Category Archives: Building

A flying … me? RCFlyGuy build thread

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Mark

In the quest for something a little different, I came upon these Depron kits from Hoosier Cutout Service. You can download plans for free and cut your own, but I opted for the laser cut kit to save me all … Continue reading →

Posted in Build Threads, Building, Custom & Modified, R/C Planes | Leave a comment

“Bipie” build thread

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Mark

Based on the “Bipie” plans from RCGroups, this little guy will have an 18″ wingspan and be built from a single sheet of Dollar Tree foam board. I’m hoping to use the guts from an E-flite UMX Gee Bee to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biplanes & Triplanes, Build Threads, Building, Custom & Modified, Scratch Built | 1 Comment

Computing Surface area with Photoshop

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Mark

Computing the area of a plane’s wings can be complicated, involving lots of geometry and assorted arithmetic. This method requires none of those, beyond some very simple multiplication, and handles any shape, no matter how convoluted. Here’s how it works: … Continue reading →

Posted in Building, FAQs and Tips | 1 Comment

Custom tool – screw eye driver

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Mark

I’ve used tiny, brass-plated screw eyes on several of my planes. The eye gives me a nice anchor point for flying wires. However, they are a major PITA to screw in and out of the struts. Frustrated with turning them … Continue reading →

Posted in Building, Equipment | Leave a comment

OrangeRx Stabilizer V2 – Delta Wing Setup

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Mark

I’ve spent hours fighting with the HobbyKing RX3S OrangeRX 3-Axis flight stabilizer. I just could not get the gyros running in the right direction. Well, I think I’ve finally solved it. My current testbed for the gyro is the SnowDragon wing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Building, Custom & Modified, Gyros | Comments Off

Fixing a foamie – putting Pierre’s Tiger Moth back together

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Mark

I fly a lot, therefore I crash a lot. Not all the time; the overwhelming majority of my RC flights are without serious incident. But sometimes, you’re gonna lose one. I thought I’d dedicate a post to the repair process. … Continue reading →

Posted in Building, Crashes | Leave a comment

Snowdragon – Coroplast / fanfold KF hybrid build

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Mark

A friend of mine ran for Senate this year (and almost won!) I collected a few yard signs at the end of his campaign with the idea of building something out of them. I thought about a Nutball or a Funbat, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Build Threads, Building, Custom & Modified, Flying Wings, R/C Planes | 1 Comment

Coroplast vs. Dollar Tree foamboard vs. Dow blue fanfold foam (FFF)

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Mark

I’m starting a build using Coroplast election signs and, man, does this stuff feel heavy. I compared it to a sheet of Dollar Tree foamboard with its paper on and confirmed that, sure enough, Coroplast’s more than twice as heavy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Building, FAQs and Tips, Scratch Built | 1 Comment

The Arlene Turner Memorial Moth build

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Mark

The GWS Tiger Moth 400 was the first plane I built. My original Moth still flies and looks great, but I’ve decided to give it another go and see if two years of building and flying experience can’t produce an … Continue reading →

Posted in Biplanes & Triplanes, Build Threads, Building, Custom & Modified | 1 Comment

Sporty Little Plane – from concept to reality.

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Mark

I finished the initial building phase on my Sporty Little Plane and thought I’d compare it back to my initial concept renders, done in modo. Pretty close.

Posted in Building, Custom & Modified, My Planes, R/C Planes, Scratch Built | Leave a comment

Building an FPV setup

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Mark

I’ve wanted to do FPV since before I even got into RC so, when I won some money at a local casino, I invested it in the following equipment: 600TVL SONY SUPER HAD CCD Camera Bluebeam Whip antenna set FatShark … Continue reading →

Posted in Build Threads, Building, FPV | Leave a comment

Twin Funbat Build

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Mark

I am building recently finished a matched pair of combat planes, based on the Funbat plans from Bloody Mick’s. I made a silly mistake with the first plane, cutting the wing way too long. I had to excise a section to … Continue reading →

Posted in Build Threads, Building, Combat, Custom & Modified, R/C Planes, Scratch Built | 1 Comment