Building Remote Control Airplanes That Rock

There is no more exciting experience than having a bunch of parts built together into a flying remote control airplane - especially if you do it all yourself. Of course building an RC model is more involved than building most of the other types of model airplanes - probably only the scale models can beat them.

Most hobbyists don't really build remote control airplanes from scratch. It's too hard because of the electronics needed. Of course if you are a radio enthusiast or an engineer you may have the chance to create the remote control system yourself, but most people won't do it.

That's why there are kits. In fact before almost-ready-to-fly and ready-to-fly model airplanes appeared, all the RC models were sold only like that - in kit form.

Types of Kits
All kits are similar - they contain parts which you should build together. What is different is the material of the parts. One of the best choices is wood - usually balsa which is light and strong.

Nowadays materials like plastic, fibreglass and foam are getting more popular. I have yet to see a kit with metal parts, but some very light metal could be a good option.

When choosing a kit, check out how it is cut. The laser-cut kits are easy to assemble and the models created from them are precious. Other types of kits are machine cut and die cut. Such are usually the wood kits and they may require some additional work on your side before you can assemble the plane.

The tools required
Some easy laser-cut plastic kits do not require any tools except a turnscrew and some glue. You may need quite small and precious turnscrew however, especially for the electronics and the engine.

If you work with machine-cut or die-cut wooden parts you will need sandpaper to fine the corpse, wings and other parts.

The glue is often included in the kits but if it is not or if you have to buy additional, pick appropriate glue for your materials. The carpenter's yellow glue is best for wood, while silicone or canopy glue are better for plastic and fibreglass kits.

At the end you will want to paint your remote control airplane. The plastic kits often come already painted, but that's never the case with wood. Before painting you may want to apply a technique called dry-brushing. It creates a realistically looking model airplanes. Sometimes dry brushing and painting are the most important things to do if you want your airplane to look good.

Of course the most important characteristic of the remote controlled airplanes is that they can fly and that you can control their flight. So when finishing your kit you must be careful not to disturb some of the fine details of the electronics or the engine.