have
to be totally built from scratch, are slightly heavier
and are typically harder to build, if you don’t have any
previous experience. Wood Kits Wood kits come in many
sizes and skill levels. The wood, typically balsa and
light ply, may either be pre-cut with a die-cutter or
laser. Laser cut kits have a much more precise
construction and much tighter tolerances, but tend to
cost more than die-cut kits. Wood kits include the
raw material needed to assemble the air-frame, a
construction manual, and full-size plans. Assembling a
model from plans or a kit can be very labor-intensive.
In order to complete the construction of a model, the
builder typically spends many hours assembling the
air-mainframe, installing the engine and radio
equipment, covering it, sometimes painting it,
installing the control surfaces and push-rods, and
adjusting the control surfaces travels. The kit does not
include necessary tools, so they must be purchased
separately. Care must be taken when building model wood
kits since construction flaws may affect the model's
flying characteristics or even result in structural
failure. If you are interested in this type of
construction and have no experience, I would suggest
getting a small inexpensive kit. Even if you don’t cover
or fly it, it will give you an idea of what it details
and if you have problems with the instructions which in
my experience, can be confusing and not include detailed
information needed. Foam RC Plane Kits The advent of
"Foamies," or craft injection-molded from lightweight
foam and sometimes reinforced with carbon fiber, require
less experience and building skills. EPP (Expanded
Polypropylene) foam planes are actually even bendable
and usually sustain less damage in the event of an
accident. The advantage of Foam planes is that you can
replace selected parts such as wings, body (fuselage) or
other parts easier than wood. Balsa planes usually will
be more labour intensive when a crash happens. Expanded polystyrene
and extruded polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) came to be
used more recently for the construction of the entire
air-mainframe. Depron (the type of foam used for meat
trays) blends rigidity with flexibility, allowing
aircraft to absorb the stress of flying. Polypropylene
(EPP) is an extremely resilient variety of foam, often
used in basic trainers, which take considerable abuse
from beginners. Foam is used either in an injection mold
to make a molded air-frame or is cut out of sheet to
make a built up air-frame similar to some wood
air-frames. "Foamies" allow you to get a plane in the
air a lot faster than wood kits. A higher amount of RC
Planes purchased, are Foamies. They range in
configurations from a box with everything you need to
fly them, to kits that require you to purchase items in
order to complete them. They also cover a broad range of
planes from Trainers, Gliders and even Jets. Manufacturers have been
quick to catch on to this popularity, with foam EP
(electric powered) planes, quickly developing from basic
high wing trainers to very advanced planes and jets with
superb detailing on scale models. Indeed, a big
manufacturing advantage of foam over balsa/ply
construction (other than lower production costs) is that
detailing such as panel lines and rivets can be put in
to the moulds very easily. One downside to foam RC
planes is that any scale appearance is slightly ruined
not only by the obvious texture of the foam surface
itself, but sometimes also by the numerous injection
moulding marks left behind - but neither of these things
are seen when the plane is flying, and in fairness
manufacturers are getting better at hiding both issues! A second, and more
annoying, downside to foam is that, because of its soft
nature, it is easily damaged if handled carelessly.
'Hanger rash' is always an issue with Foamies that are
not well cared for, and if stored and handled without
too much thought then it really doesn't take long for a
new foam plane to start looking old and tired. A high
number of pilots buying Foamies, construct “Wing Socks”
for their removable wings. I use thin foam that is used
for hardwood flooring underlay. I just roll it out, lay
a wing on it and wrap and tape leaving one open end to
insert and remove the wing(s). A third issue with
Foamies, is that the paint doesn’t stick well to the
foam and it doesn’t take long to see wear. I have taken
to clear coating all external parts of any new plane I
purchase, before flying it for the first time. I usually
apply two coats of a good gloss, waiting 24 hours
between coats. While adding further protection against
paint coming off, I find it gives the plane more
reflection while flying and easier to see orientation of
the plane. The following is a
breakdown of kits to aid you in where you want to start.
