i was looking at getting an glow powered arf sometime in the future. I have 0 time building planes and was wondering what are the mistakes i will make. I know some info about building but have never built anything myself. anything that has troubled you in your building will help me build my plane. thankx.

What kind of plane were you think about?

I would recommend you stay with the name brand ARFs. World Models, Great Planes, Hanger 9, Goldberg (Now also Great Planes), Dave Patric, Pacific Aeromodlels, to name a few off the top of my head. There are others. These ARFs have good to excellent instruction manuals, complete and good to very good hardware, conventional repairable construction, among other benefits like good engineering. Stay away from, what I would call 'builders ARFs. These are the many sold on eBay and other places. Nitroplanes is an example. Some of these are good planes, but you get what you pay for. Much work is needed to make them airworthy and knowledge of aircraft construction is essential to fix them, in many cases. Almost all hardware is junk and the instructions, if any, read as if they were written by three year olds, even omitting things like the CG. There is a lot more I could add, and I'm sure others will chime in with other good suggestions, but to me, it all starts with plane and manufacturer/marketer selection, and getting a quality kit from a reputable outfit that understands the modelers needs. Do your homework, as you look to be doing, and keep asking good questions. You'll be fine.

I think one of the biggest mistakes made is NOT getting someone local that knows what's going on to assist you right from the start !!!!

Sure we can give you a lot of help here but hands on is always better and in the long run it will save you a lot of money and grief.

Take some time and find a BUDDY, then ENJOY the sport/hobby. ENJOY !!! RED

this-http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=HAN1700.

RAM 3500 mentions some great ARF kit makers. Read the instruction manual a couple of times before starting the assembly process. Some kit makers offer its assembly manuals as a download which will give you a chance to get some idea of how the plane goes together.

The question was "what mistakes will I make?"

Here are some tips;

1. Take your time using a covering iron with a protective covering sock to go over the entire model and make sure the covering is tightened and THOROUGHLY BONDED to the wood structure underneath. Also make certain all overlapping seams are sealed. Try this link [link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6494490[/link] It is to some information about tightening covering on another model, but may apply to many ARFs and many types of covering.

2. Follow the instructions--especially when you near the end of the manual and you are setting the C.G. (balance) and control throws--many modelers overlook these procedures.

3. Use a thin coating of 30-minute epoxy to coat any areas of exposed wood--most ARF manufacturers do a pretty good job of fuelproofing, but some still leave areas of bare wood.

4. If at all possible, join your local R/C club and listen to advice and take lessons from members who volunteer to train beginners (unless you're not a beginner anymore!).

5. You don't have to use new radio gear, and you don't have to use the most expensive radio gear, but if you have to buy a new radio, (transmitter, servos, receiver battery, etc.), don't get suckered by somebody and purchase old, junky gear. I see lots of beginners and somewhat experienced modelers alike with worn out radio gear that causes nothing but continual problems and waisted time at the field.

The last Super Stick I saw was covered with shelf paper. Unless they have changed it, you don't want to be running an iron over that stuff.

Jim

A newbee came out to our field one day to ask how he could fix his wing.

He was building a trainer ARF, dry fit the wing joiner and wing halves, buttered everything up and stuck it all together.

By the time he realized he had installed the wing joiner UPSIDE down it was too late, the epoxy had started to set.

One of our guy's took his wing home and fixed it for him and I took him up for for a ride in my World Models T-34.

Some folks are fun to teach and some folks are WORK.

First mistake is thinking you build an ARF. Some guy in China built it. You'll be assembling the modules.

I always use thinned epoxy (polyurethane wood finish will do) to fireproof the tank compartment. Not the whole inside - too much weight. I also epoxy strips of 2 oz fiberglass cloth inside the firewall down either side. Had the firewall pull off a G.P. Big Stik ARF (luckliy found before take-off) and have not trusted one since.

Lay out the hardware ahead of time. You don't want to use the wrong part, cut the longest rod if a shorter one is in the box, etc. I just assembled one that had extra wheel collars but was midding the landing gear bolts. Oops.

Do not cut the receiver antenna no matter how long it seems. It's a tuned wire and has to be that long.

Use 30 minute epoxy wherever epoxy is called for - just my preference.

Check the center of gravity twice and have someone else check it for you before you fly. There was just a post where a fellow got it wrong and augered in on his maiden and thought the supplier should send him a new plane. Nuh - uh.

The aileron goes up on the side you point it towards when you're standing behind the model. This is important. Right aileron = right aileron goes up.

