Building RC Airplane from Scratch
10-15-2021, 04:13 PM
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Building RC Airplane from Scratch
I recently discovered the forum and am looking to get a few questions answered regarding scratch building an airplane. I have never constructed a RC airplane before but being a retired machinist, I can read plans and prints fairly well, depending on the quality of the drawing agent. I have questions regarding the general type of plans on receives via pdf files. I would appreciate any assistance you guys might be willing to offer.
10-15-2021, 04:34 PM
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https://outerzone.co.uk/
I get plans there, and get them printed here;
https://www.aceblueprinters.com/
They're local for me, but they take PDF uploads from their website, and mail the plans to you also. Rich Uravitch uses them as well, so many plans are already on file.
Once you start, you might post a build thread on this forum or reference old build threads on this forum that have collected here for 20 years as a reference to get the job done.
I get plans there, and get them printed here;
https://www.aceblueprinters.com/
They're local for me, but they take PDF uploads from their website, and mail the plans to you also. Rich Uravitch uses them as well, so many plans are already on file.
Once you start, you might post a build thread on this forum or reference old build threads on this forum that have collected here for 20 years as a reference to get the job done.
10-15-2021, 08:49 PM
#3
Good suggestion above. Download a few of interest, and view the pdf's. You'll find quality and detail can vary a lot. Some were intended to have all the info you need on the plans, some were part of a kit with an instruction book, so may be light or missing on details (like wood thickness) or assembly steps. Some assume you have dealt with building before and have picked up "how-to-do-it" (like forming sheeting to curves or building up a cowl) from other sources. None will stress your former professional skills, but some may frustrate you with not quite enough information. There will be lots of help in these forums to fill in the gaps.
10-16-2021, 05:33 PM
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Hi Guys,
Thank you so much for your responses. I will check out the sites your referenced. In the meantime, 2 quick questions.
1) If I have a plan or set of plans on a PDF file, how do I know what size to print out to have everything to scale?
2) How do I determine the scale/size aircraft that I am building so I will know the size of hardware items I would need such as wheels, pilot, etc. that would fit that particular build?
I am used to dealing with hardcopy blueprints. This PDF stuff confuses me, I am not a computer person. Any directions will be greatly appreciated.
Have a great weekend,
Philip
Thank you so much for your responses. I will check out the sites your referenced. In the meantime, 2 quick questions.
1) If I have a plan or set of plans on a PDF file, how do I know what size to print out to have everything to scale?
2) How do I determine the scale/size aircraft that I am building so I will know the size of hardware items I would need such as wheels, pilot, etc. that would fit that particular build?
I am used to dealing with hardcopy blueprints. This PDF stuff confuses me, I am not a computer person. Any directions will be greatly appreciated.
Have a great weekend,
Philip
10-16-2021, 06:01 PM
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Aananda: You would probably get more responses if you posted this in the Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD section:
https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/scr...gn-3d-cad-174/
instead of here in the FPV aircraft section. FPV mean First Person View, which is flying an aircraft by looking at a video signal sent back to the pilot's goggles from a camera in the aircraft. It is as if you are in the aircraft (like a pilot's view in a full scale airplane).
Maybe you already knew this, and just accidentally posted it here. Or maybe you really are considering building an FPV aircraft, and just didn't mention that in the initial post in this thread.
https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/scr...gn-3d-cad-174/
instead of here in the FPV aircraft section. FPV mean First Person View, which is flying an aircraft by looking at a video signal sent back to the pilot's goggles from a camera in the aircraft. It is as if you are in the aircraft (like a pilot's view in a full scale airplane).
Maybe you already knew this, and just accidentally posted it here. Or maybe you really are considering building an FPV aircraft, and just didn't mention that in the initial post in this thread.
Last edited by Outrider6; 10-16-2021 at 06:21 PM.
10-17-2021, 04:27 PM
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Outrider6,
Thank you so much for your help. We were hoping to find a link to the scratch builders but must have overlooked it somehow. We will immediately click the link your provided and post our questions.
Once again, THANK YOU
Philip
Thank you so much for your help. We were hoping to find a link to the scratch builders but must have overlooked it somehow. We will immediately click the link your provided and post our questions.
Once again, THANK YOU
Philip