Keep in mind that no mater which kit your select, you
are going to have to do some assembly due to the fact a
huge box would be needed if things like rudder or
stabilizers came installed on some of the large scale
planes. Almost-Ready-to-Fly
(ARF) RC Planes An ARF is an aircraft
that is "mostly" built with the exception of the main
control and power system electronics. ARF's require you
to purchase primary electronic components separately
(motor, servos, ESC, etc.). ARFs are for hobbyists who
prefer a true build experience and/or prefer to put
their own choice of electronics in the aircraft.
Possibly the user has a different radio than normal and
requires a more compatible Receiver. ARF RC airplanes -
a good intro to model plane construction. ARF's are also
just a nice option if you don't like the idea of
building from a kit. Quality varies between
manufacturers so it's worth doing some serious research
before buying (internet forums, video sites etc.) Requires: servos, ESC,
motor, receiver, battery, charger, and Radio. Apart from the obvious
installation of engine/motor and radio gear, other
things you might need to do to complete an ARF plane
will likely be:
Control surface hinges
in today's ARF kits are typically CA hinges ; the
trailing edge of the flying surface (wing, tail plane,
fin) and leading edge of the corresponding control
surface (aileron, elevator, rudder) will be already
slotted and you just need to glue the hinge in place
with thin cyanoacrylate glue (use thin Cyanoacrylate glue only).
It's a quick and easy job, you simply slide the dry
hinge into its slot and put a few drops of the glue onto
it. The material the hinge is made of means the thin
glue wicks (soaks) into the hinge and surrounding balsa,
fixing the hinge securely in place. A comprehensive
instruction manual should come with the kit, to give you
step-by-step instructions aided by clear photographs. So
even if you have no or little modelling experience, you
should be in with a fair chance of completing your ARF
successfully by reading through and carefully following
the manual.
Plug-N-Play™ (PNP)
RC Planes Although the term “plug and play” is used as a very generic term for many different products these days, in this context the names 'Plug-N-Play' and 'PNP' are trademarks registered to Illinois-based RC product distributor Horizon Hobby.
A Plug-N-Play electric
RC airplane has the motor, ESC (Electronic Speed
Control) and servos installed but is missing the Radio,
receiver and motor battery pack & charger. In other
words, the airplane comes 99% assembled just like an RTF
one does, but you need to supply your own Radio,
receiver and battery pack. In recent years there
has been a huge increase in the number of manufacturers,
many located in the Far East, supplying RC planes with
power-train components but without radio gear, and such
aircraft are now widely available. You might also see
the term Receiver Ready which is also widely used to
describe plug and play airplanes. Plug and play RC planes
are a great option, and with some careful shopping
around for the receiver and battery pack they can be
better value than a RTF package. Even better, if you
already have some spare receivers and flight packs
kicking about the workshop, then a PNP airplane is
without doubt your cheapest option if you do want an
RTF-based plane. Bind-N-Fly (BNF)
RC Planes You've more than likely
seen the terms Bind-N-Fly or BNF if you've been looking
around at RC airplanes or helicopters to buy, but what
do the terms mean? The name Bind-N-Fly
is a registered trademark name for a type of plane and
helicopter category sold by the radio control
distributing giant Horizon
Hobby, and the aircraft mainly come from the
Park Zone, Hobby Zone and E-flite ranges. Essentially, BNF
In other words, a BNF
model aircraft is closer to an RTF one than a PNP one in
terms of what you get in the box - you only need a
DSM2/DSMX compatible Radio and battery pack to complete
it and get flying. Bind-N-Fly RC planes
and helicopters are an excellent product and given that
2.4GHz Radios are now common place, it stands to reason
that more folks are being attracted to BNF aircraft.
As with a typical Ready
To Fly RC airplane or helicopter there's not
much to do to the model other than some very final
assembly work and to bind the receiver to your own
Radio. Once this process is complete, usually a few
seconds later, you're good to go. The binding of receiver to Radio is a fundamental part of flying on a 2.4GHz system, the process enables the Rx (receiver) and Tx (transmitter) to lock together to form the impenetrable signal that has made spectrum radio systems so reliable. The binding process varies slightly between manufacturers but it's a simple process that is quickly done.
