weavermonkey

Hello there,

ever since ive been little i remember my dad being obsessed with planes, especially rc planes. Due to a very small income he hasnt been able to live his dream of building and flyign hsi own rc plane.
Now we have grown up and he doesn't have such a large exdpenditure, i think it's time he got what he wanted!

Do you guys know of any "Build your own rc plane" kits?

also im from across the pond ! (england)

Thanks in advance!
Ian

aerowoof

there are all kinds.if He is going to fly them as well,his first project should be a trainer.then size is a consideration but a .40 size is the most popular.A good flying trainer from norteast aerodynamics is called the Trainaire 40,easy to build on a flat surface and easy to fly.There are others from Sig,Great Planes,Top-Flite but having flown most as an instructor from a goldberg falcon 56,h and s rays,kadets,aerostars,eagles etc I think this is one of the best with a semi symetrical airfoil it will not ballon like flat bottomed trainers,it will penetrate the wind well and be somewhat aerobatic after learning to fly.

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

There are litterally hundreds of kits on the market. I would have to agree with aerowoof that he should start & learn to fly with a traditional High-Wing Trainer. The Senior Telemaster is reputed to be a great Trainer kit build. It is a very large plane with a 95" wingspan, yet it is still light enough to actually fly well with a 46 size engine. It will also handle a 60 size engine well. This would be my choice for this plane. They claim that nothing flies like a Telemaster. I have never flown one personally but I know it is a time proven airplane with great reviews. The large wingspan alone tells me it would be a great Trainer to learn on. As we get on in years our eyes aren't what they used to be.[&:] The one thing that I did have problems with when learning to fly with a 46 size Trainer was getting disoriented if the plane got too far away from me. It was hard for me to see sometimes on the downwind leg, & a 46 size Trainer is a fairly good size airplane. A Senior Telemaster done up in a bright color scheme would be easily seen from a great distance. The color scheme in this pic of it doesn't do it any justice but since it is a kit & not an ARF he could cover it in any color he likes.

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/srtele.htm


That is just one option to look at from many many choices to choose from. Good luck!

BobFE

I have personally built the SIG LT-40. I have nothing but good things to say about this plane. My wife bought it for me for Christmas one year. I'd never built one before, in fact I was a complete newbie. It took me about a month or so to build. It was easy. The plans are easy to follow and have pictures to show you exactly what you need to do. They even give you step by step covering instructions. This plane will also fly well on a .40 or .46 size engine.

This is one of the bigger 40 size trainers (71 in wingspan) and is really easy to see in the sky. Just remember to make the design on the top of the wing different from the bottom of the wing. A good plane to look for kits is www.towerhobbies.com. You can find just about everything you need to get started.

carrellh

Just Engines is a UK company that sells engines and engine parts. They have links on their site to companies in the modeling industry; many located in the UK

http://www.justengines.unseen.org/links.htm

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

There are MANY kits out there to choose from.

I suggest the following:

1. Get an instructor. It will make learning substantially easier AND less expensive

2. Your first plane should be a high wing trainer.

3. When you build a plane you have a good amount of emotion built into your "labor of love". Since a trainer is designed to learn on AND will get beat up, damaged, etc, I strongly suggest an ARF for the 1st plane and a kit built plane for the 2nd (and later planes).

The advantage to the ARF is:

Minimal emotional attachment in the event (actually, when) the plane gets damaged.

You do not have to worry about accidently building in a warp or building something
incorrectly (gluing the wrong piece at the wrong time or in the wrong place - don't
ask me how I know about this)

Light planes fly better than heavy planes. Just starting out, it is very unlikely that
you can build a plane as light as an ARF, much less do as nice a covering job. Both
take a few planes to properly master.

Once he knows how to fly, all the equipment can be switched over to the kit built
plane, and since he knows how to fly now, there is a substantially less chance of
damaging his "labor of love"