Flutter
Most of us are familiar with the term "Flutter". For those of you who aren't, it is when a surface or control surface of an airplane suddenly and often violently vibrates, frequently resulting in a catastrophic failure. However, the more I read and talk to others, the more I realize how little this phenomena is understood. With that in mind, I hope to shed some light on this subject and hopefully, dispel some myths.

Fun with PVC
I was never big on using stands. I've had a few of those Styrofoam things, and I've cut some half-rounds out of a cardboard box or two, but I rarely ever kept one for very long. Then, a few years ago, I bought a plane at an auction that came with a homemade PVC stand. I eventually sold that plane, but the stand was so handy that I held on to it and have been using it regularly ever since

Got Smoke
Lot of folks have asked questions about smoke systems, and after fooling around with them for a few years, I thought I'd let you in on a few of the basics. Maybe it will help you to avoid some of the failures that I have gone through.

Kit Building 101
With the advent of quality ARFs in recent years, we have seen a huge influx of new people to the sport. Inevitably, many of you eventually decide to try your hand at building. Most are very successful while some others are not. Some of the more successful builders choose to build many more kits while others got the building bug out of their system the first time.

The truth of it is, building is not for everyone. When asked, "Is this a hobby or a sport?" my reply is, "Flying is a sport, building is a hobby" and there are many people out there who have neither the time nor patience for a hobby (or find they are lousy builders and would rather collect stamps).

Takes a CLOSER look at CA Hinges!
The very first "How-To" article I did for RCUniverse was on installing CA Hinges. The article was very helpful to many people, but while it showed the proper way to install them, it fell short of explaining what not to do and why.

Therefore, we are going to go a little more in-depth this time and explain the do's and don'ts, the why's and why-not's and hopefully give you a better understanding of just what's going on inside that simple, yet complicated little device.

Lets Talk Tanks
Fuel tanks are one of those things that we veteran fliers usually take for granted, but that can be very frustrating to the beginner, so here is an article that will hopefully answer many of the questions the beginner might have about setting up a tank.

How to Build a Sanding Box
I have always tried to do my major sanding projects outdoors. It always seemed to work out well time-wise in that, I would usually get a new plane for Christmas, and by early spring, when the big sanding jobs came along, the weather would be tolerable. But several things have changed since I lived in New York. For one thing, Minnesota winters are much longer, and nowadays once spring arrives, I'm so busy doing product reviews that my own projects get sidelined until the weather gets cold again.

How should I start out?
One of the questions we hear most often on RCU is, "How should I start out?" We wish there were a simple answer to this, but the fact of the matter is, there are so many different ways that it can boggle the imagination. So, in an attempt to unclutter your mind a little, here are five things for you to consider before purchasing your first or next airplane or piece of equipment.

Goal - Budget - Time - Facilities - Personality

Now let's take a brief look at each item.

Fixing a Leading Edge
Unfortunately, it's not all that uncommon - You were coming in for a landing and clipped a tree, or a pole, or some other obstacle and now your wing has a nasty gash in the leading edge complete with a few broken rib-fronts. Now you're wondering what to do.

Video How to Another Look at Covering
"What's the secret to a good covering job?" That's a question that has been posted many times here at RCU. A few years ago, I did a basic tutorial on covering, but it was just that? Basic. So when it came time to cover a wing I recently finished, I decided to videotape the process to give you a more "In-Depth" look. But first, let's go back to basics.

Balancing Upside Down!
It seems that lately we have been getting a lot of questions asking if it is correct to balance a low wing plane upside-down. The simple answer to this is "Yes", but a more accurate answer would be "Usually, but not necessarily always". Once you understand the basic principle, you'll easily see why.

A beginners guide to Soldering!
Lots of folks at RCU have had questions about soldering, so we thought we'd give you a "How To" on the basics.

Sheeting Repair
If you've never had to cut into a sheeted area of your airplane, consider yourself lucky. But at some point in time, you will probably find it necessary to do so.

Balancing
Lots of you have asked about balancing your airplane. So let's start by answering a few frequent questions, and then we'll show you how it's done.

How to Covering
This seems to be one of those things the sends chills up the spines of people who either have never attempted it, or have attempted it with poor results.

Installing CA Hinges
CA hinges have been the topic of many discussions here at RCU. It seems that everyone has their favorite way to install them, and there are many people who won't use them anymore due to problems they have encountered with them in the past.