The Spektrum binding
process should be carried out as per your Tx and plane
instruction manuals, but essentially it involves
inserting the supplied bind plug (shown below) into the
appropriate receiver slot, powering up the receiver and
then switching on your Tx while
activating the bind function.
The Tx and Rx will
then communicate with each other and bind after a few
seconds; successful binding is indicated by the flashing
orange LED on the Rx turning to a solid illumination.
Once bound, you shouldn't need to do it again for that
model although you can re-bind the two components at any
time, for whatever reasons. During the binding process the receiver learns the Global Unique Identifier code (GUID) that was programmed in to the Radio during manufacture. There are 4.2 billion code combinations possible and this is one of the reasons why spectrum RC technology is so secure.
Incidentally, when you
bind your BNF aircraft it's very important to have all
the Radio sticks and trims in their neutral positions,
and more importantly to have any motor power fail-safe
setting set; common practice is to have the throttle
stick and trim fully down when you bind. By doing this
the motor will automatically power down if the RF link
is lost between Tx and Rx whilst flying. You should always check
your fail-safe before flight. Power up the RC plane as
normal and apply some power to the motor (always
restrain the plane first), and then turn off the Radio -
if the fail-safekeeping is correctly set then the motor
will stop as soon as the radio link between Tx and Rx is
lost. The essential
difference between PNP and BNF is that a Bind-N-Fly
(also a trademark name of Horizon Hobby) plane comes
with a DSM2/DSMX receiver installed. In other words, you
need a compatible Radio to fly a BNF RC airplane -
namely a Spektrum one. Since a Plug-N-Play RC plane
comes with no receiver installed, you are free to fit
whichever Rx you prefer and so are not tied to any
particular brand. Ready-to-Fly (RTF)
RC Planes In the radio control
flying hobby the abbreviation RTF stands for Ready To
Fly and RTF RC airplanes offer the beginner the easiest,
quickest and often cheapest option for getting started
in this exhilarating pastime. Ready To Fly planes can
be IC powered (internal combustion e.g. glow plug) or,
more commonly, EP (electric power). They can be
traditional balsa/ply construction or, more commonly,
foam. Whatever they are, they
need no
construction or installation work done to them to get
them flying, only some very basic final assembly stuff
such as attaching the wing to the fuselage and fixing
the tail plane and landing gear in place. Essentially,
anything that makes the plane difficult to put in a box
at the factory is left off for you to fit at home,
otherwise the plane is complete.
RTF RC airplanes have
introduced thousands of people to the hobby of radio
control flying, as they have become increasingly widely
available, affordable and popular. The completeness of
electric RTF RC airplanes means that the only thing left
for the buyer to get are the batteries for the Radio,
but there are manufacturers that offer a complete one
box purchase that includes the batteries. Park Zone and
Hobby Zone are good examples. Non-foam RTF RC
Planes While the majority of
RTF's are electric powered planes, as previously
mentioned there are also traditional balsa/ply and IC
powered ones available. But the balsa/ply RTF market is
a very limited one and if you're looking for a specific
plane then you might be out of luck. The choice of ARF
RC airplanes is much larger for traditionally
built model planes.
One thing to note about
RTF kits, the Radio that is included, is a very basic,
entry level Radio. There are several problems with these
radios. First, they do not come equipped with a built-in
telemetry feature (LCD display) which can give you
real-time information on things like battery voltage,
signal quality, motor temperature and more. Second, they
do not do a Buddy Box connection without special
software, cables and software configuring. Third, they
are limited by the number of channels, usually four to
six. And finally, they do not accept an SD Card which is
used to install updates and load Plane models.. As you advance your
skills and purchase more planes, you are going to need a
radio with at least eight channels. This allows you to
fly planes that have a retractable landing gear and/or
ability to drop objects such as bombs or toy
parachutists. Four, they do not allow you to switch to different planes easily. The radio
that usually is included in a RTF is the Spectrum DXe
found here.
A popular radio is the Spectrum DX8e 8 channel here
or the Spectrum DX8 8 channel here. Go to the next chapter Understanding RC Plane controls/surfaces |
