Ive decided Im gonna give rc airplanes a try after trying helis and realizing that I didnt like it. This is what my plans are, please let me know if these are the right steps for a begginer.I recently ordered a Megatech capitol flyer online to start out and learn on. I want to build a trainer kit over the winter(havent decided which one yet) eventually I will join a club and/or AMA.I dont want to buy an ARF or RTF because I want to learn about it while Im building it. My questions are is there any way to practice covering something other than the plane I plan to fly ? Im not sure about my ability yet seeing Ive never built one before, and does anyone sell a glue/epoxy kit that contains everything needed for building a plane without buying it all separtely?

thanks, Chris

After my ARF trainer I build my first kit.

Go ahead and build one covering is not difficult, here is what I did for my first kit/covering and came out good. I was also afraid of covering, see MinnFlyer's article on how to cover and will help a lot.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11...tm.htm#1120607

You don't need to practice covering in my opinion, but I used a scrap balsa sheet and played with it for a while with covering and iron.

Only think to be carful is heat gun, you can remove wrinkles very easy with it but there is a certain amount that you can remove after a while you can easily put a hole in the covering. Done that on my first wing and learned.

First kit is a great way to learn.

Build your trainer, and practice covering that. believe me, you'll have ample opportunity to recover it over and over again, as the learning process for flying tends to bend up those trainers pretty good. Chances are, you'll partially or completely rebuild some section of the plane and you'll have to recover it, so just read up on it and do your best. Covering is a skill to be learned, so just do it!

You could also build a section of a wing out of scrap balsa, or a section of a fuse and cover that, but why not practice on the real thing? Trainers are for training!

There is a VHS tape from Monokote that explains the esiest way to begin covering with their product. Try Tower. It may cost a few bucks but it should answer most, if not all, of your questions.

Welcome aboard, Jester!

The other posts are good advice. I like Cobra's suggestion to practice on some scrap balsa. Maybe one of the punchout sheets. I would like to offer this suggestion : Chase the iron with a damp washcloth, to cool the adhesive as soon as the iron passes. Makes it stick where you iron it, helps avoid wrinkles.

I would also like to suggest the use of a flight simulator, this winter. It will help when you train in the spring, and you will find it useful when you are ready to learn things on your second or third plane, like knife-edge flight, inverted flight, four-point rolls, etc.

Good luck!
Dave Olson

Welcome Chris,
You've received some decent advice, but let me say one more thing; do NOT get discouraged when you try that Megatech piece of crap. I wish you had checked here before you bought it, we could have saved you the money.

Do a search to read some of the Megatech horror stories. [:@]

Other than that, sounds like you're headed in the right direction.
Dennis-

Thanks all for the advise, I think Ill try to pratice covering on the trainer itself if its not to hard to recover. Im still deciding which trainer I'd like to build. Theres a million different kits so I have alot of reading up to do. Im not worried about any time limit, the winters in New England are plenty long enough. As for the peice of crap plane I ordered the only reason for getting it was that its- 1)complete and really RTF, 2)cheap, I paid $95 for a new one, 3)when crap hits the ground I wont be as frustrated as I would if it was something I put alot of hard work into. But thats why Im here, for opinions. I'd like to buy a kit at my LHS and maybe get a few tips there, then buy the building accessories online, Tower has "Building & Field Equipment" group to make getting everything all in one shot.

thanks again, Chris