Servo screws should be tight. But they're tiny and it doesn't take much strength. Don't ream the wood by over-tightening.

Ask lots of questions here if you get stuck. This is an astounding resource.

Have an experienced pilot do the trim (maiden) flight for you. They can be tricky. He/she will also do a good preflight and hopefully spot any glaring errors that would cost you the model in a crash.

how does this one look -http://www.hangar-9.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=HAN2625

If you are truely new to all this, a rc club is essential. Seeing the planes assembled, talking to guys, and getting assistance building , maidening, and flying is priceless.
The plane I would reccommend to a first timer is the Kyosho Calmato high wing trainer. Looks good flys easily and predictably, and best of all, is the simplest to assemble of any plane i've ever seen. bolt a motor on, put in your battery, servos, and radio... you're done! You don't mess with hinges or linkage... no glue needed!!! An experenced person can go from opening the box to flying in about 45 minutes... slightly longer than it would take for one part to be epoxied in a regular ARF.
Next step up from there would be the Kyosho Calmato SPORT.. a low wing trainer/ aerobatic plane.
Good luck and happy flying!!!!
Mike

I took a look at this plane, and I like what I saw. It's H9, so it will have good parts, hardware, a good manual, and commonly found covering for repairs (inevitable). I like the size (63" wing span) because these are easy to see and more stable to fly. The wings have less dihedral, and are semi-symmetrical, so with more throw in the controls, it will be capable of some moderate aerobatics when you are ready to advance.

Now, for a word of caution. Some of the fetchers that make this a good second airplane, will also make it slightly harder to learn with as a first. Notably, the semi-symmetrical wing and lower dihedral. This wing will be less forgiving than a true, high lift, flat bottom wing. Dedicated trainers all have the flat bottom type wing to give the airplane an inherently stable platform. What this means for you is that you will be called upon to fly this plane out of trouble more than a flat bottom. Not a problem if you follow the advice of many in this thread, and seek the help from local, experienced pilots, hopefully in a nearby club. With a trainer cord hooked to your radio, your instructor will easily get you beyond the stage where this could be a problem. As you gain confidence and experience, you will enjoy what this particular plane can do.

Get the plane, make some RC friends (lots of guys love to help newcomers), and let them walk you through the assembly and setup, then go have some fun flying. And don't forget about your buddies here on RCU.[8D]

What do you use to thin 30 minute epoxy? Ethyl alcohol or Isopropyl alcohol or thinner? 100% alcohol or drugstore alcohol i.e. 70% alcohol/30% water? If 100% alcohol, where do you buy.....hardware store or drugstore? If thinner....what kind?
Thanks for your valuable reply.
Larrysogla

Use acetone (which I think is best), available in the paint section of your local hardware store. Or you can use 100% isopropyl alcohol, which is available at drugstores. You want to avoid adding water from the alcohol to your epoxy mix.

I use denatured alcohol which does not have any water in it. Same think I use to clean excess off. It can be found at Walmart, Home Depot, Loews, etc.

I use rubbing alcohol that is 90% from the drugstore

but I have used denatured alcohol.

The result was the same

I buy the denatured stuff by the gallon for less.

What about thin CA to fuel proof?

Yes,
You can fuel proof firewalls, wooden cowl mounts, retract wheel wells and anything else made of wood with thin CA.

You can also use it on balsa or ply when mounting aileron servos with double stick tape.

IMO........Expensive, messy, you can't brush on, and way too much bad fumes. Not good for you. You can brush the epoxy mix and it is slower, so it penetrates well.

If I may add my opinion, it seems to me that any new pilot, after joining a club and working with an experienced pilot, should build their first trainer from a kit. This way, they will completely understand their airplane inside and out, and they will be able to rebuild it after their first mishap.

When some guy's get started in the hobby they don't know if they will stay or not and don't want to spend the time it would take to build, they just want to get something in the air in a hurry.

Then there's the pain of crashing your first BUILT plane, all those hours of gluing, cutting, covering and closing those #11 blade cuts on your fingers with CA...

I don't like to build, I do like to fly so I do nothing but ARF's and OPP's.. (other peoples planes)
When I crack one up enough to where it needs "major fixin" I'll strip all the gear out of it and give it away and pull another one out from under my bench and go da work.

After a newbee has a few ARF's under his belt he will start to do what comes natural... MODIFY

I've seen a lot of resurrected arf's including some that were conglomerations of several different planes

take your time, one thing i do is one step per day, don't try and assemble it in one day. give your glue time to fully set up before moving to he next step