I have built several planes from short kits, but all were covered with iron on covering. I am looking for recommendations on what would be a good first plane to build that is covered with sheeting and painted? I don’t want to buy prebuilt as my teenage son and I enjoy the build time together. We are in no way experts and learn new things with each build. This next one we will even cut ourselves “with a short kit if available” in the closet just in case.

would like something with retracts maybe as we have never done retracts before.

Thanks in advance for the advice. We want to work our way up to a scale jet.

The only thing I can suggest is logging onto Outerzone.com and looking through the free plans downloads. Literally hundreds of choices with plans that have different levels of detail.

At this point, pick a plane that interests you and go for it. You're farther along in building experience than I was when I built a Tiporare, which is definitely not recommended as a beginner builder's plane. But I got it done. You will too.

The URL Outerzone.com gets redirected to an incorrect page. Try https://outerzone.co.uk instead.

I personally find that when you pick a subject that really interests you, that it helps the project move forward even when things get slow. That being said, I would pick a handful of aircraft that interest me, then start searching for plans of the appropriate size that you would like to build.

I have several books of aircraft of the world I thumb through when looking for a new subject. I have also attended a full size airshow and found a subject that caught my interest. I like scale and prefer Canadian registered aircraft or WW aircraft flown by Canadians. The story and research is a large part of the fun as much as building sometimes.

I would second outerzone. It's a great place for plans. If you want a stable flier and don't mind shaping wood, The Kwik-Fli III, the Kaos, or Super Kaos are very good flying planes, can do most aerobatics and are easy to land. These were the pattern champs of the late 60s early 70s but the Kaos series is a very very popular 2nd or 3rd airplane now.

Any version of the Kaos is a great build. The fuselage has a straight top, so it can be completely built upside down on the jig. The tail is all flat plates, so shaping and alignment are easy. There's no cowl either, so engine installation is simple. And yes, they fly so smoothly and handle the wind very well.